- Are you an L2 teacher in adult education, a vocational teacher, a researcher, an educational provider and are you interested in the linguistic integration of adult migrants, investigating language requirements of workplaces and needs of the parties involved, curricula implementation, exploiting the L2 resources of the working environment, work-related language provision and/or support, promoting the issue with labour market actors?
- Are you a teacher trainer looking to develop knowledge and skills regarding practical ways to support work-related L2 learning?
- Are you a teacher, a volunteer, a co-worker, an employer, a civil servant responsible for integration programmes interested in non-formal and informal learning arrangements on the jobs (types of support, necessary skills and structures)?
- Are you a labour market actor (employer, HR manager, etc.) who needs to learn more about L2 issues in the context of work, enablers of and barriers to work-related L2 learning, workforce or workplace development?
- Are you a decision maker (social partner, educational decision makers, policy maker …) looking for inspiring examples to develop a vision, strategic initiatives, including policy and specific local initiatives in the field?
- Would you like to share and develop research and practice, collaborate on projects, shape policy, and enable more effective local responses, create innovation?
If so, you’ll be pleased to know that the European Centre for Modern Languages (ECML) of the Council of Europe has just launched its resource website “Language for work – Tools for professional development” (https://languageforwork.ecml.at), an output of the ECML programme “Languages at the heart of learning” (2016-2019), in both English and French.
Language for Work adopts a coherent approach to work-related second language development with special attention to the integration of migrants, refugees and ethnic minorities. The website provides professionals working in this field with a dynamic platform for sharing expertise and developing practice as well as a comprehensive set of resources including research and policy material, descriptions of competences for those supporting work-related language learning, quick guides, and examples of practice. These resources will help overcome the challenges of integrating migrants and refugees in the workplace, challenges exacerbated by the current pandemic.
