THE COMMON REFERENCE

LEVELS

Group 7

METODOLOGÍA PARA LA ENSEÑANZA PLURILINGÜE Y EL APRENDIZAJE DE LENGUAS

EXTRANJERAS

A1

She began to cry again. Mrs. Wilson was very sad because she knew her sister loved the cat very much. Suddenly Mrs. Wilson said "I can bury your cat in my garden in Duncan and you can come and visit him sometimes." Mrs. Smith stopped crying and the two sisters had tea together and a nice visit.

Breakthrough

• The lowest level in The Common Reference Levels.

• A basic ability to communicate and exchange information in a simple way.

• Produce simple phrases about people and pleaces.

• Example: CAN ask simple questions about a menu and understand simple answers.

A2

Gatesbridge’s new Merriwether Mall is opening this September.  With an area of 320,000 square metres, the Merriweather Mall will be the biggest mall in the south west.  It’s located close to the motorway, has its own bus station and 2000 car parking spaces, so it is convenient for everyone. 

Waystage

• An ability to deal with simple, direct information and begin to express oneself in familiar contexts.

• Can write a series of simple phrases and sentences linked with simple connectors such as: and, but and because.

• Can give a simple descriptions of presentation of people, daily routines, like, dislikes…

B1

This is a series of daytime lectures by people who have lived and worked in wild places.  Each of the six talks will focus on a different continent.  Lecturers will show photographs of the animals and plants, and explain why they are only found in one area.  Lecturers will include Leo Holland, a scientist from the Antarctic project, and Milly Oliphant, who researches birds in the Amazon rainforest.  Tea and Biscuits provided.

Threshold

• The ability to express oneself in a limited way in familiar situations and to deal in a general way with nonroutine information.

• Can write texts on a range of familiar subjects within his field of interest.

• Can maintain a fluent conversation.

• Example: CAN ask to open an account at a bank.

B2

Social networks are beginning to be adopted by healthcare professionals as a means to manage institutional knowledge, disseminate peer to peer knowledge and to highlight individual physicians and institutions. The advantage of using a dedicated medical social networking site is that all the members are screened against the state licensing board list of practitioners. The role of social networks is especially of interest to pharmaceutical companies who spend approximately "32 percent of their marketing dollars" attempting to influence the opinion leaders of social networks.

Vantage

• The capacity to achieve most goals and express oneself on a range of topics.

• Speaking: Clear descriptions and presentations giving relevant details.

• Can write clear, detailed text on a variety of subjects related to his/her field of interest.

• Example: CAN show visitors around and give a detailed description of a place.

C1

Western Sahara, Africa’s last colony, was taken over by Morocco when the Spanish withdrew in 1976, despite a ruling from the International Court of Justice.  This was followed by a brutal 16-year war, during which time tens of thousands of Sahrawis fled across the Algerian border to refugee camps. In 1991, a ceasefire agreement was drawn up, in which a referendum on self-determination was promised to decide the fate of the country and its people.  However, almost twenty years later, the gears of diplomacy have turned slowly and nothing has happened.  Meanwhile the refugees have been left stranded in five refugee camps dotted around the vast, inhospitable desert. 

Effective Operational Proficiency

• The ability to communicate with the emphasis on how well it is done, in terms of appropriacy, sensitivity and the capacity to deal with unfamiliar topics.

• Can give clear, detailed descriptions and presentations on complex subjects, integrating sub-themes.

• Example: CAN get and hold onto his/her turn to speak.

C2

There is a danger that these new art forms airbrush out the atrocities which accompanied the ostentation and glamour. It was a time when democracy was suppressed, political enemies disappeared, and billions of dollars which could have helped the poverty-stricken country were spent on the Marcos’s extravagant lifestyle. However, the artists involved are keen to make clear that the regime also resulted in great leaps forward in the country’s culture, architecture and infrastructure. The Marcos legacy remains in the form of hospitals, Heart and Lung Centres, Folk Art theatres and homes for children and the elderly, notwithstanding that the Marcos couple set their war-ravaged, poverty-stricken land onto the world stage.

Mastery

• The capacity to deal with material which is academic or cognitively demanding, and to use language to good effect at a level of performance which may in certain respects be more advanced than that of an average native speaker.

• Can produce clear, smoothly flowing texts and speeches with an effective logical structure and read almost as quickly as a native speaker.

PLUS LEVELS