Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR)
ICE aligns its courses and assessments with the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) to ensure high educational standards and consistency. This commitment supports student success and meets accreditation criteria under QQI.
At the Irish College of English (ICE), our academic management systems are designed to uphold the highest standards of educational excellence and ensure alignment with the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) across all aspects of our programmes. Central to our approach is a structured framework that encompasses curriculum development, teaching methodologies, assessment practices, and learner support mechanisms. For more information, please see our QA Manual.
About the CEFR
The CEFR was developed to provide a common basis for the explicit description of objectives, content and methods in second/foreign language education.
The CEFR
adopts an action-oriented approach, describing language learning outcomes in terms of language use;
has three principal dimensions: language activities, the domains in which they occur, and the competences on which we draw when we engage in them;
divides language activities into four kinds: reception (listening and reading), production (spoken and written), interaction (spoken and written), and mediation (translating and interpreting);
provides a taxonomic description of four domains of language use – public, personal, educational, professional – for each of which it specifies locations, institutions, persons, objects, events, operations, and texts.
For reception, production, interaction, and some competences the CEFR defines six common reference levels (A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, C2), using “can do” descriptors to define the learner/user’s proficiency at each level.
The common reference levels provide a basis for comparing second/foreign language curricula, textbooks, courses and exams. Together with the rest of the CEFR’s descriptive apparatus, they can also be used to support the design of curricula, teaching programmes, learning materials, and assessment instruments.
The self-assessment that is a central feature of the ELP provides the essential link between the ELP and the CEFR. Self-assessment is carried out using checklists of “I can” descriptors arranged by language activity and common reference level (language biography) and summarized with reference to the CEFR’s self-assessment grid (language passport).
The Irish College of English Offers Levels A2 to C1, with learning outcoming defined in specific ‘Can do’ Descriptors for both our Junior and Adult Programmes.
