So far, in the present study, we have been concerned with what learners might have to be able to do in the foreign language in order to satisfy their needs and interests. What we have not dealt with is how they should be able to do all the things specified. We have – it is true – listed many exponents (language forms) and strategies that, together, might enable the learners to function economically and effectively in the situations they are most likely to find themselves in. However, the exponents have been offered merely by way of recommendation and the strategies have mostly been described in an open-ended manner.

All this is tantamount to saying that the level we have described is not uniform and fixed but that it allows of many different concretisations in accordance with the diversity of sub-groups and individual members of the target population. Consequently, it is not in itself either a testing syllabus or a course design. However, its high degree of explicitness allows it to be used as a basis for these. A test syllabus designer will then have to determine the exact nature of the concretisations that correspond to the purposes of the test envisaged and thus establish the criteria the learners will have to satisfy in order to pass the test.

Waystage 1990, then, is simply a learning objective, an aim to be pursued with and by the learners and which is specified in such a way that it can give meaningful direction to the planning of learning activities.

Waystage 1990 is the latest, thoroughly revised, extended, corrected and reset version of Waystage: an intermediary objective below Threshold Level in a European unit/credit system of modern language learning by adults by J. A. van Ek and L. G. Alexander, in association with M. A. Fitzpatrick. This work was first published by the Council of Europe in 1977 and republished in 1980 by Pergamon Press for and on behalf of the Council of Europe under the title Waystage English.

Waystage was originally conceived in the context of the preparation for the broadcast-led Anglo-German multimedia co-production Follow Me. Overall, Follow Me was originally planned as a two-year English language course for use by the DVV (Deutscher Volkshochschulverband) in its adult education classes. The final objective was set as The Threshold Level, first produced for the Council of Europe by Dr J. A. van Ek, which sets down in specific detail, exemplified for English, what a language user needs to do by means of language in order to ‘communicate socially with people from other countries, exchanging information and opinion on everyday matters in a relatively straightforward way, and to conduct the necessary business of everyday living when abroad with a reasonable degree of independence’ (preface to Threshold, CUP 1998). An experiment conducted in Vienna Volkshochschulen showed that the full attainment of this objective under the normal conditions of adult education would take a full two years.

The Waystage specification is not a closed syllabus, nor is the communicative ability described in it confined to a strictly limited number of specific situations. On the contrary: it is aimed at providing the learners with an overall basic skill in using the foreign language which, although it is primarily directed towards the requirements of selected situations, should give the learners a far wider range of action as well as a solid basis for further language learning. Thus, in spite of the limitations of its content, which are inherent in the concept of an ‘early learning objective’, Waystage does provide the learners with an ability to manipulate the language for their own purposes. This means, for instance, that at Waystage learners can fulfil a fairly wide range of essential language functions, although with very simple means, and that they can also express a large number of generally used concepts as well as understand others expressing them. Moreover, they will have at their disposal a fair number of communication strategies that will enable them to make the most of their as yet limited resources. Also, they will have been specifically prepared for functioning in those situations in which, on the whole, they are most likely to need the ability to use the foreign language, while having the potential to make at least a good attempt at coping with other situations as well.

Sociocultural competence is that aspect of communicative ability which concerns those specific features of a society and its culture which are manifest in the communicative behaviour of the members of this society. The degree of familiarity with them which is required for successful communication depends on the circumstances in which the communication takes place. It will probably be higher in contacts with native speakers of the foreign language (especially when the learner is a temporary resident in the foreign country) than when the foreign language is used as lingua franca. Waystage is designed to suit all types of contacts. This means, on the one hand, that in attempting to indicate what may be expected of a learner at this level we have to focus on the more predictable type of contact, that with native speakers of the foreign language and particularly with such native speakers in their own country. On the other hand it means that an alertness has to be stimulated in the learners to unexpected social differences between their communication partners and themselves. This applies particularly when English is in use as a medium of international communication between non-native speakers from different cultures. Learners cannot take it for granted that their interlocutor will share either their own values, attitudes, beliefs and social conventions or those of Anglo Saxon peoples.

Introduction

Learners who can fulfil the language functions and deal with the general notions listed in Chapters 3 and 4 have a basic potential for using the foreign language for a variety of purposes in a variety of situations. In which situations and for which purposes they can actually do this depends to a large extent on their ability to handle the more specific vocabulary related to particular topics. In the corresponding chapter in Threshold 1990 (Chapter 7) we listed those themes and specific notions that the learners would be most likely to need to be able to cope with. Since the target group for Waystage is substantially the same as that for Threshold there is no reason to assume that their needs would be different in this respect. The only difference, in principle, is that at Waystage learners will have invested considerably less learning time than at Threshold. This will inevitably mean that their sphere of action in the foreign language is more restricted than at Threshold. Whereas at Threshold learners may be expected to be able to deal with a variety of matters not only in relation to their own individual situation but also in a more generalised, impersonal and occasionally even abstract way, Waystage will be largely confined to the personal and the concrete. However, this difference will hardly enable us to effect a considerable reduction in the number of themes and sub-themes selected for Threshold.

Target population and relation to Threshold 1990

Waystage 1990 is an early learning objective designed for those who are interested in acquiring a general basic ability in English but who are unable or unwilling to commit themselves from the outset to an expenditure of time and energy that would take them to the level of competence described in a separate publication called Threshold 1990.

Any learning objective is necessarily based on considerations of desirability and feasibility, the latter aspect providing the limits of the extent to which the former can be realised. What is, in our view, desirable for learners to be able to do in and with the foreign language, so as to be in a position to achieve the full mobility that a command of English may provide, is described by us in Threshold 1990. It has to be recognised, however, that for many beginning learners – and particularly for those with (only) little educational experience – the feasibility of mastering the learning load represented by that objective may seem to be very doubtful indeed. At the same time it cannot be denied that the achievement of a lower level of ability than threshold level might be of considerable value to them. Rather than deterring these potential learners by asking them to set their sights higher than they would consider to be reasonable, we would propose to them a reduced learning load of a weight which past experience has indicated to be generally acceptable and also manageable within a comparatively short time.

Introduction

This summary presents a classified inventory of the grammatical categories, elements and structures which figure as exponents of the functional and notional categories set out in Chapters 3–5.

The order of presentation is ascending. That is to say that we first present grammatical information at the word level, classified according to the traditional part of speech with which we expect most users to be familiar. Information is provided concerning the forms of words. Sub-classes are established in terms of the types and functions of words in the major classes set up. Phrases and clauses are then classified according to their formal structure and functional roles in the sentence. Finally, sentences are classified according to their structure and functions. At all points cross reference is made to the relevant sections of Chapters 3, 4 and 5. The same form of reference is used as that employed in the word index, i.e. first the chapter, then the section and sub-sections into which the chapter is divided. So for example, 4.3.2 refers to Chapter 4, section 3.2. Examples are given, using only vocabulary items which figure in the word index.

The summary is not conceived as a teaching or reference grammar of English, but as a guide to the resources to which a learner has access as a result of learning English to Waystage.

Many critics of the original Waystage appear to have formed the impression that the functional and notional organisation adopted implied a neglect of grammar.

Waystage is an objective derived from the estimated needs of the learners as communicators. A course – that is the sum total of the learning experiences offered to the learners – designed for Waystage will have to enable the learners to satisfy these needs. Yet, it will inevitably do other things as well. Depending on its design and presentation it may give the learners pleasure or hardship, it may promote, maintain, or reduce their motivation for learning, it may bolster or diminish their self-confidence, it may stimulate their interest and sensitivity to the world around them or it may cause them to withdraw into themselves. In short, it may benefit the learners far beyond the basic objectives of the course or it may limit itself to this and, possibly, it may even harm the learners as persons. All these effects – positive or negative – are independent of the learning load that is represented by the content of an objective; they are produced by the impact upon particular learners of the forms and the manners of the presentation and the practice of this content. At the same time they may affect the learners' impression of the learning load in making this load appear to be more demanding or less so.

The experience, then, of learning for Waystage will affect the learners in various ways beyond the acquisition of a certain learning content.