Canadian Language Benchmarks,language-benchmarks

Canadian Language Benchmarks

English as a Second Language for Adults

October 2012 Edition

For information on the Canadian Language Benchmarks or Niveaux de comp?tence linguistique canadiens visit: language.ca Centre for Canadian Language Benchmarks 294 Albert Street, Suite 400 Ottawa, ON K1P 6E6

? Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, represented by the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, 2012 Ci63-26/2012 ISSN 978-1-100-20772-8 C&I-1704-A

October 2012 Edition

Table of Contents Preface ............................................................................... I Acknowledgements ............................................................... III Introduction .......................................................................... V Stage I Listening.....................................................................1 Stage II Listening .................................................................. 13 Stage III Listening ................................................................. 25 Stage I Speaking ................................................................... 37 Stage II Speaking .................................................................. 49 Stage III Speaking ................................................................. 61 Stage I Reading .................................................................... 73 Stage II Reading ................................................................... 85 Stage III Reading .................................................................. 97 Stage I Writing.................................................................... 109 Stage II Writing ................................................................... 121 Stage III Writing .................................................................. 133 Competency Tables .............................................................. 145 Glossary ........................................................................... 205

Canadian Language Benchmarks

Preface

This Canadian Language Benchmarks (CLB) document represents a Canadian language standard established and reinforced through sustained research, application and consultation. The following history summarizes the work that has been done over a 20-year period to bring this latest version of the standard to publication.

The History of the Canadian Language Benchmarks

In 1992, the Government of Canada introduced a language policy to address the needs of adult immigrants. As a first step, the ministry now called Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) funded a project to investigate the need for Canadian language standards. CIC held extensive consultations across Canada with field experts, instructors of English as a Second Language (ESL)1 and English as a Foreign Language (EFL), language program administrators and learners, immigrant-serving agencies, and government representatives. The consultations confirmed the need for a nationally recognized set of language standards.

Canadian Language Benchmarks, Working Document (1996)

As a result of the consultations, CIC established the National Working Group on Language Benchmarks (NWGLB) in March 1993. The task of the NWGLB was to guide the development of a set of benchmarks to describe language development in the Canadian context. In 1996, CIC published the Canadian Language Benchmarks: English as a Second Language for Adults (Working Document).

Centre for Canadian Language Benchmarks (CCLB)

Soon after the introduction of the CLB in 1996, the need emerged for an institution outside government to take responsibility for CLB projects. Key federal and provincial funders and other stakeholders cooperated to establish the Centre for Canadian Language Benchmarks (CCLB) and, in September 1997, the Board of Directors held its inaugural meeting. In March 1998, the CCLB received its Charter as a non-profit corporation, and its doors officially opened in Ottawa in June.

Canadian Language Benchmarks (2000)

When CIC introduced the CLB Working Document in 1996, the ministry made a commitment to revisit the document on a regular basis to ensure its ongoing integrity, relevance, and accessibility. Beginning in 1999, the CCLB undertook a national consultation with users of the CLB Working Document. The CCLB commissioned the principal writer of the 1996 Working Document to make revisions, which CIC published as the Canadian Language Benchmarks 2000: ESL for Adults.2

Niveaux de comp?tence linguistique canadiens (2006)

In 2002, the CCLB Board of Directors agreed to take responsibility for the French version of the CLB, which had been funded by CIC and was meant to inform the needs of French as a Second Language (FSL) training programs for immigrants. The first version, Standards linguistiques canadiens 2002, was sent out to stakeholders and then revised in 2005?2006. The second version, Niveaux de comp?tence linguistique canadiens 2006 : Fran?ais langue seconde pour adultes (NCLC), was released in 2006.

National Consultation (2008?2010)

In 2008, with funding support from the federal and some provincial governments, the CCLB embarked on a national consultation to determine how the CLB and NCLC should evolve to meet the changing needs of stakeholders. More than 1,300 people, representing multiple stakeholders, participated in the process. The findings of the consultation allowed the CCLB to plan for revisions and future directions.

Following this consultation, a preliminary analysis was summarized in a discussion paper, which formed the basis for a national forum of 40 individuals representing a broad range of stakeholders. Along with the CCLB Board of Directors, these individuals engaged in further analysis and validation of the findings of the consultations. Among the results of the analysis was a list of recommended changes.

1 In some parts of Canada, ESL may be replaced by English as an Additional Language (EAL). 2 The Canadian Language Benchmarks 2000: ESL for Literacy Learners was also introduced.

Canadian Language Benchmarks - I

Canadian Language Benchmarks (2010)

A small working group met in December 2009 to discuss stakeholder recommendations and to determine a methodology and priorities for revisions to the CLB 2000. Soon after, a small team of writers and expert advisors was assembled to implement the revisions, which were based on the following broad goals:

Improving the layout and presentation of information to make the document more user-friendly and accessible. Revising, refining and supplementing information to improve comprehensibility, clarity, consistency and

relevance, as well as reducing redundancy. Maintaining the integrity of the three stages of the CLB (basic, intermediate and advanced), the 12 levels (to

ensure the CLB reflect the full range of communicative competence) and the theoretical bases of the CLB. Using plain language throughout the document to facilitate the use of the CLB with a broad range of users. Including information critical for a common understanding of the CLB among the majority of users.

The resulting draft document was reviewed by 10 external experts and three members of an advisory committee formed by the CCLB. Their feedback was incorporated into the working document.

Validation

In early 2011, the CCLB undertook the first steps of the validation3 by developing a common theoretical framework for the CLB and NCLC (Phase I). This document draws upon widely accepted research in the field of language education, including key principles applicable to all languages and contributions from the ESL and FSL fields. The theoretical framework underwent extensive independent review at each stage of its development. It was later compared with the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR), the American Council for the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) guidelines, and the ?chelle qu?b?coise. These comparisons showed that the theoretical framework was consistent not only with the theoretical concepts it articulated, but also with the key principles underlying other language frameworks.

The CLB and NCLC were then validated against the theoretical framework to determine whether they accurately reflected the underlying theory (Phase II). Six independent experts mapped each descriptor in the standards documents onto the theoretical framework to identify gaps where components of the theoretical models that served as a foundation for the documents were not adequately represented. The documents were further fine-tuned and both have been accepted as accurate reflections of the theoretical framework and consistent with widely accepted research.

The next step in the process was an extensive field validation by the documents' end users (Phase III). A key component of this step was the development of exemplars to test the validity, clarity, and reliability of descriptors. Content experts developed Reading and Listening texts and tasks for the 12 levels, as well as prompts which were used to collect exemplars of learner performance in Speaking and Writing. The tasks and exemplars were independently benchmarked by six experts, with inter-rater agreement confirming the validity and reliability of the descriptors. Then, along with the revised CLB and NCLC, they were field tested with more than 100 practitioners across Canada. These practitioners fulfilled two key roles: first, they confirmed the level of the exemplars based on their experience with learners at specific levels, and second, they provided feedback on the clarity, completeness, and accuracy of the representation of these levels. This step informed the final fine-tuning of the standards.

In early 2012, the validation project leads and two independent validation experts confirmed that the revised and validated CLB and NCLC conform to the basic applicable standards for reliability and validity set out in the Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing,4 and that the validation process supports the use of CLB and NCLC as national standards of English and French for living, working and studying in Canada and as valid, reliable standards for use for a variety of purposes, including high-stakes ones, and in a variety of contexts, including community, workplace and study settings.

3 A detailed validation report is available at language.ca. 4 American Educational Research Association. (1999). Standards for educational and psychological testing. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

II - Canadian Language Benchmarks

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