The result of over twenty years of research, the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, teaching, assessment (CEFR) is exactly what its title says it is: a framework of reference. It was designed to provide a transparent, coherent and comprehensive basis for the elaboration of language syllabuses and curriculum guidelines, the design of teaching and learning materials, and the assessment of foreign language proficiency.
What is the role of language in social interaction? What does language
bring to social encounters? We argue that language can be conceived of as a tool for
interacting minds, enabling especially effective and flexible forms of social coordination,
perspective-taking and joint action. In a review of evidence from a broad range of
disciplines, we pursue elaborations of the language-as-a-tool metaphor, exploring four
ways in which language is employed in facilitation of social interaction. We argue that
language dramatically extends the possibility-space for interaction, facilitates the profiling
and navigation of joint attentional scenes, enables the sharing of situation models and
action plans, and mediates the cultural shaping of interacting minds.