This book presents the background to the current shift in language education towards action-oriented/action-based teaching, and provides a theorization of the Action-oriented Approach (Ao A). It discusses the concepts and theories that paved the way for the Ao A and explores their relevance for the way language education is conceived and implemented in the classroom. In the process, it revisits the concept of competence and discusses the dynamic notions of mediation and plurilingualism. The authors explain the way in which the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) and its recent update, the CEFR Companion Volume, broaden the scope of language education, in particular in relation to the actional turn. The book provides scholars and practitioners with a research-informed description of the Ao A, explains its implications for curriculum planning, teaching and assessment, and elaborates on its pedagogical implications.
İçerik tablosu
Chapter 1. The Emergence of a New Paradigm
Chapter 2. The Notion of Competence: An Overview
Chapter 3. Towards an Action-Oriented Approach: Theoretical Underpinnings
Chapter 4. Preparing the Ao A: Developments in Language Teaching Methodology
Chapter 5. The Common European Framework of Reference and its Companion Volume: A Paradigm Shift
Chapter 6. Towards a Dynamic Vision of Language Education: Plurality and Creativity
Chapter 7. The Action-Oriented Approach
Chapter 8. Conclusion
Yazar hakkında
Brian North is a researcher and consultant to the Council of Europe. After developing the CEFR levels and descriptors, he co-authored the CEFR itself, the prototype European Language Portfolio, and the manual Relating Language Examinations to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (Council of Europe, 2009), and coordinated the CEFR Companion Volume. Other project involvement includes Eaquals’ core inventories (English and French), and more recently, investigation of CEFR use in Canada and Switzerland, alignment of the Canadian Language Benchmarks to the CEFR, and the ECML’s CEFR Quali Matrix. Recent (co-)publications include The CEFR in Practice (Cambridge University Press, 2014), Language Course Planning (Oxford University Press, 2018) and The Action-oriented Approach (Multilingual Matters, 2019).