English Profile is an interdisciplinary research programme designed to enhance the learning, teaching and assessment of English worldwide. The aim of the programme is to provide a clear benchmark for progress in English by clearly describing the language that learners need at each level of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). By making the CEFR more accessible, English Profile will provide support for the development of curricula and teaching materials, and in assessing students' language proficiency.
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Development
English Profile is a collaborative programme which involves a number of different partner organisations. The founding partners in English Profile are the University of Cambridge (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge English Language Assessment, the Department of Theoretical and Applied Linguistics), the University of Bedfordshire (CRELLA - the Centre for Research in English Language Learning and Assessment), the British Council and English UK. In addition to this, English Profile has a growing number of Network Partners including universities, schools, language training centres and government departments, as well as individual researchers and language specialists. The English Profile Programme is endorsed by the Council of Europe and financially supported by the European Union Lifelong Learning Programme 2007–2013. Cambridge University Press and Cambridge English Language Assessment are the main funding partners and together coordinate all aspects of the programme.
English Profile combines three elements to develop a reliable approach to describing the English Language:
• World-leading research – from key specialists at the University of Cambridge (including Cambridge English Language Assessment and Cambridge University Press), the University of Bedfordshire (CRELLA), the University of Nottingham, as well as other researchers in applied linguistics around the world.
• Data from actual use – including the multi-billion word Cambridge English Corpus (CEC) and a range of other corpora from various universities and institutions around the world.
• Analysis of existing courses – such as popular English Language Teaching (ELT) course books, curricula, exam specifications/wordlists, etc.
Benefits of using English Profile
English Profile provides information for:
• Curriculum planners
• Teachers
• Materials writers
• Test developers
• Researchers
The English Profile Programme will provide these English Language Teaching (ELT) professionals with help through:
• The English Vocabulary Profile – a database of information on vocabulary for each level of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR).
• The English Grammar Profile – a database of information on grammatical structures for each CEFR level
• The English Profile community website
• The English Profile Journal
• Word of the Week email updates
• A series of research publications