Alt elevels phonotheory-silviaschnitzler

“Integrating
Phonology following
the ALTE levels”

by Prof. Silvia A. Schnitzler

“Teacher development is the process of
becoming the best teacher you can be. It
means becoming a student of learning, your
own as well as that of others” (Maley 2000).

The aim of this workshop is to provide a
‘learning space’ from a person-centered
learning approach.
We will integrate phonology to the other
areas of language teaching. Activities will
be analyzed following the ALTE levels
(Common European Framework of Reference
for Languages)
“Integrating Phonology following the ALTE levels” - Prof. Silvia A. Schnitzler www.silvias.com.ar

What is the
Common European Framework?
It provides a common basis for the elaboration of
language syllabuses, curriculum guidelines,
examinations, textbooks, etc. across Europe.
Europe
It describes in a comprehensive way what language
learners have to learn to do in order to use a language
for communication and what knowledge and skills they
have to develop so as to be able to act effectively.
The description also covers the cultural context in which
language is set. The Framework also defines levels of
proficiency which allow learners’ progress to be
measured at each stage of learning and on a life-long
basis.
ALTE & CERFCEF Ref Lang learning_teaching_assess.pdf

Association of Language
Testers in Europe (ALTE)
It is an association of providers of
European foreign language examinations.
Registered in 1992 as a European
Economic Interest Group (EEIG), it
provides a context for transnational
collaboration between some of the major
international providers in the field of
language testing.
http://www.alte.org/

Provides
standards for
24 languages:
 Basque,  Italian,
 Bulgarian,  Latvian,
 Catalan,  Lithuanian,
 Danish,  Luxembourgish,
 Dutch,  Norwegian,
 English,  Polish,
 Estonian,  Portuguese,
 Finnish,  Russian,
 French,  Slovenian,
 German,  Spanish,
 Greek,  Swedish,
 Hungarian,  Welsh.

Objectives – p 2
“In the light of these objectives, the Committee of
Ministers stressed ‘the political importance at
the present time and in the future of developing
specific fields of action, such as strategies for
diversifying and intensifying language learning
in order to promote plurilingualism in a pan-
European context’ and drew attention to the
context
value of further developing educational links
and exchanges and of exploiting the full
potential of new communication and
information technologies.” p 4


Plurilingualism vs Multilingualism

Multilingualism may be attained by
simply diversifying the
languages on offer in a
particular school or educational
system, or by encouraging pupils
to learn more than one foreign
language, or reducing the
dominant position of English in
international communication.

The plurilingual approach emphasises the fact that
as an individual person’s experience of
language in its cultural contexts expands,
from the language of the home to that of society
at large and then to the languages of other
peoples (whether learnt at school or college, or
by direct experience), he or she does not keep
these languages and cultures in strictly
separated mental compartments, but rather
builds up a communicative competence to
which all knowledge and experience of
language contributes and in which languages
interrelate and interact.
interact

What criteria must CEF meet?
• By ‘comprehensive’ is meant that the C E F
comprehensive
should attempt to specify as full a range of
language knowledge, skills and use as
possible, and that all users should be able to
describe their objectives by reference to it.
CEF should differentiate the various dimensions
in which language proficiency is described, and
provide a series of reference points (levels or
steps) by which progress in learning can be
calibrated. It should be borne in mind that the
development of communicative proficiency
involves other dimensions than the strictly
linguistic (e.g. sociocultural awareness,
imaginative experience, affective relations,
learning to learn, etc)

What criteria must CEF meet?
• By ‘transparent’ is meant that
transparent
information must be clearly formulated
and explicit, available and readily
comprehensible to users.
• By ‘coherent’ is meant that the
coherent
description is free from internal
contradictions. With regard to
educational systems, coherence requires
that there is a harmonious relation
among their components.

The ALTE levels
ALTE level CEFR level ESOL exam IELTS exam TOEIC TOEFL
Level 5 C2 CPE 7.5+ 910+ 276+
Level 4 C1 CAE 6.5 - 7 701 - 910 236 - 275
Level 3 B2 FCE 5-6 541 - 700 176 - 235
Level 2 B1 PET 3.5 - 4.5 381 - 540 126 - 175
Level 1 A2 KET 3 246 - 380 96 - 125
Breakthrough A1 - 1-2 - -


Language activities p14
• Reception

• Production

• Interaction
/Mediation
(translation)


Ludic uses of language p 55
Social & language games, puzzles,
media games, verbal joking (punning)
Aesthetic uses of language p 56
 singing (nursery rhymes, folk songs, pop songs, etc.)
 retelling and rewriting stories, etc.
 listening to, reading, writing and speaking imaginative
texts (stories, rhymes, etc.)
 including audio-visual texts, cartoons, picture stories, etc.
 performing scripted or unscripted plays, etc.
 the production, reception and performance of literary texts,
e.g.: reading and writing
 texts (short stories, novels, poetry, etc.) and performing
and watching/listening to
 recitals, drama, opera, etc.

General phonetic awareness and skills
Sts ability to pronounce new languages
facilitated by:
• an ability to distinguish and produce unfamiliar
sounds and prosodic patterns;
• an ability to perceive and catenate unfamiliar
sound sequences;
• an ability, as a listener, to resolve (i.e. divide
into distinct and significant parts) a continuous
stream of sound into a meaningful structured
string of phonological elements;
• an understanding/mastery of the processes of
sound perception and production applicable to
new language learning. (p 107)

Phonological competence
involves a knowledge of, and skill in the perception and production of:

• the sound-units (phonemes) of the language and
phonemes
their realisation in particular contexts (allophones);
allophones
• the phonetic features which distinguish phonemes
(distinctive features: voicing, rounding, nasality,
plosion);
• the phonetic composition of words (syllable
structure, sequence of phonemes, word stress, word
tones);
• sentence phonetics (prosody): sentence stress and
prosody
rhythm; intonation;
• phonetic reduction: vowel reduction; strong and
weak forms; assimilation; elision. (p 116)


PHONOLOGICAL CONTROL

C2 As C1

C1 Can vary intonation and place sentence stress correctly in order to
express finer shades of meaning.
B2 Has acquired a clear, natural, pronunciation and intonation.

B1 Pronunciation is clearly intelligible even if a foreign accent is sometimes
evident and occasional mispronunciations occur.
A2 Pronunciation is generally clear enough to be understood despite a
noticeable foreign accent, but conversational partners will need to ask
for repetition from time to time.
A1 Pronunciation of a very limited repertoire of learnt words and phrases
can be understood with some effort by native speakers used to dealing
with speakers of his/her language group.


The ALTE Framework
The ALTE ‘Can Do’ statements constitute a
central part of a long-term research
programme set by ALTE, the aim of which is to
establish a framework of ‘key levels’ of
language performance, within which exams
can be objectively described.
Much work has already been done to place the
exam systems of ALTE members within this
framework, based on an analysis of exam
content and task types, and candidate profiles.
types profiles
A comprehensive introduction to these exam
systems is available in the ALTE Handbook of
European Language Examinations and
Examination Systems.


The ALTE ‘Can Dos’
A checklist of what the L2 users can do
 define the stage they’re at.
• User-oriented
• Basis for developing an activity-based curricula
and teaching materials.
• Means of carrying out an activity-based
linguistic audit.
• Means of comparing the objectives of courses
and materials in different languages in the
same context.
• Multilingual - L2 relating to the real-world
language skills.

LEVELS Listening/Speaking Reading Writing
CAN advise on or talk
CAN understand
about complex or CAN write letters on any
documents,
sensitive issues, subject and full notes of
C2 correspondence and
understanding colloquial meetings or seminars
Level 5 reports, including the
references and dealing with good expression
finer points of complex
confidently with hostile and accuracy.
texts.
questions.
CAN contribute CAN read quickly CAN prepare/draft
effectively to meetings enough to cope with an professional
and seminars within own academic course, to correspondence, take
C1 area of work or keep up read the media for reasonably accurate
Level 4 a casual conversation information or to notes in meetings or
with a good degree of understand non- write an essay which
fluency, coping with standard shows an ability to
abstract expressions. correspondence. communicate.
CAN follow or give a talk CAN scan texts for
CAN make notes while
on a familiar topic or relevant information,
B2 someone is talking or
keep up a conversation and understand
Level 3 write a letter including
on a fairly wide range of detailed instructions or
non-standard requests.
topics. advice.
CAN express opinions
on abstract/cultural CAN understand
matters in a limited way routine information and
CAN write letters or
B1 or offer advice within a articles, and the general
make notes on familiar
Level 2 known area, and meaning of non-routine
or predictable matters.
understand instructions information within a
or public familiar area.
announcements.
CAN understand
straightforward
CAN complete forms
information within a
CAN express simple and write short simple
A2 known area, such as on
opinions or requirements letters or postcards
Level 1 products and signs and
in a familiar context. related to personal
simple textbooks or
information.
reports on familiar
matters.
CAN understand basic
A1 CAN complete basic
instructions or take part CAN understand basic
ALTE forms, and write notes
in a basic factual notices, instructions or
breakthrough including times, dates
conversation on a information.
level and places.
predictable topic.

Organisation of the ‘Can Do’
statements
The ‘Can Do’ scales consist currently of about 400
statements, organised into three general areas:
Social and Tourist, Work, and Study.
Each includes a number of more particular areas,
e.g. the Social and Tourist area has sections on
Shopping, Eating out, Accommodation, etc.
Each of these includes up to three scales, for the
skills of Listening/Speaking (combine the
scales relating to interaction), Reading and
Writing.

Contact @
silviasteach@yahoo.com

Facebook: Silvia Schnitzler Mondino
Twitter: silstorm
www.silvias.com.ar

Thank
you !!!

Reference:
Baker, Ann (1992; 2006) Ship or Sheep?, CUP
Hancock, M. (1995; 2008) Pronunciation
Games – CUP
Hewings, M. (1993) Pronunciation Tasks -CUP
Hewings, Martin (2007) English Pronunciation
in Use – advanced CUP
Powel, Mark (1996) Presenting in English, LTP
Underhill, Adrian (2005) Sound Foundations
new ed., Macmillan Books for Teachers.

Alt elevels phonotheory-silviaschnitzler

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