What (who) is news:comp benchmarks - definition

The Canadian Language Benchmarks (CLB), or Niveaux de compétence linguistique canadien (NCLC) in French, comprise a 12-point scale of task-based language proficiency descriptors used to guide the teaching and assessment of ESL learners in Canada. Like the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages and the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines, the Canadian Language Benchmarks describe ESL learners' successive levels of communicative achievement.

The CLB's 12 benchmarks are divided into 3 parts: Stage I: Basic Proficiency; Stage II: Intermediate Proficiency; and Stage III: Advanced Proficiency. The CLB cover four skills: listening, speaking, reading, writing. There is also a French version of the CLB. The theory behind the CLB can be found in the document, the THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK FOR THE CANADIAN LANGUAGE BENCHMARKS AND NIVEAUX DE COMPÉTENCE LINGUISTIQUE CANADIENS (at http://bookshelf.language.ca) and includes pragmatic knowledge, grammatical knowledge, textual knowledge, functional knowledge, and sociolinguistic knowledge.

Each benchmark is then described in terms of "Can do" statements or "Performance Descriptors". For example, the following are two task descriptors for Benchmark 5 in writing (from the 2012 version of the CLB):

Descriptor: Write short business or service correspondence for routine personal needs. [Writing is about 1 paragraph.] Example: Write a paragraph to report a factual event or incident, such as an accident, a workplace incident or a burglary.

Descriptor: Write a paragraph to relate a familiar sequence of events, description of a person, object or routine.

Write a paragraph for a class newsletter to inform readers about a new or useful service in the community (such as a new language class, community centre, childcare centre or food bank).

Because such descriptor systems focus on the successful completion of communicative tasks, rather than on a strict emphasis on correct linguistic forms, they have quickly gained in popularity among proponents of task-based language learning (TBLL).