Language Policy Division: A brief history - Unit-credit scheme (1971 – 1977)

The feasibility of a unit-credit scheme for language learning in adult education was explored and this provided guiding principles for subsequent projects. A notional-functional model for specifying objectives was elaborated, and the concept was exemplified initially for English in Threshold Level in the mid-1970s. This was a specification in operational terms of what a learner should be able to do when using the language independently, and of the necessary knowledge and skills. The initial Threshold Level specification for English, together with the specification developed for French (Un Niveau-Seuil), provided the basic models which have been adapted for almost thirty other languages. The model has been extremely influential in the planning of language programmes, providing a basis for new national curricula, better textbooks, popular multimedia courses and more realistic and relevant forms of assessment. An intermediate objective (Waystage) and a higher level objective (Vantage) were developed in the 1990s. More...