They also indicate an orientation to the field to be inclusive and representative of learners and their backgrounds. It is best considered as shorthand or code for simplifying discussions among colleagues.
Questions for reflection
Why do you think the field has developed so many acronyms? Do you think they help professionals share important information about their contexts or do you think they are simply jargon? Why?
Which contexts do you foresee you will work in during your career?
How might proficiency levels be somewhat correlated to particular contexts? To what degree might this be true? What would be the exceptions to this relationship?
Being Proficient and Levels of Proficiency
TESOL educators describe the ability of a learner to communicate in oral and written language as their proficiency. While people outside of the discipline may use the terms “fluent” and “fluency,” TESOL educators tend to use these terms in very specific instances. Most of the time, we use the term proficiency, because it allows us to show the degree to which a person is able to communicate. For example, Kenan is highly proficient in English. Kate is moderately proficient in French, and Steve is moderately proficient in French and minimally proficient in Russian.
Organizations such as the American Council of Teachers of Foreign Languages (ACTFL), World-Class Instructional Design and Assessment (WIDA), and the Council of Europe (Common European Framework or CEFR) have developed scales to describe learners’ abilities in specific language skills (i.e., speaking, listening, reading, and writing) or in general.
ACTFL Proficiency S
cales
The ACTFL Oral Proficiency Guidelines were the first of their kind in 1982, and influenced other scales over time. ACTFL (2012) has a scale that starts with novice, intermediate, and then moves along to advanced and superior (for more information, see https://www.actfl.org/resources/actfl-proficiency-guidelines-2012). ACTFL is used by many world language educators. The scales in different language skills illuminate what the learners should be able to do at each level of proficiency (see Figure 1.1). For example, in speaking, a learner at the beginning level can use formulaic language to greet someone.
Figure 1.1 ACTFL Proficiency Scale. Used with permission from ACTFL.
WIDA proficiency indicators
WIDA has six levels of proficiency (see Figures 1.2 and 1.3) that range from 1 as the lowest and 6 as the most advanced (Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System, 2012). The WIDA proficiency level descriptors separate interpretative (i.e., reading/listening) modes from expressive (i.e., writing/speaking modes) and differentiate abilities at the word, sentence, and discourse levels (i.e., paragraph or essay). In the 2020 edition, they have also included categories of language functions common in the classroom: Narrate, Inform, Explain, and Argue.
Figure 1.2 WIDA performance definitions—speaking and writing. Used with permissionfrom WIDA.
Figure 1.3 WIDA performance definitions—listening and reading.Used with permissionfrom WIDA.
The WIDA team also developed “can do” descriptors that help educators understand what ELLs can do in speaking, listening, reading, and writing in social, instructional, and academic language. These descriptors were developed for kindergarten, first grade, and grade clusters of 2–3, 4–5, 6–8, and 9–12. They can be used to guide lesson plan development that is grade-level appropriate, so educators can provide supports and activities suitably geared for ELLs.
The proficiency level descriptors combine with the modes and levels of discourse (i.e., word, sentence, and paragraph(s)), language function at the six grade-level clusters, so that informed educators can design purposeful and targeted lessons (see the WIDA 2020 edition for details and examples).
The ACTFL and WIDA scales do not necessarily align one to one. At level 1 of WIDA, an ELL might be able listen to and understand yes/no questions with support. WIDA performance definitions are used in a majority of U.S. states and increasingly in international schools throughout the world.
Council of Europe Framework proficiency scale
Council of Europe Framework (CEFR) has six levels of proficiency that are correlated to the ACTFL Proficiency Scale (Council of Europe, n.d.). The CEFR scale ranges from Basic (A level) to Independent (B level) and Proficient User (C level) of the language. At each level is a lower and upper tier indicated by 1 or 2. At the most basic level is A1 (see Table 1.3). A language learner at A1 would be able to hold basic conversations about themselves with help. The CEFR is used in Europe and many international contexts.
Table 1.3 Council of Europe Framework
| Proficient User | C2 | Can understand with ease virtually everything heard or read. Can summarize information from different spoken and written sources, reconstructing arguments and accounts in a coherent presentation. Can express him/herself spontaneously, very fluently and precisely, differentiating finer shades of meaning even in more complex situations. |
| C1 | Can understand a wide range of demanding, longer texts, and recognize implicit meaning. Can express him/herself fluently and spontaneously without much obvious searching for expressions. Can use language flexibly and effectively for social, academic and professional purposes. Can produce clear, well-structured, detailed text on complex subjects, showing controlled use of organizational patterns, connectors and cohesive devices. | |
| Independent User | B2 | Can understand the main ideas of complex text on both concrete and abstract topics, including technical discussions in his/her field of specialization. Can interact with a degree of fluency and spontaneity that makes regular interaction with native speakers quite possible without strain for either party. Can produce clear, detailed text on a wide range of subjects and explain a viewpoint on a topical issue giving the advantages and disadvantages of various options. |
| B1 | Can understand the main points of clear standard input on familiar matters regularly encountered in work, school, leisure, etc. Can deal with most situations likely to arise whilst travelling in an area where the language is spoken. Can produce simple connected text on topics which are familiar or of personal interest. Can describe experiences and events, dreams, hopes & ambitions and briefly give reasons and explanations for opinions and plans. | |
| Basic User | A2 | Can understand sentences and frequently used expressions related to areas of most immediate relevance (e.g., very basic personal and family information, shopping, local geography, employment). Can communicate in simple and routine tasks requiring a simple and direct exchange of information on familiar and routine matters.
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