The ALTE Framework

In developing a framework of levels for the comparison of language tests, ALTE members have drawn heavily on the work of the Council of Europe and, in recent years, ALTE as an association has been able to make its own contributions to a number of Council of Europe projects including the development of Vantage Level and work on the Common European Framework of Reference for Language Learning and Teaching.

Specifications of Objectives: Waystage and Threshold

The ALTE Framework comprises six main levels. A2 and B1 have been defined respectively as Waystage User and Threshold User, terms taken from the work of the Council of Europe. In 1971 the Council recognised the importance of dividing the task of learning a language into smaller units, each of which could be credited separately, and also the necessity of basing curricula on learners needs rather than on language structures, as had previously been common practice. One of the major outcomes of this work is the Threshold level specification (van Ek, 1975) which proposed a model for the description of language ability based on the principle that language teaching should provide learners with the means of meeting their personal communicative needs. A lower level specification was also produced, under the name Waystage level. In 1991 revised and updated versions of both documents appeared as Threshold level 1990 and Waystage level 1990 (by J. A. van Ek and J. L. M. Trim, published by Council of Europe Press). These documents are now also available from Cambridge University Press (ISBNs 0-521-56707-8 and 0-521-56706-6).

Many of the members of ALTE also offer examinations at B2 (ALTE Level 3) and there was therefore considerable interest among ALTE members when the Council of Europe expressed an interest in producing a B2 level description beyond Threshold. In 1995, ALTE agreed to co-sponsor the development of this level description, known as Vantage Level.

The development work, carried out by Trim and van Ek in 1996, adhered to the existing mould set for their earlier descriptions in order to maintain acoherent progression for the audience, and in general they set out to provide an objectives far above Threshold as Waystage is below it.

Vantage Level provides language users with an objective which takes them beyond the stage where they have acquired the minimal means needed to transact the business of everyday life and to make social contact with those they meet in another country. In linguistic terms, they will have at their disposal an expanded range of grammar and vocabulary as well as greater control of discourse and conversational strategies and greater socio-cultural awareness. This allows them to be more flexible in dealing with the unexpected and with the normal complexities of daily living, including use of their foreign language in the work place or for study purposes.

The ALTE Framework of Language Examinations is shown in table form below and includes the examinations provided by ALTE members at each of the six levels. All six ALTE levels are characterised in the summaries following the table and for Levels A2 and B1 reference is made to Waystage and Threshold. In general, the brief descriptions are divided into what the candidates can do receptively and what they can do in terms of production and interaction.