Open letter to Council of Europe demands clarity.
After months of collaboration, educators Vincent Richard, Ana Jovic, and Dr Natalia Wright have published an open letter to the Council of Europe addressing what they describe as “the misuse” of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) in the hiring practices of many educational institutions and employers globally.
An excerpt reads: “The CEFR was designed as a structured scale to assess communicative competence, not identity. Proficiency is achieved through study, exposure, and practice—not through birthplace or upbringing. Conflating “native” with advanced CEFR levels misrepresents how language skills develop and devalues the effort required to reach high levels of proficiency. It creates confusion for both job applicants and students.”
Speaking exclusively to EL Gazette, Vincent Richard said: “This letter has already drawn a lot of attention, especially on LinkedIn. Some prominent academics, teachers and teacher trainers, for example, have already signed it. This is very satisfactory. But for it to be really impactful and encourage the Council of Europe to respond, the campaign must continue. We want as many people as possible to sign it, of course, and we will be especially pleased and grateful if the big actors which we have invited to sign the letter, take the plunge as well. One of the reasons why native speakerism and bad hiring practices carry on is the law of silence. This must cease. There are people and institutions which could take a clear stance at last and make a real change. So here lies an opportunity!”
Read the open letter to the Council Of Europe regarding the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) letter in full, here.
