The Common European Framework
- What is the CEF or CEFR?
- Are the City & Guilds examinations linked to the CEF?
- How do the City & Guilds International English examinations relate to the CEF?
- Are the Business English examinations aligned to the CEF?
What is the CEF or CEFR?
CEF(R) stands for the Common European Framework (of Reference). The CEFR is basically a framework that describes language use and competence at six common reference levels. This framework is used in Europe (although it is also becoming popular in an international context) as a way of defining a learner's level of English across the four language skills and within a range of contexts.
The table below shows the levels that are broadly equivalent:
City & Guilds IESOL & ISESOL |
City & Guilds SETB |
Common European Framework |
Cambridge main suite |
Cambridge IELTS |
Mastery |
Stage C |
C2 |
CPE |
+7.5 |
Expert |
C1 |
CAE |
6.5/7.0 |
|
Communicator |
Stage B |
B2 |
FCE |
5.0/5.5/6.0 |
Achiever |
B1 |
PET |
3.5/4.0/4.5 |
|
Access |
Stage A |
A2 |
KET |
3.0 |
Preliminary |
A1 |
Are the City & Guilds examinations linked to the CEF?
Certain examinations in the International English Qualification suite are linked to the CEF. The International ESOL, International Spoken ESOL and Spoken English Tests for Business examinations were all developed using the CEF as a reference tool whereas the exam specifications, tasks and assessment criteria were all developed using the CEF as a source document.
How do the City & Guilds International English examinations relate to the CEF?
The table illustrated on the previous pages shows how the International ESOL and Spoken ESOL levels are broadly equivalent to the CEF levels and examinations provided by other awarding bodies.
It is worth remembering that even if an exam listed in the table may be broadly equivalent in terms of language level, the examination itself may have been designed for a different purpose and cannot therefore be considered to be exactly the same.
Are the Business English examinations aligned to the CEF?
Apart from the Spoken English Tests for Business the other business English examinations are not linked to the CEF. The skills tested in these examinations are very specific to a business context, whereas the CEF describes levels of general language proficiency.