BRAZ-TESOL: a talk on CEFR for teachers

“Transforming the CEFR guidelines into teaching activities” (Janaina Pietroluongo) Janaina began by outlining what the Council of Europe is, as opposed to the European Commission. She went on to put forward the argument that was the main thrust of her talk: that it is a great mistake to view the CEFR as prescriptive. In fact, it is intended to be learner-centred. It is merely a skeleton which has to be fleshed out in the local context. Specifically, much in the CEFR documentation appears to be geared towards ESL, and is consequently inappropriate for EFL learners in Brazil. It needs to be adapted for this context. Janaina finished off by showing 3 activities which adapt the framework in the way she suggests.