The Council of Europe is pleased to announce the publication of the definitive English version of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, teaching, assessment - Companion Volume which updates the CEFR 2001.

The CEFR Companion volume can be downloaded as a PDF or ordered in paper format from https://book.coe.int/en/. Translations to ten languages are underway, most of which will become available this year.

The CEFR Companion Volume broadens the scope of language education, reflecting academic and societal developments since the CEFR publication in 2001. It presents the key aspects of the CEFR for teaching and learning in a user-friendly form and contains the complete set of extended CEFR descriptors, replacing the 2001 set. These now include descriptors for mediation, online interaction, plurilingual/pluricultural competence, and sign language competences. The illustrative descriptors have been adapted with modality-inclusive formulations for sign languages and all descriptors are now gender-neutral.

This publication marks a crucial step in the Council of Europe’s engagement with language education, which seeks to protect linguistic and cultural diversity, promote plurilingual and intercultural education, reinforce the right to quality education for all, and enhance intercultural dialogue, social inclusion and democracy.