The Council of Europe will organise a conference on 16-17 May 2018 in Strasbourg to launch the new Companion Volume to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: learning, teaching, assessment (CEFR). The CEFR Companion Volume builds on Council of Europe’s continuous efforts in language education that aims at increasing international understanding, promoting lifelong learning and increasing the quality and practicality of language education in schools. The development of language competences is essential for social inclusion, mutual understanding and professional development. Moreover, language education is fundamental to the effective enjoyment of the right to education and other individual human rights and the rights of minorities.

The CEFR was published in 2001 (European Year of Languages) after a comprehensive process of drafting, piloting and consultation undertaken by the Council of Europe. Available in 40 languages, it is one of the best known and most used Council of Europe policy instruments and has also been adopted by the European Commission, including in their EUROPASS project and the project to establish a European Indicator of Language Competence.

Building on the success of the CEFR, the Companion Volume makes the core messages of CEFR more accessible and user-friendly by enriching existing descriptor scales, adding scales for new areas, and providing guidance with a rationale for each scale. The CEFR Companion Volume underlines core messages of the CEFR for teaching and learning, provides descriptors that can inspire more integrated, richer and collaborative classroom tasks and encourages the promotion of cross-linguistic mediation and plurilingual/pluricultural competence.

The CEFR Companion Volume represents a new milestone in the process of developing inclusive quality education, transparent and equitable assessment and social justice.