Exploring Change Matura Meets Cefr

The study offers insights into the recently changed National Polish Examination (Matura) and sets it against the background of the Common European Framework of References (CEFR) acting as a driving force of, and at the same time the basis for, those changes. Its purpose is to establish the extent to which the CEFR has influenced the construction, marking criteria as well as text and task choices in the Matura. The analysis reveals a vast magnitude of changes made to the examination, both driven by as well as resulting in political and educational shifts in the country. The study sets out to compare two versions of the examination, a decade apart, before scrutinising individual components of the latest version. It takes into account various potential users of the Matura and evaluates it through the lens of diverse parties and their roles in the project. It therefore evaluates this from different perspectives looking more closely not only at the administered components but also at the marking criteria and their adherence to the CEFR. The study is supported by nine research participants’ writing samples.

This Framework has been widely adopted in setting curriculum standards, designing courses, developing materials and in assessment and certification. This compendium of case studies is written by authors who have a considerable and varied experience of using the Framework in their professional context. The aim is to help readers develop their understanding of the Framework and its possible uses in different sectors of education.

The #1 New York Times bestselling WORLDWIDE phenomenon Winner of the Goodreads Choice Award for Fiction | A Good Morning America Book Club Pick | Independent (London) Ten Best Books of the Year "A feel-good book guaranteed to lift your spirits."—The Washington Post The dazzling reader-favorite about the choices that go into a life well lived, from the acclaimed author of How To Stop Time and The Comfort Book. Somewhere out beyond the edge of the universe there is a library that contains an infinite number of books, each one the story of another reality. One tells the story of your life as it is, along with another book for the other life you could have lived if you had made a different choice at any point in your life. While we all wonder how our lives might have been, what if you had the chance to go to the library and see for yourself? Would any of these other lives truly be better? In The Midnight Library, Matt Haig's enchanting blockbuster novel, Nora Seed finds herself faced with this decision. Faced with the possibility of changing her life for a new one, following a different career, undoing old breakups, realizing her dreams of becoming a glaciologist; she must search within herself as she travels through the Midnight Library to decide what is truly fulfilling in life, and what makes it worth living in the first place.

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 (AoA). It discusses the concepts and theories that paved the way for the AoA 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 AoA, explains its implications for curriculum planning, teaching and assessment, and elaborates on its pedagogical implications.

The initial ‘idea’ for the book emerged during the seminar Sharing of Innovative Pedagogical Practices that occurred at the University of Coimbra (Portugal) in 2018. Like all ‘good ideas’, this one originated in a conversation between colleagues from the University of Coimbra and the University of West London in the United Kingdom. The ‘idea’ of this book was to move away from sharing experiences related to teaching and learning in higher education in just one or two countries, but instead to organise a more European view about the policy, research and teaching practices that are shaping the way our students learn, academics teach and do research. We have a total of 16 chapters from academics in Portugal, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Sweden, the Netherlands, Spain, Italy, and the Czech Republic. The book is organised in four interrelated themes: (1) policy and quality; (2) professionalisation of teaching and academic development; (3) research and teaching nexus; and (4) pedagogy and practice. Enjoy reading the book!

A comparative study of the impact of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages produced by the Council of Europe in 2001, this book asks writers in European countries and countries in the Americas and Asia to explain the influence of the CEFR. For each country there is a policy-maker and an academic perspective.