The CEFR Common Reference levels are fully defined in a structured set of illustrative ‘can-do’ descriptors for many different categories.
The original descriptors for both the CEFR and European Language Portfolio were based on those developed in a Swiss National Research Project while also drawing on earlier Council of Europe’s “threshold levels” specifications. The descriptors have been updated and extended in a large-scale international project resulting in the publication of the: CEFR Companion volume in 2020.
Descriptors