The Impact of the Common European Framework of Reference on Foreign Language Instruction: The Case of Sociolinguistic and Pragmatic Competence

This qualitative study investigates the role of the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) in Sociolinguistics and Pragmatics (SP) instruction in an Italian secondary school where English and Spanish are taught as foreign languages. While research points to the considerable influence of the CEFR on language policies, little is known about its pedagogical impact on language teaching. In addition, despite the positive findings on the benefits of SP teaching for learners’ development of communicative competence, SP seems to be usually neglected in language classrooms. This study sheds light on the presence of the CEFR and SP in foreign language teaching by focusing on teachers’ cognition and instructional practices. In-depth analysis of documents, interviews and classroom observation shows that the CEFR and SP play marginal roles in the participant school, which were found to be largely related to the external language exams implemented and to practitioners’ knowledge and beliefs regarding these concepts.M.A