Cooperation with the European Commission
Innovative methodologies and assessment in language learning

Twenty-one teachers of English, French, Italian, German, Spanish, Russian (some of them, also, teacher trainers, curriculum authors, professional development advisor) in primary and secondary schools from throughout the country participated in the two-day workshop Using ICT in support of language teaching and learning, organized by the Bureau for Education Services and European Centre for Modern Languages.

The training was facilitated by Ursula Stickler, Jackie Robbins and Sarah Heiser, members of ICT REV team. In preparation for the workshop the participants filled in an online questionnaire and completed some tasks on a Moodle workspace.

The facilitators introduced participants to various online tools, platforms and materials they can use in their everyday work in classroom, such as Padlet, Moodle, Clasroomscreen, Mentimeter, Clickchamp, Audacity, Makebelief, Genially, Pixabey. The participants had plenty of opportunities to discuss and share their experiences of working with these tools and apps.

The participants worked together on creating new teaching activities which they recorded and uploaded on the Padlet as “Tools I had used”.

At the end of the workshop both the trainers and the participants presented their best materials they had recorded before the workshop while contemplating possibility of introducing newly acquired tools.

The training showed that most of the participants are already active users of various tools and apps for use of ICT in teaching and learning modern languages. So the overall tone of the training was motivating and fertile as a result of both inspiring and enthusiastic support of the trainers and dedicated i motivated work of the participants.

Montenegrin version:

21 nastavnice engleskog, italijanskog, njemačkog, španskog, rusko (a neke od njih, istovremeno, treneri, autorke programa, savjetnica za profesionalni razvoj) u osnovnim I srednjim školama širom zemlje učestvovale su u dvodnevnoj obuci za Upotrebu IKT u nastavi i učenju stranih jezika, koju su organizovali Zavod za školstvo i Evropski centar za moderne jezike.

Obuku su vodile Ursula Stickler, Jackie Robbins i Sarah Heiser, članice ICT REV tima. Kao pripremu za ovu obuku učesnice su ispunile online upitnik i odradile zadatke na Moodle platformi.

Voditeljke obuke su upoznale učesnice sa različtim online alatima, platformama i materijalima koje mogu koristiti u svakodnevnom radu u učionici, npr. Padlet, Moodle, Clasroomscreen, Mentimeter, Clickchamp, Audacity, Makebelief, Genially, Pixabey. Učesnice su imale priliku da diskutuju i podijele svoja iskustva u radu sa ovim alatima i aplikacijama. 

Učesnice su zajedno radile na izradi novih nastavnih aktivnosti koje su snimile i postavile na Padlet kao “Alati koje sam koristila”.

Obuka je pokazala da većina učesnica već aktivno koristi razne alate i aplikacije za korišćenje IKT u nastavi/učenju stranih jezika. Tako je opšta atmosfera obuke bila motivišuća i plodna kao rezultat, s jedne strane, inspirativne podrške i entuzijazma voditeljki obuke, a s druge, posvećenog i motivisanog rada učesnica.

Jasmina Djordjevic, local coordinator

The Directorate-General for Education (DGE) of the Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation (MECI) organized a workshop entitled Using Information and Communication Technology in support of language teaching and learning (ICT-REV) on the 10th and 11th of October 2024 at Padre António Vieira Secondary School in Lisbon.

This was an international training activity, resulting from a partnership between the Council of Europe's European Centre for Modern Languages (ECML) and the European Commission, aimed at developing a joint action called Innovative Methodologies and Assessment in Language Learning.

In this initiative, which is of great importance for the national context of primary and secondary education, participants, professionals involved in language teaching, had the opportunity to deepen their scientific and technological literacy in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT).

The teachers replicate their knowledge in the short term, contributing to the promotion of innovative pedagogical practices, which will provide more dynamic and varied first language/second language/foreign language classes, aligned with the needs and competencies of students in an increasingly demanding digital context.

Portugal, represented by the DGE/MECI, is, for the sixth year, one of the European countries conducting training workshops promoted by the CELV.

Portuguese version:

A Direção-Geral da Educação (DGE), do Ministério da Educação, Ciência e Inovação (MECI), promoveu, nos dias 10 e 11 de outubro de 2024, na Escola Secundária Padre António Vieira, em Lisboa, a realização de um workshop intitulado Using Information and communication Technology in support of language teaching and learning (ICT-REV).

Tratou-se de uma atividade de formação internacional, resultante de uma parceria entre o Centro Europeu de Línguas Vivas (CELV), do Conselho da Europa, e a Comissão Europeia, com o objetivo de desenvolver uma ação conjunta denominada Innovative Methodologies and Assessment in Language Learning.

Nesta iniciativa, de grande importância para o contexto nacional dos ensinos básico e secundário, os participantes, profissionais ligados ao ensino das línguas, tiveram oportunidade de aprofundar a sua literacia científica e tecnológica em Tecnologias de Informação e Comunicação (TIC).

Os docentes replicarão, a curto prazo, o seu conhecimento, contribuindo para a promoção de práticas pedagógicas inovadoras, que propiciarão aulas de língua materna/não materna/estrangeira mais dinâmicas e variadas, alinhadas com as necessidades e competências dos alunos, num contexto digital cada vez mais exigente.

Portugal, representado pela DGE/MECI, é, pelo sexto ano, um dos países europeus que realizam oficinas de formação promovidas pelo CELV.

Ana Filipa Morais, local coordinator

Local organiser: Maria Iacovidou, Ministry of Education, Sport and Youth

ECML experts: José Noijons, the Netherlands; Jana Beresova, Slovak Republic

Participants: 27 (teachers and teacher trainers, language testers and examiners, item writers, curriculum developers, language inspectors, policymakers)

“The Ministry of Education, Sports, and Youth, in collaboration with the European Centre for Modern Languages of the Council of Europe (ECML), successfully organised a training workshop on alternative, continuous methods of assessment in line with the CEFR and its Companion Volume and on exploring ways to test mediation and pluricultural/plurilingual skills in the classroom.

The workshop, which included hands-on sessions, took place from 2 to 4 October 2024 at the OELMEK (Organization of Greek Cypriot Secondary Education Officers) building in Nicosia. Participants included language teachers, inspectors, and specialists in the field of second or foreign language teaching and learning.

The training aimed to promote alternative continuous assessment practices in line with the standards of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). Specifically, the workshop emphasized the use of CEFR descriptors, which ensure quality and validity in language education and provide a common framework for recognizing language proficiency levels across Europe and internationally.

Additionally, strategies were presented for assessing linguistic, communicative, plurilingual, and pluricultural skills, which involve reception, production, interaction, and mediation. The participants developed exercises, scales, and assessment methods for the aforementioned skills in working groups, presenting to the plenary how these are aligned with the CEFR’s assessment recommendations.

This workshop provided foreign language teachers with a significant opportunity for professional development and for promoting excellence in language education. Over the course of three days, participants enriched their knowledge, exchanged views and reflections, and shared experiences and ideas with the experts and their teams. At the end of the workshop, they expressed their satisfaction and the desire for similar future initiatives aimed at strengthening authentic learning and assessment.”

Maria Iacovidou, local coordinator, 21 October 2024

ECML project website: RELANG, ECML-EC cooperation agreement 2024 "Innovative methodologies and assessment in language learning"