I listened to this discussion led by Cambridge International Examinations (CIE) about the value and use of the CEFR for language teaching and learning. It’s of particular interest to me as I think about the content I am learning in Chinese class. At some point, I actually took the Trinity syllabus as a starting point for developing a more communicative-based approach to learning basic Chinese. Yes, that’s right, I want to teach myself by thinking about…how I would teach Chinese! Unfortunately, I had to abandon this idea, as I had very little time to dedicate to it.

The questions remain, though: is there any value in mapping Chinese language learning to the CEFR? How could the HSK be mapped against the CEFR? Has anyone tried to do this already? (I’m thinking yes – surely, I cannot be the first to think of it!). I’d be very excited to find a more functional syllabus for Chinese language learning – investigaiton starts now!

‘The CEFR: over-utilised or under-utilised’ event information

‘The CEFR: over-utilised or under-utilised’ pdf

‘The CEFR: over-utilised or under-utilised’ mp3