Japan¡¯s English education evolves with international standards: How CEFR-J and GSE support learning

Mike Mayor
Mike Mayor
Mike Mayor and Yukio Tono
Reading time: 7 minutes

As economies around the world deal with the impact of AI on the workplace, the role of English is, if anything, gaining in importance. It has long been the?lingua franca?of international business but as AI starts to replace some of the more routine jobs at work, and AI translation is able to deal with some of the more transactional tasks, employers are looking more and more at recruiting employees with the soft or human skills that AI cannot currently replace. Skills such as communication, collaboration and leadership. English is no longer simply an entry requirement for a university education. It is the key to achieving many of life¡¯s goals.?

Given the importance of English for cross-border communication, it is vital that learners are guided by internationally-recognized standards. Standards such as the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) and the Global Scale of English (GSE). We sat down with Yukio Tono, professor at the Graduate School of Global Studies at Tokyo University of Foreign Studies and promoter of the CEFR in Japan, and Mike Mayor, Senior Director of the Global Scale of English at ÃÛÌÒapp, to discuss the relevance of these two frameworks for English language education in Japan.??

Introducing CEFR and optimizing it for the Japanese education system

Could you please tell us about your professional backgrounds and areas of expertise?

Tono:?I specialize in foreign language education and corpus linguistics. Before studying corpus linguistics, I did my research in pedagogical lexicography for ten years or so.?I use the CEFR in my research and serve as the leader of the CEFR-J project, which aims to accurately assess the language levels of Japanese learners.

Mayor:?I majored in French language and literature at university and then spent five years teaching English in France. On my return to the UK,?I studied for a master's degree in English and Applied Linguistics, which led me to my first job in publishing as a bilingual dictionary writer. I joined ÃÛÌÒapp over 20 years ago to work on Longman Dictionaries and transferred to the GSE team about 13 years ago. The GSE marked its 10-year anniversary since publication last year.

How did you become involved with CEFR?

Tono:?I first learned about the CEFR around 2004, when it was beginning to attract interest in Europe.?At the time, I was participating in my first Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (KAKEN) project and came to know the CEFR while investigating foreign language proficiency standards in various countries. By the end of the four-year project, I recognized the CEFR¡¯s influence and potential for pedagogical applications, and I began to think, "Rather than creating our own standards, we should adopt the CEFR?in?our own country."

Mayor:?When I was teaching English in the late 1980s, CEFR had not yet been created. We used a very broad classification system to describe the proficiency of learners: beginner, intermediate and advanced. When CEFR was first introduced in 2001, it provided a common language and standard for describing language proficiency. In the early days, it was commonly associated with assessments and, to some extent, this perception continues today. CEFR was however created to support learning and teaching as well as assessment but many teachers struggled to implement it in a practical way.??The need to support teachers in their day-to-day work was one of the factors which led us to develop the GSE and its resources.

Tono:?In the first phase of the?Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research project, I examined international standards for assessing English language proficiency. During this research, I came across the CEFR and devoted time to understanding and studying the framework.?

The second phase of the project focused on the ¡°process of designing the CEFR.¡± The CEFR is a collection of ¡°Can Do descriptors¡± or examples of what language learners can do at various levels.??Following the same approach, we also collected data from Japanese learners of English on what they could do and to what extent. Based on this data, we applied statistical methods to the Can Do questionnaire results from more than 5,000 participants to validate the order of the descriptors just like the original CEFR. These descriptors were released in 2012 and the framework was named the?CEFR-J.

For the third phase,?we worked on developing assessments based on descriptors and creating performance tests. In the fourth phase, we collaborated with schools in Saitama and Kyoto to carry out practical research to see how CEFR-J teaching materials and scales could be used in classrooms to measure learning outcomes. Altogether,?we spent about 20 years on these projects, researching the?CEFR-J and putting it into practice.

How CEFR-J and GSE provide learning support

What is the story behind the launch of CEFR-J?

Tono:?In Japan, people often use the CEFR to align local test results or for level placement. However, the main purpose of CEFR is not just assessment, but to serve as a ¡°metalanguage¡± for describing a?learner¡¯s language abilities. It is also a tool for understanding how large the gap may be between a learner¡¯s goals and their current situation, and what they need to do to reach those goals. The CEFR-J project was launched to promote this kind of multifaceted use.

The six levels of the original CEFR were designed based on the broad divisions found in coursebooks, such as Beginner and Intermediate. Early in the development process, there was concern within the CEFR project that subdividing the scale too much would make it overly complicated, and discourage its use. But I believed that a finer scale would provide more support for learning. That is why, in the CEFR-J, I focused on further subdivision, particularly of the A level. Specifically, I introduced a new ¡°pre-A1¡± level, below A1, and further subdivided the other levels as well, so that even lower-level learners, who are common in Japan, could make full use of the CEFR.

Mayor:?The reason CEFR did not originally have a ¡°pre-A1¡± level is that in Europe, learners tend to stay at this level for a very short period of time due to the similarity of the languages. This is not the case in many parts of the world outside of Europe. In the updated Companion Volume to CEFR, this lower level was added due to the increased use of CEFR around the world.?

How does GSE address some of the challenges of CEFR?

Mayor:?The CEFR was a game-changer for language learning, teaching and assessment around the world. It was originally designed to support mobility for study and work within Europe by enabling language proficiency in all European languages to be compared using a common standard. It focused on functional competence (what a learner ¡°can do¡± in the language) rather than theoretical knowledge (of grammar and vocabulary). The ¡°Can Do¡± approach also focused on a positive description of learner proficiency, rather than a definition that described what a learner couldn¡¯t do. This is important in boosting learner motivation and confidence.??

As it grew in popularity, however, and started being used by more countries and institutions around the world, a number of issues were raised relating to the implementation of CEFR. In developing the GSE, our goal was to address these issues and create a framework that supported day-to-day learning, teaching and assessment.

A numerical scale to track progress

One of the challenges of CEFR is that it can take a very long time to advance to the next level, especially when learners reach the B levels. It can be demotivating to be at the same level year after year. The reality, of course, is that the learner is not at the same level ¨C but they have not made enough progress to move to the next CEFR level. By having a numerical scale psychometrically aligned to the CEFR, we are able to measure progress on a more regular basis and in greater detail. Using the GSE, it is possible to know exactly where a learner is within a CEFR level. Knowing that you are moving up the B1 level is motivating for learners.

GSE and CEFR ruler

A framework of learning objectives for different types of learners

While CEFR primarily targeted adults learning general English, GSE extends the set of learning objectives to include a wider range of learners, from young children to professionals and academic users. The development of new learning objectives was carried out in collaboration with over 6000 teachers from around the world. As well as targeting different learner types, the GSE Learning Objectives also often include scaffolding. Scaffolding is an important part of the learning and teaching process and by giving learners credit for being able to perform a language function with support, we are able to build learner confidence and motivation.

Example of Can Do descriptors (GSE 30¨C35/A2: Reading)

Practical tools for use in the classroom

To make it easier for teachers to implement the GSE, we developed??¨C a free online searchable database that contains all of the functional learning objectives plus grammar and vocabulary databases. As mentioned, the CEFR is a framework for all European languages. The GSE is just for English ¨C?which is why we are able to develop databases of grammar and vocabulary to further support teachers and learners.

image from the GSE teacher toolkit

Tono:?GSE is unique in that it has a numerical scale of 10 to 90 with detailed learning objectives. If the scale is too broad, learners at a certain stage will find it difficult to see their progress, so a finer scale and clear learning goals are necessary.?

Implementation of GSE and CEFR-J and their potential in educational settings

Could you please give us specific examples of GSE implementation?

Mayor:?Over the past 10 years, we have seen GSE adopted by teachers, institutions and governments around the world.??A few years ago, we participated in a project to redevelop the national curriculum in Panama using the GSE. More recently, we have been working on a similar project in Mongolia where the Ministry of Education has ambitious targets for upskilling both learners and teachers in English proficiency.?

Governments such as these understand the direct link between English proficiency levels in a country and economic growth.

One of our most ambitious projects has been the creation of?GSE Partner Schools in Indonesia. These K-12 schools partner with us to upskill teachers in the delivery of objectives-based teaching. Teacher development, courseware and assessments are all aligned to the GSE, enabling us to demonstrate the impact of GSE on learner outcomes. In the first year, our impact study showed that learners had made an average of five points progress on the GSE, in line with international averages. Additionally, teachers reported increased confidence in teaching and greater student engagement.

At an institutional level, we have worked with a number of schools and universities in Australia, Saudi Arabia and Latin America to validate their English programs using the GSE. Accreditation organizations around the world also recognize GSE as an international standard in their quality assurance criteria.

How has the use of CEFR-J progressed??

Tono:?The introduction of CEFR to Japan was a gradual process. The CEFR-J project was launched in 2004, when the official Japanese translation of the CEFR booklet was released, but it took another 10 years or so before it began to influence the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) and local education boards. Since then, we have held a symposium every two years, and have continuously made our findings and resources publicly available.

From around 2012, the GSE and other English proficiency scales began to attract attention, and in line with that, the CEFR-J started developing practical tools. For example, there is a program that allows you to input English sentences and see the CEFR level of the vocabulary and grammar. I feel that these tools have helped learners understand the concept of the CEFR more clearly.

As a result, the 2020 revision of the national curriculum guidelines set by MEXT reflected CEFR concepts, such as setting goals based on Can Do Lists and reorganizing skill areas. I believe the use of international standards in education is steadily growing in Japan as well.

How is CEFR-J used in practice?

Tono:?Municipal boards of education and schools are now revising their Can Do Lists using the CEFR-J. About 10 years ago, MEXT encouraged the creation of the Can Do Lists in its ¡°Guidelines for Setting Learning Goals in the Form of Can Do Lists in Foreign Language Education at Middle and High Schools,¡± but the lists created at that time were inconsistent and were not actually used in classrooms. In recent years, the use of the CEFR as a common standard has become more widespread in schools, and each school is now reviewing its Can Do List and clarifying its goals.

Find out more about CEFR-J?

AI takes English education to a new level

What are your thoughts on using AI in English education?

Mayor:?As with most things, there are pros and cons to using AI in education. On the one hand, it can be used by teachers to speed up the process of creating lesson plans, adapt activities and generate quizzes. Learners can use AI as ¡°study buddies¡±, practicing speaking and role-plays in a non-threatening environment and receiving personalized feedback 24/7. AI has certainly moved us much closer to the goal of personalizing learning to every individual student.?

On the other hand, AI is notoriously bad at levelling content correctly ¨C especially at the lower levels. Additional guardrails, such as the GSE, need to be used to ensure that anything generated is appropriate for the learner. And there is an increased risk of ¡°cognitive offloading¡±. This refers to the process of asking AI to do things that we would normally have to think about. If students are writing essays using Gen AI, then they are not actually learning the skills needed to write. It is the process of writing that is more valuable than the end product.????

Tono:?I feel that AI¡¯s English proficiency already surpasses that of the average English teacher in Japan. By drawing on frameworks such as the CEFR and the GSE, AI can offer specific and practical advice on teaching materials and curricula. At the same time, as Mike mentioned, relying too heavily on AI can lead to a decline in learners¡¯ thinking ability and its results are not always accurate. So, caution is required.

Mayor:?The use of GSE in AI language products and services is a key area of focus for us at the moment. In April 2025, we launched?the Smart Lesson Generator,?which enables teachers to generate activities and personalize course content using AI. To ensure the quality of the outputs, GSE is used in the background to create AI prompts based on the teacher¡¯s input. This latest innovation makes it possible for teachers to personalize courseware quickly and easily to match the interests and needs of their learners.???

image from smart lesson generator

Tono:?The CEFR-J initiative has a similar goal. Looking ahead, we plan to make use of AI-generated teaching materials and tests, and in the future, we hope to release our AI tools under an open license to create an environment where anyone can use them freely.

What are your messages to English teachers in Japan?

Mayor:?Getting to grips with the CEFR and GSE can seem quite overwhelming at first as they contain so much information. But as with any learning, the important thing is to take small steps and not try to do or use everything at once. Start by introducing your students to the key learning objective of the day¡¯s lesson. Write it on the board for everyone to see. This will help them to focus on the important information. At the end of the lesson or week, get learners to reflect on the learning objecvtive(s) covered and how confident they feel about them. This is a key strategy for effective learning and gives you, the teacher, the opportunity to address any misunderstandings or concerns.?

Tono:?The rise of generative AI has taken English education to a new level. However, to use AI effectively,?it is essential to have teachers with strong English proficiency who can accurately evaluate its output. This means that the knowledge and skills of each teacher will become even more important in the future.?As the world grows increasingly connected, English will remain at the center of global communication. I am confident that the CEFR-J and the GSE will continue to play a significant role in English learning.

?

Read our blog posts 'Why choose assessment underpinned by the GSE' and 'Precision teaching with AI'.

Explore the GSE and its resources

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    • Run brief skill checks at the start of each unit (listening, reading, vocabulary, grammar); a handful of well-targeted items reveals where weaker learners need focus.
    • Map access and conditions. Ask about device type, bandwidth and study environment to plan contingencies for low-tech days.
    • Set one micro-goal per learner per week (for example, ¡°Use three new adjectives to describe a photo.¡±). Small, specific goals keep momentum.

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    Weaker learners thrive on intentional scaffolds that lower barriers and build independence.

    Listening

    • Pre-teach a handful of key words with visuals or quick gestures.
    • Play audio in short chunks with a single purpose each time: gist, detail, then language noticing.
    • Reveal transcripts only after the second listen to confirm understanding, not replace it.

    Reading

    • Set a clear purpose (¡°Find two reasons the writer gives for¡­¡±) before reading.
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    • Model skimming and scanning strategies with a quick think-aloud.

    Speaking

    • Share sentence frames and functional language (¡°I agree because¡­¡±, ¡°Could you clarify¡­?¡±).
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    Writing

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