CEFR Plurilingual and Pluricultural Competence 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: According to the CEFR, plurilingual competence is best described as which of the following?
- The ability to speak two languages with native-level fluency
- An integrated repertoire of linguistic and cultural resources across languages (Correct answer)
- The sequential mastery of multiple foreign languages
- Competence limited to reading and writing in more than one language
Correct answer: An integrated repertoire of linguistic and cultural resources across languages
The CEFR defines plurilingual competence as a single, integrated repertoire rather than separate, parallel proficiencies in each language.
Question 2: A learner strategically uses knowledge of Spanish to decode an unfamiliar Portuguese text. This is an example of which plurilingual strategy?
- Code-switching
- Transfer and cross-linguistic mediation (Correct answer)
- Interlanguage fossilization
- Contrastive analysis avoidance
Correct answer: Transfer and cross-linguistic mediation
Using knowledge of a related language to infer meaning in another is a cross-linguistic transfer strategy central to plurilingual competence.
Question 3: Which CEFR document expanded the treatment of plurilingual and pluricultural competence most significantly after the original 2001 publication?
- The Threshold Level 1990
- The CEFR Companion Volume 2020 (Correct answer)
- The Common Core State Standards 2010
- The European Language Portfolio 1997
Correct answer: The CEFR Companion Volume 2020
The 2020 CEFR Companion Volume introduced new descriptors for mediation, plurilingual, and pluricultural competences not fully elaborated in the original framework.
Question 4: Pluricultural competence in the CEFR refers primarily to:
- The ability to translate culturally specific idioms accurately
- An awareness and ability to negotiate meaning across cultural frames of reference (Correct answer)
- Familiarity with the high culture of target-language countries
- Proficiency in culturally specific grammar structures
Correct answer: An awareness and ability to negotiate meaning across cultural frames of reference
Pluricultural competence involves navigating multiple cultural frames of reference and mediating between them, not simply knowing facts about cultures.
Question 5: In the CEFR framework, which descriptor scale was introduced specifically to capture plurilingual and pluricultural competences in the Companion Volume?
- Interaction strategies
- Building on plurilingual repertoire (Correct answer)
- Spoken fluency
- Vocabulary range
Correct answer: Building on plurilingual repertoire
The Companion Volume introduced 'Building on plurilingual repertoire' as a new descriptor scale addressing cross-linguistic strategies.
Question 6: A bilingual student switches between English and Vietnamese when explaining a concept to a peer who shares both languages. The CEFR would classify this behavior as:
- A sign of incomplete acquisition in both languages
- Translanguaging, a legitimate plurilingual practice (Correct answer)
- Interference that should be corrected immediately
- An example of code erosion
Correct answer: Translanguaging, a legitimate plurilingual practice
The CEFR Companion Volume recognizes translanguaging as a natural and legitimate plurilingual practice rather than a deficit.
Question 7: Which metaphor does the CEFR use to challenge the 'two monolinguals in one person' view of bilingualism?
- A filing cabinet with separate drawers
- An integrated, composite competence (Correct answer)
- A parallel processing computer
- A balanced scale
Correct answer: An integrated, composite competence
The CEFR explicitly rejects the view of bilinguals as two monolinguals and instead describes their competence as integrated and composite.
CEFR Plurilingual and Pluricultural Competence 2
According to the CEFR, plurilingual competence is best described as which of the following?