A Comparative Study Of Language Competence Framework In CEFR And CLB

Language proficiency scale is not only a description of the competence that language users use languages to complete a series of tasks,but also a reference and basis that we assess language competence of language users or learners.Language proficiency scale plays an important role in language teaching,learning,and assessment.Therefore,syllabus and evaluation standards can be developed on the basis of it.Common European Framework of Reference for Languages(CEFR)and Canadian Language Benchmarks(CLB)are the most influential language proficiency scales throughout the world.At present,researches on the two language proficiency scales from different aspects have been carried out,while these researches mainly remained at the level of theoretical exploration and policy-making.There are few researches on the application of CEFR and CLB in teaching,learning,and assessment.This research adopted the literature method to illustrate the academic research status quo on the definition of language competences,the theoretical rationale for language competence,the language competence description framework in CEFR and CLB,and application status quo of CEFR and CLB in language teaching,learning and assessment.Meanwhile,this study applied the comparative method to compare the main contents of CEFR and CLB,together with the explanation of their similarities and differences and tried to interpret the implications of CEFR and CLB for English teaching,learning,and assessment.The findings indicated that,1)with regard to the definition of language competence,the language competence in CEFR was general language proficiency,including communicative competence and language use while the language ability in CLB was communicative language competence,including language knowledge and strategic competence;2)in terms of the theoretical rationale for language competence,both CEFR and CLB originated from communicative language ability models;3)regarding the language competence description framework,the CEFR not only had a overall description of the language competence at various levels in terms of listening,speaking,reading,and writing,but also a classified description of different aspects of language competence and classification of different language performances.The descriptors of language ability in CLB were consisted of three parts,global performance descriptors of the language abilities of listening,speaking,reading and writing skills,which separately accounted for the general language ability of learners in these four aspects,the performance conditions of completing a language task,and the part explained what learners could do in English with a list of sample tasks;and 4)CEFR and CLB can provide references for languages teaching,learning,and assessment,among which aligning English tests with CEFR is of great influence.Providing an exploration into the definition and connotation of language competence and language ability,their theoretical rationale,and their description framework respectively in CEFR and CLB,this paper contributes to a deeper understanding of CEFR and CLB as well as their implications for English teaching,learning,and assessment.