Fine-tuning descriptors for CEFR B1 level: insights from learner corpora

Abstract

Despite the current importance of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) in the learning, teaching, and assessment of languages, limitations arise in the use of the CEFR descriptors, which are also present in the European Language Portfolio (ELP). This article highlights the main challenges posed to CEFR and ELP users by the linguistic competence descriptors—with a particular focus on the grammatical accuracy descriptors, and strategy descriptors for monitoring and repair at B1 level—when they try to self-assess their written production activities. In order to address these limitations, a Computer-aided Error Analysis (CEA) was performed on a learner corpus comprising B1-level texts produced by Spanish learners of English. The results obtained enabled the reformulation of the descriptors for written production activities at CEFR B1 level aimed at L1 Spanish learners of English, by complementing the existing descriptors with further linguistic information on the most frequent errors at that level.