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    Language for work: tools for professional development
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    Project overview

Language for work
Tools for professional development 

Language for work – Tools for professional development fosters professional development in the field of work‐related majority language learning for adult migrants and ethnic minorities. It creates tools and resources to support the professional development of teachers, teacher educators and other practitioners in this field. Read more

Working languages of the project: English, French
Project term: 2016-2018
Shortcut: www.ecml.at/Languageforwork2

    

Who will benefit from the project? 

Project activities will involve those directly engaged with the professional development of teachers, such as teacher educators, policy-makers, researchers, learning providers and others from the field of vocational learning and skills.

Project outputs

The project aims to create four products:

  • ‘Quick guide’ tool, in at least five European languages
  • Expandable compendium of approaches to support workplace language learning
  • Framework to support professional development, outlining practitioner roles and competences relating to different approaches to support work-related language learning
  • Resource bank (intended to include training materials, case studies, etc.), linked to the professional development framework, to support professional development in the field of work-related language learning.

These products will be made available online via the Language for work network website.

What support will the project outputs provide? 

The project’s ‘Quick guide’ tool offers an at-a-glance overview of the key principles and approaches used to deliver successful work-related linguistic integration of adult migrants, including refugees.

The project’s compendium of approaches will make a wide range of approaches easily available to policy makers, learning providers and others across Europe, expanding quality provision and prompting further professional development. 

The project’s professional development framework and linked resource bank will help teacher-educators and others engaged in the development of support for work-related majority language learning to scope and then meet the professional development needs of practitioners.

Via these products, the project will help all those engaged in support for work-related majority language learning to ensure the quality and sustainability of work-related majority language learning opportunities for adult migrants and ethnic minorities.

Example of how the project will support work-related language learning

Adult migrants in a particular workplace require work-related language development. Their employer contacts a learning provider and, together, employer and provider consult the project’s compendium of approaches to workplace language learning. 

Informed by the compendium, the employer and learning provider develop a customised support programme. They use the project’s professional development framework to specify the practitioner roles required by the programme. They use the project’s resource bank to develop training for these roles. The programme providers send feedback on all aspects (i.e. professional development elements as well as actual support approach) to the Language for work network; this informs further development of the framework and/or resource bank.


This is a project of the European Centre for Modern Languages within its "Languages at the heart of learning" programme 2016-2019.
Go to the programme webpage

 
It is a follow-up to the project Language for work carried out in the ECML’s 2012-2015 programme.
Click here to go to the publication website.

Latest articles

03.11.2021
ECML National Language for Work in Ireland: developing practical approaches to supporting sustainable and effective supports for developing workplace language skills of adult migrants in Ireland

29.10.2020
“Language for work – Tools for professional development”: new resource website for all practitioners supporting work-related second language development for migrants and ethnic minorities

23.03.2020
New ECML publication: Communicating with migrants - Guide for staff in job centres and public services

31.05.2019
Language for Work project receives the European Language Label award

28.05.2019
“Language for Work – Tools for professional development” (2016-2018): achievements

06.02.2019
"Language for Work - Tools for professional development" : results of the final coordination meeting (Graz, Austria, 23-24 January 2019)

25.10.2018
Last ECML workshop “Language for Work – Tools for professional development” (Graz, Austria, 23-24 October 2018): fine-tuning the products of the project

23.08.2018
"Language for work - Tools for professional development": Expert meeting report (Graz, Austria, 14-15 June 2018)

12.02.2018
Intense and fruitful exchange of ideas on future developments in language education

12.01.2018
Language for Work – Tools for professional development: Looking back, looking forward

17.07.2017
News from Language for Work (LfW): Quick guide: How to help adult migrants develop work-related language skills – COMBI Multipliers’ event

27.06.2017
Language for work – Tools for professional development: report of the network meeting (Graz, Austria, 1st and 2nd June 2017)

16.03.2016
The factor of language in guidance for employment

16.03.2016
First regional event of the new project, Language for Work – Tools for professional development

07.03.2016
New year, new programme, new project