A roadmap for schools to support the language(s) of schooling

To help migrant students access the curriculum in every subject, all teachers need to guide the students in relation to the most important items of vocabulary they need to learn for each topic in each subject. These keywords should be identified by the teacher for each new topic being presented and should be displayed on the IWB, whiteboard, poster or flipchart for the duration of each lesson. Keywords should be succinctly explained using sample sentences as well as definitions. Once the words are identified, they should be USED and recycled by both the teacher (to model how to use them correctly) and students (in pairwork/groupwork activities) throughout the lesson. By being explicit about the language of their subject, teachers are supporting the language and literacy development of all students. See video link below to see how this initiative is being implemented.

Link: www.elsp.ie (subject-specific language development worksheets to support migrant students who do not have much English. Resources developed by Trinity College, Dublin)

Students are led to produce texts (written, spoken, visual, musical, or combinations in a multimodal form) in which their identity is reflected in a positive light. Students invest their identities in these texts, and when they share the texts with multiple audiences (peers, teachers, sister classes, etc) they are likely to receive positive feedback and develop their self-confidence when interacting with these audiences. This approach can be implemented in the language of schooling/students’ first language, mother tongue, second language, third language.

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This activity enables students to work in groups in order to solve a puzzle together. They will need to hypothesise, come up with a major solution, a minor solution and a conclusion. The groups discuss the findings and write minutes. This activity requires argumentation and will make students resort to a constructed dialogue thus developing their higher cognitive functions.

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Here are some examples of ways to implement the ideas expressed by Toshinobu Nagamine (2014) in his article entitled “Emotionality and language learning: Forging bonds by sharing emotions”. Nagamine states that a new focus by teachers on emotions is necessary to strengthen bonds in the classroom to improve foreign language learning. At the International School of Bergen (Norway), students are allowed to use their own native languages in the first learning phases in order to build their confidence and to scaffold their learning.

Link: www.bbc.com (What is the best age to learn a language?)

The aim of this programme is to aid newly arrived children to participate as quickly as possible in all aspects of state secondary general schooling and enhance their knowledge and skills in the language of schooling. To do so, children with a migrant background are placed in general classes and attend lessons 19 periods per week, according to the timetable of their grade. At the same time, these children attend intensive lessons on the language of schooling, 14 periods per week. Extra 5 teaching periods are also provided for support in Mathematics and Natural Sciences, especially in relation to terminology and core knowledge.

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Teachers will arrange the Day of Foreign Cultures / The Tower of Babel Day when newcomer families will have a chance to present their culture in an informal atmosphere. Students will pick up new words, taste foreign food. The workshops will be extended to other foreign guests available at that time even though their languages are not represented currently at school.

Link: 26 September – Celebrate the European Day of Languages with us

Implementation of a pilot project for a priority education school (= welcomes socially fragile pupils) which places the language of schooling at the centre of all learning, in all subjects:

• valuing the students' language biographies,
• setting up a school-network abroad
• developing intercultural and plurilingual skills to favour democratic competences.

This promising practice is extracted from the following ECML project:
Learning environments where modern languages flourish (2016-2019)

Link: Youtube: Projet EOL, Collège Vauban, Belfort, France

Together with your students, create multilingual dictionaries focusing on essential concepts in each subject, which the students will then translate into their own language.

Link: TI-AIE: Multilingualism in the classroom

The Heinrich-Heine Gymnasium in Cologne, Germany, offers a plurilingual drama group. Nearly all of the languages spoken by the members of the group are used. These languages are not just the language of schooling and the context language, but also the local dialect, foreign languages taught at the school and pupils’ family and heritage languages.

This promising practice is extracted from the following ECML project:
Towards whole-school language curricula (2012-2015)

Link: How can participating in a drama group promote plurilingualism?

Group work with 4-5 students who share the same mother tongue (Greek in this example) while having varying degrees of German/English proficiency. Each student brings/writes a short story (his/her own experience in a new environment, a familiar game, a song, a recipe, etc.) in the language he/she feels most confident with. This can be alternatively/preferably assigned at home or produced during a different lesson. The peers then collaborate to mediate (not translate) the same stories (etc.) in German or English, creating a scaffolding (Vygotsky, 1978, p. 86) for the less proficient speakers to express themselves in the other local languages of schooling (in German in Germany for that matter, but in any language if the project is implemented in another member state) and/or in English which is used both as a common foreign language and as a lingua franca.
The practice takes into consideration the Zone of Proximal Development with regard to Vygotsky’s work.

Link: I hate Maths

In this example, the aim is to enable pupils to take part in a competition that brings together scientists and pupils from different European countries on the same stage. Candidates (students, researchers, and industrialists) present interdisciplinary subjects on stage (at least one scientific discipline) in less than ten minutes, alternating two languages (French and/or German and/or English). The presentation should be as original and accessible as possible. The audience and a jury give a mark at the end of each performance. A scientific jury as well as other members of the educational community are invited to take part in the evening.

Link: Youtube: La soirée DupleX

How to proceed?

1. Building up knowledge about the subject area.
Start from students’ pre-knowledge for example “What is a poem?” where each student shares their own understanding of what a poem is for each and every one of them. These thoughts can be written in sentences and then shared in class (can be swapped with other students who read aloud their classmates' thoughts – good for shy students). This stage allows students to be exposed to poetic techniques as well as to develop their own understanding of what poems are.

2. Study/observe text within the genre to get an image/concrete example.
In this stage, students are exposed to poetic techniques and are able to practice these individually – these are shared in the whole group. Students then read a poem together and pick out poetic techniques that are visible for them in groups and this is presented to the whole class. Good repetition of poetic techniques as well as visualizing concrete examples from students.

3. Carry out a writing task of the genre “together”.
Students practice the poetic techniques by creating their own poem which they share with the class – each poetic technique is illustrated with the student’s own concrete examples

4. Students produce their own text in the required genre.
Students produce their own poems by using the language skills they have required during the first three stages of the “circle model”.
Teachers give feedback continuously throughout the first 3 stages and during the first draft of stage 4 i.e. the student’s own “poem”. Students can get a further written task of analyzing their own poems by visualizing what poetic techniques they have learnt and used in their own poems. Students receive an example of how to structure their own poem analysis with a clear introduction, main body, and final thoughts.
Final thoughts should include how students progress from stages 1-3 by looking back at their own examples and reflecting upon them. The final thoughts will give the students an insight into their own learning process from the three stages of the circle model. Please see the link below for more inspiration and information about the “circle method – cirkelmodellen” – this link is in Swedish.

Link: Ny i svenska skolan

Emily Calhoun (1998) developed this method called PWIM, based on strategies for language acquisition. It uses pictures containing familiar objects, actions, and scenes to draw out words from children’s listening and speaking vocabularies (L1, L2). This model helps students add words to their reading vocabulary as well as to their writing vocabulary, and also discover phonetic and structural principles present in those words.

Link: https://twowritingteachers.org

The project connects families and voluntary booklovers, who read to the children once a week. Each visit lasts one hour and the total number of visits is 20. The reading friend and the child will also visit the library at one point. This example was inspired from http://voorleesexpress.nl.

The purpose of the project is to develop the school's overall knowledge, attitudes and abilities regarding learning, teaching and collaboration. School-based development of competency is one of the central elements in the “Developing Youth” project. The Ministry of Education in Norway is responsible for the project.

This project is a process through which stakeholders end up going through a positive transformation. All school stakeholders are involved in the project and the end result is closer and improved collaboration upon completion. The project has three main elements: school-based competency development, a learning network and pedagogical resources.

Participating schools designate a resource teacher(s) who drives the project in the individual school, attends three different expert-led 2-day seminars in the capital city along with resource teachers from the rest of the country, and attends 4-5 meetings locally with resources teachers from their region. The Resource Teacher is the glue that connects all project participants in the school itself. However, the school headteacher attends similar seminars both in the capital and locally. In addition to the theoretical knowledge gained from these gatherings, the national and local networking aspect is very important.

Academics from the local teaching college hold 4 workshops for the teachers and management at each school, starting with one of the 4 Pillars, e.g. Classroom Management, narrowing the topic down to e.g. Relationships. The close collaboration of school-parents-student is emphasized throughout the project and in general. Methodologies used by teachers with students in classes include: action research, lesson study, and quantitative research.

Link: https://www.udir.no

As part of a whole-school initiative to engage all students in reading for pleasure, students have to bring to school a book of their choice every day for a week (or longer). They take out their book and read from it for 15 mins when the bell sounds. This can be targeted at all students in the school or specifically at younger students (12-year-olds) to ensure they develop the habit of reading. Migrant students who need support with the language of schooling should read graded readers specially developed for those who are not proficient readers. If the book is at the correct level they should not need to over-use a dictionary.

Link: Literacy Strategy (look at page 6 of the document)

To celebrate the European day of languages (26th September) or International Mother Language Day 21st February), migrant students display their language prowess to their peers: a group of 7/8 students is selected from the school population to read out a sentence each in their first language (L1) over the Public Address system (PA). Their peers have to guess which language is being read out by how it sounds.

An added dimension would be to give students the script of the languages they are hearing (numbered 1 to 7) and they have to identify the language they hear with how it is written. Some minority languages should be included to add an added level of difficulty – or oral languages that are spoken but not widely written. Alternatively, the sentences could be displayed on posters in school corridors and students gather around them at break time to discuss whether writing sample 1 is Chinese or Russian etc. A prize could be given to the class which guesses all 7 answers correctly.

Link: Yellow Flag Programme. Celebrating Diversity, Promoting Inclusion, Challenging Racism

Link: Sample Yellow Flag Student Survey

Paired reading is a tried and tested short-term reading intervention used in Post Primary schools in Ireland. Senior students (age 17 approx) are trained to be tutors to first-year students (age 12) who are new to the school. The older students are then paired with a younger student to support the younger student to engage with reading for pleasure (see links to videos below). Parents are informed and come to a meeting in the school. They, too can be a paired reader and work with their son/daughter to support each other in their literacy development and enjoyment of reading. The programme can take place during the first term from Sept to Dec. A rota is drawn up of other volunteers in case one volunteer is absent. It happens during lunchtime from 3 to 5 days a week for 10/15 mins a day.

Link: Link to extension initiative called “Readalong”

Take an interest in the child's home language(s) and learn a couple of words. The return on this small investment is enormous. If only teachers and schools push their boundaries to try this out they will observe changes in attitudes and motivation and for very young learners in comprehension!
Take a look at the Newbury Park Primary School that created interactive videos showing the children teaching their home languages. 63 different languages are available (from Afrikaans, Albanian to Urdu and Yoruba).

This promising practice is extracted from the following ECML project:
Collaborative community approach to migrant education (2012-2015)

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There are many reasons why we should know about one another’s languages, including the following:

• to give bilingual children the opportunity to demonstrate the language skills they bring to school;
• to enhance the status of bilingual children;
• to broaden the horizons of monolingual English ­speakers;
• to show respect for other languages and cultures;
• to give parents an opportunity to be actively involved in their children’s learning.

This promising practice is extracted from the following ECML project:
Collaborative community approach to migrant education (2012-2015)

Link: Language-of-the-Month-Activities-Booklet

Link: Collaborative community approach to migrant education – A virtual open course for educators (EducoMigrant)

It is important to differentiate between monolingual and plurilingual students. If the performance of plurilingual students is compared undifferentiated with the performance of monolingual students, there is a risk that the results will be misinterpreted. When plurilingual students are assessed, it is important to consider three aspects of their development:
1) first language proficiency;
2) second language proficiency;
3) the existence (or not) of a physical, learning or behavioral difficulty.

For an adequate interpretation of assessments, it is also necessary to give greater consideration to the first language, the duration and intensity of the language contact and other factors (cf. Reich 2007). Baker emphasises this, arguing that students’ ability to function in a second language must not be seen as representing their level of language development. Their development in the first language needs to be assessed in order “to paint a picture of proficiency rather than deficiency, of potential rather than deficit” (Baker 2006). Furthermore, social, cultural, family, educational and personal information needs to be collected to make a valid and reliable assessment, and to make accurate placement of the child in mainstream or special education.

This promising practice is extracted from the following ECML project:
Teaching the language of schooling in the context of diversity (2012-2015)

Link: Guiding questions on language assessment

Link: Teaching the language of schooling in the context of diversity

Take a look at the languages tree and fill in your ideas. What do you know about the languages of the students in your classroom or in the learner profiles? How could you assess their language competences?

• Think of the languages spoken by the students and insert them next to the roots.
• Which language competences do you think can and should be assessed? Which competences are important for the students in your class? Are there language competences that are more important than others? Note down your ideas in the treetop.
• Think of instruments for assessing language competences you are familiar with. Write them down next to the magnifying glass. Have you already used one of these instruments? Which experiences have you had with them?

This promising practice is extracted from the following ECML project:
Teaching the language of schooling in the context of diversity (2012-2015)

Link: Assessing learners'' language skills

Link: Teaching the language of schooling in the context of diversity

Think of one of your plurilingual students and take a look at the language cloverleaf.

• What is the level of your student's language competence in each area?
• Colour the leaves as indicated on the worksheet. Use the corresponding colour to visualise the language competences of your student.
• What occurs to you if you look at the languages cloverleaf now? How do the competences of your student differ for each area?

This promising practice is extracted from the following ECML project:
Teaching the language of schooling in the context of diversity (2012-2015)

Link: Assessing learners'' language skills

Link: Teaching the language of schooling in the context of diversity

Create a poster visualising your language repertoire: languages (standard, non-standard) and dialects that you speak or are important to you for any other reason.

• Try to make visible your language repertoire using colours, for example, by creating a language landscape, language body, tree or another figure. Visualise your emotions, attitudes and mindsets towards these varieties. Download the materials (bodies, tree, house, etc.).
• Make notes on the poster: create a colour key and explain in a few words why you chose these colours.
• After the activity you can give a presentation explaining your picture to the group. You can also share your experience with other learners, organising a gallery walk to see and talk about others' posters.
• Follow the link to the project to take a look at some examples.

This promising practice is extracted from the following ECML project:
Teaching the language of schooling in the context of diversity (2012-2015)

Link: Visualising language repertoires: examples

Try to find five competences that could be important for your role as a teacher of the language of schooling in a linguistically diverse environment. These competences can focus on knowledge, attitudes and skills.

• What has to be changed with regard to L1 teaching, considering the linguistic diversity of the learners?
• What are your teaching experiences in this context? Include the observations of other teachers.
• Try to find 5 good reasons why it is important to support plurilingualism through L1 teaching.
• You can make use of these reflective questions for teachers (see MARILLE project “Majority language in multilingual settings”).
• You can also have a look at this video on the subject of Polish in Poland.

This promising practice is extracted from the following ECML project:
Majority language in multilingual settings (2008-2011)

Link: Moving from monolingual to plurilingual

Link: Waldemar Martyniuk – European Multilingualism Policy AD 2021 - YouTube

“What are the advantages of bilingualism? Is my language useful for my child? What will happen at school for my child who is growing up with several languages?” – Parents of children growing up with several languages have so many questions!

This is why DULALA offers you a poster translated into a dozen languages to be downloaded and printed, to answer these questions, to overcome fears and prejudices about bilingualism and to support the creation of a dialogue between parents and educational structures.

The poster is downloadable in the following languages: Arabic, Chinese, English, French, German, Greek, Hindi, Italian, Kikongo, Lingala, Luxemburgish, Mandarin, Occitan, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Spanish, Swahili, Tamil, Turkish.

This promising practice is extracted from the following ECML project:
Collaborative community approach to migrant education (2012-2015)

Link: Une affiche à partager… dans toutes les langues !

Students prepare on their own, at school, the presentation of an interdisciplinary subject (one scientific subject at least). In order to take part in an international slam competition, the presentation must be short (10 minutes max), original and bilingual (2 languages alternately). A jury composed of scientists and students evaluates the different productions.
DUPLEX (science slam) was introduced by the Franco-German secondary school of Fribourg (Germany) and integrated into the EOL project of the ECML “Learning environments where modern languages flourish”.

This promising practice is extracted from the following ECML project:
Learning environments where modern languages flourish (2016-2019)

Link: La soirée DupleX

Kamishibaï (紙芝居 in Japanese) means “Paper Theatre”. It is a narrative technique of Japanese origin, a kind of travelling theatre, that street storytellers originally used to tell stories to children by sliding illustrated boards into a wooden castelet: the butaï. Each board features an episode of the story, on the front side the image and on the back side a short and simple text.

Multilingual Kamishibahai is both a captivating and playful way to tell stories and a powerful pedagogical tool to promote the learning of reading, writing, oral and artistic expression. In addition, it promotes communication and cooperation between children, both at the time of creation and after the performance. He can address all levels from the nursery school onwards. It can be used in schools as well as in libraries, leisure centres, crèches, etc. or among health professionals such as speech therapists.

Link: Le kamishibaï plurilingue pour découvrir des histoires et des langues

This checklist enables teachers to ensure that their attainment targets have clear, explicit language requirements. You will be able to check whether you explain the intended learning goals and comment on the specific language requirements for reaching these goals, if you make sure that the students have clearly understood what the content and the language goals are, if you are willing to rephrase learning goals in a language they can understand, etc. The list will also help you when setting tasks or giving assignments.

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This checklist enables the teacher to reflect upon the linguistic means and strategies used when teaching. They can vary from different language registers to the use of appropriate expressions. It is the second checklist presented in the essential book edited by the Council of Europe: "The Language Dimension in All Subjects. A Handbook for Curriculum Development and Teacher Training."
1. Transparency of language requirements in setting up attainment targets and tasks for subject-specific learning;
2. Use of language by the subject teacher;
3. Classroom interaction and opportunities for the students to speak;
4. Scaffolding academic discourse skills, strategies and genres;
5. Linguistic appropriateness of materials (texts, different media, teaching/learning materials);
6. Linguistic aspects of evaluating academic language and content achievement;
7. Incorporating Multilingual Aspects in so-called non-linguistic subjects.

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This checklist focuses on the way teachers can favour contributions on behalf of the students. This set of statements enables the teacher to be aware of strategies and attitudes to develop when teaching. It is the third checklist presented in the essential book edited by the Council of Europe: "The Language Dimension in All Subjects. A Handbook for Curriculum Development and Teacher Training."
1. Transparency of language requirements in setting up attainment targets and tasks for subject-specific learning;
2. Use of language by the subject teacher;
3. Classroom interaction and opportunities for the students to speak;
4. Scaffolding academic discourse skills, strategies and genres;
5. Linguistic appropriateness of materials (texts, different media, teaching/learning materials);
6. Linguistic aspects of evaluating academic language and content achievement;
7. Incorporating Multilingual Aspects in so-called non-linguistic subjects.

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This checklist helps teachers find strategies and methods that will enable students to take responsibility for their own language learning. It also focuses on the different kinds of support that can be offered. It is the fourth checklist presented in the essential book edited by the Council of Europe: "The Language Dimension in All Subjects. A Handbook for Curriculum Development and Teacher Training."
1. Transparency of language requirements in setting up attainment targets and tasks for subject-specific learning;
2. Use of language by the subject teacher;
3. Classroom interaction and opportunities for the students to speak;
4. Scaffolding academic discourse skills, strategies and genres;
5. Linguistic appropriateness of materials (texts, different media, teaching/learning materials);
6. Linguistic aspects of evaluating academic language and content achievement;
7. Incorporating Multilingual Aspects in so-called non-linguistic subjects.

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This checklist helps the teacher become aware of language difficulties that might be present in a teaching material. It also suggests strategies to develop with the students so that they can be cognitively challenged. It is the fifth checklist presented in the essential book edited by the Council of Europe: "The Language Dimension in All Subjects. A Handbook for Curriculum Development and Teacher Training."
1. Transparency of language requirements in setting up attainment targets and tasks for subject-specific learning;
2. Use of language by the subject teacher;
3. Classroom interaction and opportunities for the students to speak;
4. Scaffolding academic discourse skills, strategies and genres;
5. Linguistic appropriateness of materials (texts, different media, teaching/learning materials);
6. Linguistic aspects of evaluating academic language and content achievement;
7. Incorporating Multilingual Aspects in so-called non-linguistic subjects.

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This checklist enables teachers to think of the linguistic aspects that may be present when giving an assessment. It also underlines the importance of the feedback that is given: it should also take into account the language and textual aspects of the students'' performance. It is the sixth checklist presented in the essential book edited by the Council of Europe: "The Language Dimension in All Subjects. A Handbook for Curriculum Development and Teacher Training."
1. Transparency of language requirements in setting up attainment targets and tasks for subject-specific learning;
2. Use of language by the subject teacher;
3. Classroom interaction and opportunities for the students to speak;
4. Scaffolding academic discourse skills, strategies and genres;
5. Linguistic appropriateness of materials (texts, different media, teaching/learning materials);
6. Linguistic aspects of evaluating academic language and content achievement;
7. Incorporating Multilingual Aspects in so-called non-linguistic subjects.

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In this final and additional checklist the authors give a list of strategies that will enable the subject teacher to take into account multilingual aspects and/or develop a welcoming attitude towards the diversity of languages. It is the last checklist that completes the essential book edited by the Council of Europe: "The Language Dimension in All Subjects. A Handbook for Curriculum Development and Teacher Training."
1. Transparency of language requirements in setting up attainment targets and tasks for subject-specific learning;
2. Use of language by the subject teacher;
3. Classroom interaction and opportunities for the students to speak;
4. Scaffolding academic discourse skills, strategies and genres;
5. Linguistic appropriateness of materials (texts, different media, teaching/learning materials);
6. Linguistic aspects of evaluating academic language and content achievement;
7. Incorporating Multilingual Aspects in so-called non-linguistic subjects.

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65 films show parents and caregivers ways to communicate or play with children, so that they can help children develop their language skills. Links to additional material.

Link: www.kinder-4.ch

The series “Materials for heritage language teaching” offers an introduction to the teaching methods currently used in Western and Northern European schools. The different volumes not only provide theoretical background information, but also numerous practical suggestions for daily teaching. Thanks to the present website, all the materials can be easily accessed and downloaded. The aim is to support heritage language teachers all over the world in their important and challenging job.

Link: I. Introduction: low-threshold level writing examples and activities to promote motivation

Here are some samples of language supportive teaching materials for 12/13-year-old learners in different subjects (e.g. mathematics, history, science) which show how different scaffolding techniques can help address the linguistic needs of learners including examples on how to use the European Language Portfolio as a tool to support the linguistic integration of L2 learners. There are also in-school training modules based on the joint analysis of objective data: reference subject texts, student production, textbooks, assessments, recordings, and verbatim transcriptions.

This promising practice is extracted from the following ECML project:
Developing language awareness in subject classes (2016-2019)

Link: Developing language awareness in subject classes

Teachers will discover some practical multilingual classroom activities that encourage students to use home languages in the classroom. Moreover, the eWorkshop is designed to support teachers in talking with each other about the use of language. The essential question reflects how well this eWorkshop adequately responds to the following statements: how can I set up routines and learning activities that promote the use of home languages in my classroom?

Link: Home languages in the classroom: Week 3

Link: ICMEE

The extensive mapping material has been developed by Skolverket - the Swedish National Agency for Education and focuses on assessment and planning for the individual study planning for newcomers. The material consists of three steps:

• Step 1 (Initial screening Languages and Experiences),
• Step 2 (Literacy and Numeracy) and
• Step 3 (School subjects).

Link: Steg 1 – Elevens språk och erfarenheter

Linguistic support (LS) is particularly used for scaffolding the learning of adolescent language learners (after they have participated in a one-year preparatory education programme) when they are integrated into regular classes in lower secondary education. The focus of the support is in mathematics, natural sciences, social sciences, and foreign language education. LS teachers'' work duties consist of collaborating with the subject teachers (following the curricula of the subjects), helping the students learn the language and the concepts of the subjects, and home-school collaboration.The LS teacher should have knowledge on language learning (i.e. the competence of a language teacher) combined to vast general knowledge. The students arriving from the Middle East, Africa or Asia have not necessarily been able to participate in education, or their history of schooling differs from that of the native students. Therefore, the presence of a specific teacher who can scaffold subject contents and linguistic skills helps to create a safe learning environment (see the Zone of Proximal Development, ZPD, Vygotsky 1978). An LS teacher is a pedagogical expert scaffolding immigrant students'' learning both with linguistic, academic and social integration in the school context. LS is an addition to the regular teaching staff, which in the Finnish lower secondary education is usually divided into subject teachers and special education teachers. In Finland, Finnish as a Second Language (FSL) is also taught extensively in municipalities with a dense immigrant population. LS is an additional support given during the school days either by co-teaching with subject teachers or dividing the classes into smaller groups where the needs of the students can be met more efficiently. In teaching, all the languages of the students are respected, and used as a valuable resource for learning. Teaching methods in smaller Linguistic Support groups consist of acting, singing, drawing, reading aloud, comparing the languages, and so on.

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Many schools have organised native language teaching for their largest immigrant language groups. Sometimes there is no such possibility for smaller language groups. The result is that these students do not have a chance to maintain their native language skills. The solution to this was found in a multilingual native language lesson.

A multilingual native language lesson is a lesson where students speaking different languages are being taught simultaneously. The lesson is managed by two teachers – a Finnish as a second language teacher and a native language teacher (here, a Russian and Estonian teacher). The knowledge and different skills of the two teachers are united throughout the whole teaching project. Even though neither one of the teachers speaks the students’ native languages, it is still possible to provide an opportunity for the students to use and integrate their own languages into everyday school life and enlarge their vocabulary in these languages. Thus, the role of the teacher in a multilingual language group is more of a manager than a classical teacher. Co-operation with homes and families is extremely important throughout the teaching process. A lot of support is provided to families trying to preserve children’s own native languages in their new linguistic environment. The aim is also to get families to participate actively in everyday school life.

A multilingual native language lesson has turned out to be a very efficient approach to developing interlinguistic skills of students with different cultural backgrounds. The students are highly motivated and enthusiastic when their own languages have been brought into the spotlight within the school area. The students have been encouraged to use their own native languages and have begun doing that more actively throughout the schoolday. Their interlinguistic skills have improved, and the ability to switch from one language to another has improved as well. The students are doing better with their reading and writing skills, both in Finnish and in their native languages.

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Here is an example of strategies to differentiate lessons in order to adapt the teaching to the individual needs of the students and make a lesson accessible to every student in the class, regardless of their language proficiency; for example by pairing up students and enhancing background knowledge. In this series of videos, Ferlazzo and his co-author Katie Hull Sypnieski explain what it means to differentiate instruction, provide tips for doing so with English-language learners, and detail the questions they ask themselves when planning a lesson for students of all levels.

Link: Differentiated Instruction: How to make lessons accessible for all

This is a web-based resource fostering collaborative learning among colleagues as a way to organise teachers into working groups of practice-based professional learning. The material is meant to be used for scaffolding in language and subject teaching, providing examples such as working with different text types, digital presentations etc. They focus on the development of language, knowledge and skills related to subject teaching and stress the importance of the collaborative work between the language teacher and subject teacher in order to support the development of the students` knowledge and skills.

Link: Uttrycksformer för upptäckare – grundskolan

Weekly sessions are organised at school for a small group of newcomer students to work on the “specific language of mathematics”. Language learning is integrated into a mathematical activity in order to strengthen the links between the terms or expressions learned and their meaning. The mathematical activities do not aim to acquire new concepts but to mobilize specific language skills, whether oral or written. In this way, debates in the classroom are encouraged, for example around a conjecture in geometry. A student can be asked to describe a given figure or solid so that his or her classmates will recognize it.
These activities are generally preceded by a time to reactivate certain terms in the mathematical lexicon that may be useful for the rest of the session. This activity is based on several principles:

• dissociating the assessment of the form and content of the students' productions (in order to value both the quality of mathematical reasoning and the efforts in formulation);
• immediate use of gestures or diagrams related to a mathematical concept;
• dictation to the adult or another student of the answers found;
• spiral progression so as to return several times to certain particularly important terms in mathematical vocabulary.

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How is teaching on the “Second Language Pathway” different from teaching on the first? What are the implications for school leaders? Bilingual students cannot delay learning grade-level content knowledge until they are fully proficient in their second language. Yet, learning new concepts while simultaneously gaining mastery over a new language is challenging. When teachers provide accessible materials, such as visual and graphic materials, to support learning new concepts, students can tap into their conceptual reservoirs for related information that may clarify the new ideas. Additionally, visuals and other language supports can enable students to explore ideas with their families at home.
Teaching on the second language pathway requires deliberate thought about how to adjust instruction to benefit bilingual students – and it helps all students. This also has implications for the structures that should be in place to support teachers' planning across grade levels and/or subject areas to maximize the use of the materials that are developed.

Link: The nature of the Second Language Pathway

Link: ICMEE

CAN DO descriptors will help teachers to view students from all levels of language proficiency as capable of participating in grade-level work. There is a general set of descriptors for K-12, as well as more specific descriptors for different Grade Level Clusters.

Link: Resource library

Link: ICMEE

This eWorkshop focuses on how to combine the most meaningful work teachers do in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) with a rich writing and revising process to achieve great language development in science learning for bilingual students. Some of the questions that teachers would learn how to answer are: what kind of meaningful science work can be used to launch an extended writing process? What pre-writing activities set up bilingual students for success in communicating scientific thinking? ...

Link: Writing in science: Week 1

Link: ICMEE

This strategy will help students to classify, understand and analyse information. The teacher should consider a range of ''cards'' to use for this activity, i.e. visual images, statements, concepts or single words. Each card should be cut up and placed ready for students in an envelope or secured together in a jumbled order.
The teacher will provide each individual, pair or group with the envelope or selection of cards related to the given topic. The cards are spread out on a flat surface without talking. They are then rearranged to complete the given task (e.g. sequencing, classifying, matching or mapping/positioning).
As each group completes the task, the members may talk to each other and ask for an explanation or justification for the positioning of certain cards. Refinements or changes may be made at this stage. The teacher now needs to coordinate the movement of the groups so that they are able to visit the other tables and discuss what they notice. They may not touch the cards. Each group returns to their home table, and based on what they observed and discussed in the visits to other tables they decide whether or not to make any refinements. This would be undertaken by the teacher according to their preferred style and to suit the group of students.

Link: Cooperative learning tool – Silent card shuffle

Link: ICMEE

This practice focuses its attention on supporting reading skills. The purpose is to explore ways to use patterned texts to increase the reading and writing skills of our bilingual learners. As with other practices, patterned texts will benefit all students, especially your bilingual readers, and especially bilingual readers who are having a difficult time making meaning from texts in English.

Link: Unit 4: Patterned texts presentation

Link: ICMEE

The purpose of the practice is to learn about co-constructed texts, specifically the Language Experience Approach (LEA). LEA is a classroom practice that supports all learners – monolingual English speakers as well as bilingual and multilingual students. This practice is especially beneficial for bilingual learners who are progressing more slowly in developing literacy in English than their bilingual peers.

Link: Unit 2: Co-constructed texts presentation

Link: ICMEE

This video focuses on how to build on students' linguistic and cultural assets to foster additive bilingualism. Teachers and head teachers learn the importance of using students’ home language to support the acquisition of the new one.

Link: Cross Language Connections in the Classroom - YouTube

Link: ICMEE

Green Pack Junior School provides teachers of children aged between 7 and 10 with simple, accessible materials promoting sustainable development. It helps younger children to grasp the concept of sustainability by focusing on the environmental impacts of choices made at home, in the supermarket, at school, in the park and on holiday.
The materials, divided into 10 to 12 topics, explore interactions between the environment, society and economic development. A structured lesson plan is provided for each topic, along with supporting materials required for course planning and delivery.
Each lesson plan provides teachers with background information on the topic, lesson objectives, the methodology used, the materials and time required, and suggested locations. Related factsheets, handouts, simple tests, dilemmas and stories are available at the end of each lesson plan.

Link: Green Pack (inforse.org)

Roma students are among the most underprivileged and vulnerable population of Montenegrin society. They face many challenges, including poor living standards, low educational motivation and graduating rates as well as difficulties integrating into society. Although the data show that the number of students finishing primary school is increasing, there is small progress in accepting them. Roma pupils are afraid of prejudices and stereotypes which are following them wherever they go. They are excluded because of their origin, cultural diversity and social background.
So our main goal was to make the wider local community aware of the fact that diversity, different cultures, languages and origin is great and very valuable to all of us. Inexperience leads to making prejudice. Prejudice leaves out many students without real reasons. The idea is to work on empowering our students who belong to marginalised groups. A school performance is prepared including telling poetry, acting in short drama plays and singing songs in Romani language; the food and the folk dances are presented to the audience.

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ESKE helps teachers assess literacy in newly arrived students’ first (or strongest) language(s). ESKE consists of instruction materials in German and tasks in 18 different languages. The tasks are divided into four levels:

• Tasks for students with 0-2 years of schooling;
• Tasks for students with 3-4 years of schooling;
• Tasks for students with 5-6 years of schooling;
• Tasks for students with 7-9 years of schooling.

Link: ESKE – Ermittlung schulsprachlicher Kompetenzen in der Erstsprache

Examples of practical procedures that will help subject teachers to identify students’ language needs in their subject(s).
There is a list of different scaffolding techniques, for example, how to support the students in writing, speaking, and reading tasks, how to create teaching materials, and in what way the teachers could draw on students’ first language in their teaching.
There are also samples of language supportive teaching materials for 12/13-year-old learners in different subjects (e.g. mathematics, history, science) which show how different scaffolding techniques can help address the linguistic needs of learners including examples of the use of the European Language Portfolio as a tool to support the linguistic integration of L2 learners.

This promising practice is extracted from the following ECML project:
Developing language awareness in subject classes (2016-2019)

Link: Developing language awareness in subject classes

At the Beda Weber language Gymnasium in Merano, South Tyrol, Italy, the Collaborative Language Teaching Methodology project is being developed and implemented at the first stage of secondary school (secondary level I). The project focuses on cross-linguistic didactic approaches to word formation and text types in descriptions and précis-writing in six languages.
The goal of the practice is to work across languages in various classes and compare languages in order to identify differences and similarities, practise language transfer and teach pupils to think in a way that capitalises on links between languages.
The objectives are for instance to recognise word formation characteristics in different languages and transfer what pupils have learned to all the languages they learn, to develop a capacity for observation and perception, and to be able to demonstrate these skills using appropriate language tools.

This promising practice is extracted from the following ECML project:
Towards whole-school language curricula (2012-2015)

Link: “Schools on the way to a whole-language policy” – the Collaborative Language Teaching Methodology project at Beda Weber language Gymnasium in Merano, Italy

This video shows examples of activities and projects which underline how a school values and promotes L1 to support literacy development in the language of schooling. The school has embarked on a number of activities involving students whose first language is not the language of schooling.
The video gives voice to the students who describe the role their L1 plays in supporting the language of schooling. The activities presented include a survey of all the languages spoken in the school, a multilingual school magazine in which students translate a literary text in their L1 into English, which is in this case the language of schooling. Students also describe a peer language teaching project and how this has benefitted them. And a project in which they have to give a presentation about a cultural aspect of their home culture in English.

Link: (Also available on ECML website) St Mark’s

These toolkits aim to help schools to create and sustain a welcoming and inclusive environment for students and parents from all backgrounds and ensure equal access to the curriculum and to the life of the school for all students across the primary and secondary levels of the education system. The toolkits identify matters of common concern, and suggest guidelines for developing school policies and classroom practice. They offer guidance and downloadable templates to prepare policies at both school and classroom levels.
The Primary school toolkit is organised into 4 sections: Getting ready, Early days, Moving on and What next?
The Post-Primary toolkit is organised into two broad sections: Whole School Level and Classroom Level. The Whole School section considers provision and decisions involving senior management and other staff. The Classroom Level considers provision in mainstream classrooms. There is a separate section on Intercultural Awareness which also considers provision at whole school and at classroom level. It is recommended, however, that teachers familiarise themselves with the general content and layout of the book as any section may be relevant at one time or another.
Both document contain examples from schools, templates, support documents to help track students’ progress on BICS and CALPS, and guidance for subject teachers.

Link: “Together towards inclusion – Toolkit for diversity in the primary school” (www.ncca.ie)

Link: “Toolkit for diversity in the post primary school” (www.eani.org)

A multilingual drama group aims to value and appreciate cultural and linguistic diversity, promote language awareness , enhance a process of teambuilding – becoming an ensemble and allow students to experience dramatic aesthetic strategies.
ECML project flyer “Towards whole-school language curricula – Examples of practice in schools” (Plurcur)

This promising practice is extracted from the following ECML project:
Towards whole-school language curricula (2012-2015)

Link: “How can participating in a drama group promote plurilingualism?” (PlurCur)

The aim of the project is, firstly, to record the existing skills or language learning experiences of bilingual learners (lateral entrants) at lower secondary level and, secondly, to systematically include them in school-directed language acquisition in German lessons in order to develop text competence. In order to achieve the first sub-goal, a research study will first be designed. The results are then to contribute to approaching the second sub-goal.

This promising practice is extracted from the following ECML project:
Towards whole-school language curricula (2012-2015)

Link: Projekt LAWA: Language Awareness – Mehrsprachige Fähigkeiten wahrnemen

At the German as a Second Language Centre (DaZ) in Sterup near Flensburg (Germany), pupils who have recently immigrated with little or no knowledge of German are being prepared for regular school attendance by learning mainly German. The first language skills in text development of these so-called “side beginners” are being investigated in the LAWA project in order to prepare them for the acquisition of German as a second language.

This promising practice is extracted from the following ECML project:
Towards whole-school language curricula (2012-2015)

Link: Projekt LAWA: Language Awareness – Mehrsprachige Fähigkeiten wahrnemen

This is a set of 26 activities to be used in the classroom. The activities are designed to represent an adequate support for multilingual children by highlighting the benefits of the ability to speak multiple languages. They are designed to interest other children in languages and to reinforce the respect, curiosity and desire for further knowledge, by all participants.

Link: Activities to support multilingualism at school

“Describing” does not have the same meaning in history, geography or science: to describe a historical actor or to describe a policy or an event does not require the same cognitive operations, organisation of information, or linguistic elements. Moreover, when students produce a text in history class, they must adopt the position of a history student. In a mathematics class, they must write from the point of view of a math student; the characteristics and linguistics elements are not the same as if a student is asked to be, for example, a journalist. This tool (tool 2) allows subject teachers to identify the language practices, which are relevant to their specific subject. It is not intended to be distributed to the students.

STEP 1: Choose an oral or written text in the subject you teach (e.g.: a maths problem, a poster, an oral presentation of an experiment, a summary in a text).

STEP 2: Look at the table below and fill in the columns for the text you have chosen (with the help of a language teacher if needed).
Column 2 (discourse genre) explains how to apply each category.

This promising practice is extracted from the following ECML project:
Developing language awareness in subject classes (2016-2019)

Link: Developing language awareness in subject classes

These resources highlight challenges for young learners in subject classes where the language of instruction is not their first language. The focus is on minimum language standards in history/civics and mathematics for learners aged 12/13 and 15/16. The language descriptors are linked to CEFR levels A2, B1, and B2 and available in six languages. Overall, the results indicate that 12/13-year-old students need a level of language proficiency mirroring at least CEFR level B1, while 15/16-year-old students need at least a B2 level of language proficiency

This promising practice is extracted from the following ECML project:
Language skills for successful subject learning (2012-2015)

Link: English listening – Descriptors for listening in history/civics and mathematics

Link: “Language skills for successful subject learning – CEFR linked descriptors for mathematics and history/civics” (Language descriptors)

Plurilingual and intercultural education in Luxembourg is part of preschool education. From a very early age, children are in contact with the school languages Luxembourgish and French. A collection of activities edited by the Ministry of Education, Children and Youth supports professionals in designing cross-curricular learning scenarios that foster language learning with regard to all the languages present in their group/class. In this example, discover how to use the Storyboxes to help young learners develop their language skills.

This promising practice is extracted from the following ECML project:
Inspiring language learning in the early years (2017-2019)

Link: Story boxes: 1001 stories to tell

Link: Boîtes aux histoires : 1001 histoires à raconter

This is an example from a primary school in Dublin, Ireland. English is the language of schooling. The Irish language is a curricular subject that is taught in an integrated manner with English. The official Primary School Curriculum allocates 2.5 hours per week for the teaching of the Irish language at this age level. There are 27 children in this Junior Infant Class. 23 of these children speak home languages other than English. Within this group there are 10 different language backgrounds. The Primary Junior Infant programme requires that children be able to count from 1 to 10 and understand the concept of numbers from 1 to 5. By using their home language(s), children are embedding their familiarity and understanding of the concept in question (meaningful language learning). By using more than one language, they learn that whichever language is used, the integrity of the numbers and the sequence remains the same (relying on existing linguistic repertoires). Giving the children the freedom to choose which language they use helps to support learner autonomy.

This promising practice is extracted from the following ECML project:
Inspiring language learning in the early years (2017-2019)

Link: Inspiring stories about language learning: “One, two, trois, quatre, fünf, sechs”

Link: Histoires inspirantes sur l'apprentissage des langues : « One, two, trois, quatre, fünf, sechs »

The following selection of multilingual illustrated books has been compiled on the basis of recommendations from teachers and educators. The books are available in bookstores across Europe. The market for multilingual albums has evolved considerably in recent years. There are books that present the same story in two or more languages, but also more and more books with a series of translations available on audio CD, DVD or online. In view of the many works that have emerged in recent years, this list cannot be exhaustive. It has been designed to inspire you, to encourage you to discover multilingual albums, to search libraries, shops and websites.

This promising practice is extracted from the following ECML project:
Inspiring language learning in the early years (2017-2019)

Link: Multilingual books

Link: Albums multilingues

Caritas Switzerland is organising this project and recruits volunteers who are willing to be matched with migrant families and to support them in school-relevant topics. The school system being very complicated and different, this system helps the migrant family feel more comfortable and have someone by her side.

Link: “Copilot: Erfolgreicher Schulstart für Ihr Kind” (Caritas Zürich)

The Swiss Institute for Child and Youth Media (SIKJM) programme “Schenk mir eine Geschichte” (Offer me a story) supports migrant parents in developing the resources and skills to support their children’s language development in both their home and second language. The focus of this intervention programme is on raising parents’ awareness of their own role in young children’s language development and the importance of using their home language. It draws on literature which recognises that first language skills are vital in children's second language learning and literacy development, as well as later school success. It targets parents of children between the ages of two and five growing up with two or more languages and their extended families.

Link: SIKJM | Schenk mir eine Geschichte

Link: « 1001 histoires » (Institut suisse Jeunesse et Médias – ISJM website)

The Swiss Institute for Child and Youth Media (SIKJM) collected a huge number of rhymes, lullabies and tongue twisters in 18 languages.

Link: Rhythm and rhyme

Since there is an obligation not to discriminate based on race, color, or national origin, all schools in the USA must communicate information to limited English proficient parents in a language they can understand about any program, service, or activity that is called to the attention of parents who are proficient in English. The fact sheets available in different languages inform parents about their rights to have access to professional translation.

Link: Toolkit

In Zurich different institutions have been translating information for the parents. In this project, the city brought the documents together and reorganised them according to the languages for better accessibility.

Link: Informationen zur Volksschule in anderen Sprachen

In Zurich schools are not obliged to use professional translation services. Canton of Zurich published guidelines to help schools decide when to organise translation and what they should consider.

Link: Empfehlungen zu interkulturellem Dolmetschen in der Schule

The Autobiography is a resource designed to encourage people to think about and learn from intercultural encounters they have had either face to face or through visual media such as television, magazines, films, the Internet, etc.
There are therefore two separate but parallel tools:

• Autobiography of Intercultural Encounters (AIE) is also available in French, Italian, Polish, Spanish and Russian.
• Images of Others: An Autobiography of Intercultural Encounters through Visual Media (AIEVM) is available in English and French.

Link: Autobiography of Intercultural Encounters

Link: Autobiographie des rencontres interculturelles

This small activity enables participants to discover and take into account the languages spoken by the other members of the school community.
1. Make a drawing of a large tree and provide sticky-notes in the form of leaves.
2. When arriving at the workshop all participants take “leaves” and individually write on them:

• on the roots: languages I feel at home with;
• on the tree-trunk: my first language;
• on the branches: languages I have learnt;
• up in the clouds: languages I still want to learn. Tag the leaves to the appropriate places on the tree.

Link: Action research communities for language teachers

The guide offers practical advice to professionals supporting the linguistic integration of migrants on different ways how to foster work-related L2 skills through formal, non-formal and informal learning arrangements, exploiting the L2 resources present in the environment. The key issues are illustrated by thumb-nail case studies from all over Europe, with some explanation of the underpinning research-based theoretical understandings. The guide is available in Bulgarian, Croatian, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Irish, Romanian, Russian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, and Swedish.

Link: Language for work – Tools for professional development: guides (European Centre for Modern Languages of the Council of Europe)

Link: La langue pour le travail – Outils de développement professionnel : guides (Centre européen pour les langues vivantes du Conseil de l'Europe)

Learn how to make communication more easily by following the example of the city of Graz. Officially, “moldy and difficult to read” was yesterday. Friendly, comprehensible and fresh is today – a writing style suitable for the most modern city management in Europe. Training courses on special types of text were held at Haus Graz, multipliers were trained, a Non-word competition was held and the legibility of texts was checked. The staff also worked on themselves – successfully. Together they have come closer to achieving the goal of being readable by all people – regardless of their reading skills, in order to be understood.

Link: Graz verständlich: Amtstexte, die schimmelfrei sind - wortwelt

This is a tool for personal reflection on professional competences for students who are embarking on initial training to become pre-primary educators, focusing on the plurilingual and intercultural dimension of work with pre-primary children. This Portfolio encourages reflection on the degree to which language-related and intercultural teaching competences are being acquired. It promotes reflection as a key means of furthering one’s own professional learning. It underlines the complementarity of attitudes, knowledge and skills

Link: European portfolio for pre-primary educators – The plurilingual and intercultural dimension

Link: Portfolio européen pour les éducateurs et éducatrices en préélémentaire – La dimension langagière et l'éducation plurilingue et interculturelle

Link: Europäisches Portfolio für Pädagoginnen und Pädagogen im Elementarbereich – Sprachen und Kulturen im Fokus

Language teacher competences are crucial to the quality and effectiveness of language education. Successful language learning depends in large part on the knowledge, skills and attitudes of language teachers. In addition, in the world of today, all teachers need to be critically aware of the role that language and communication play in education and in life in general, to be able to use language(s) sensitively in their teaching, whatever their subject, and to develop students’ general language awareness.
In developing the Guide to teacher competences for language in education, a key focus has been to examine and to raise users’ awareness of the ways in which initial and in-service teacher education and development and the resources developed to support it contribute to the fundamental aims and values of the Council of Europe.

Link: A guide to teacher competences for languages in education

Link: Guide des compétences enseignantes pour les langues dans l’éducation

This is a 23’ pedagogical film, produced by Nathalie Auger, for French teachers and teacher educators working with children who need to acquire French as the language of schooling. The film shows a teacher implementing a comparative approach towards the different languages spoken by a small group of students in a multilingual classroom. The students are thus engaged in metalinguistic activities designed to encourage them to reflect on how language works and to help them to learn the French language better. The film offers several examples of pedagogical strategies designed to explore different formal aspects of language and it also argues for the importance of giving these young learners an opportunity to show their expertise in class and to see their additional languages as subjects of study alongside the language of schooling. Filmed over two years with the same children, one sees the students reflecting on their own learning of the language of schooling and how a plurilingual learning situation has been transformed into a resource for the students and their teachers.

Link: Comparons nos langues

A Colombian mum explains why she believes it is important for parents to be involved in a school project taking into account all students' languages and cultures.

Link: Témoignage d'une mère colombienne

This 1min37-long video is in Catalan with French subtitles and shows the headteacher explaining why his school chose to involve parents as much as possible. Then many examples of activities that were set up with parents are shown, highlighting the pleasure everyone took in sharing languages and cultures.

Link: PARENTS – Témoin d'un directeur d'école de Catalogne

In this activity, the students learn about similarities and differences between languages, by focusing on chocolate and desserts. The activity is divided into seven parts.
1. The students learn about the word “chocolate” in different languages.
2. For six of the languages, the participants now try to find the matching countries on a map.
3. The students have to look for words in a frame. The hidden words are the same as in 1.
4. The students read a multilingual text about the origin of chocolate.
5. The class is divided into groups and plays a quartet game. The challenge is to pronounce the desserts written on the cards in different languages (Arabic, Czech, Dutch, French, Hungarian, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish, Swedish and Turkish).
6. The students are asked to write down words related to this lesson in English, their L1 and any other language they might know. They compare the different writing systems.
7. Using a computer, the students create a word cloud with all the words they associate with chocolate.

This promising practice is extracted from the following ECML project:
A framework of reference for pluralistic approaches to languages and cultures (2012-2015)

Link: Teaching and learning materials "Addictively tasty!"

The Language for work inventory of competences is organised according to “supporter of learning” describing settings in which opportunities exist for different combinations of actors to support formal, non-formal and informal work-related L2 learning.
The lists focus on the specific competences required when supporting L2 development both in and outside the standard educational domain. The lists of competences can be used for self-reflection and in initial and further training for educational staff.

This promising practice is extracted from the following ECML project:
Language for work Tools for professional development (2016-2018)

Link: Language for work competences

Students perform a “real-world task”. They are invited to participate in an ambitious online project (Wikivoyage) and to share knowledge about their own town, region… with a large online community. They learn to take social interactions into account, they can valorise their knowledge, use the languages they learn in a meaningful context and can reflect on how information is generated and moderated on the web 2.0. Students can use their competence in different languages to find information on their own English, French town, region... and publish their contributions in different languages: Wikivoyage is available in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, German, Hebrew, Italian, Polish, Spanish and Russian.

This promising practice is extracted from the following ECML project:
Digital literacy for the teaching and learning of languages (2016-2019)

Link: Digital literacy for the teaching and learning of languages (e-LANG): task sample

Link: Vers une littératie numérique pour l'enseignement et l''apprentissage des langues (e-LANG) : exemple de tâche

Language descriptors illustrate what language learners can do in terms of language at different competence levels. They give examples of what students at different levels of language proficiency are able to understand when they listen and read, and what they are able to produce when speaking and writing. In order to use the descriptors in connection with specific subjects, topics and student groups, teachers will have to tailor the descriptors to suit their particular needs.

Subject-specific language descriptors for history/civics and mathematics were developed in the ECML project “Language skills for successful subject learning – CEFR linked descriptors for mathematics and history/civics” (2012-2015). The descriptors are meant to provide a starting point for (subject) teachers and students exploring and reflecting on language needs in different content subjects. Even though the descriptors contain examples related to history/civics and mathematics, teachers can adapt and transfer them to other subjects. Teachers can use the specific content-related descriptors for a variety of purposes, such as to:

• raise awareness of the language-related aspects of various school subjects;
• determine language objectives for lessons;
• use as formative assessment criteria;
• use as self-assessment criteria for students;
• help in planning and evaluating the language level that they, as teachers, apply in delivering classroom content in these content subjects.

This promising practice is extracted from the following ECML project:
Developing language awareness in subject classes (2016-2019)

Link: Developing language awareness in subject classes under development

In order to further develop subject teachers’ language awareness, this tool is meant to be used in collaboration with teachers of other disciplines. It asks teachers to compare what various genres mean in their disciplines. It is organised according to the same categories as Tool 1 but allows for a cross-discipline comparison of genre demands.

How to use the tool:

STEP 1: Work with a colleague who teaches another subject (or choose two subjects you teach).

STEP 2: Choose an oral or written text (e.g.: a mathematics problem, a poster, an oral presentation of an experiment, a summary in a textbook).

STEP 3: Look at the table and fill in the columns for your subjects.

STEP 4: Reflect on common points and differences and try to implement the points in your teaching.

Link: Developing language awareness in subject classes under development

This tool, which is based on a formula developed by Dr. Tara Fortune at the University of Minnesota’s Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition, demonstrates a simple but effective way to transform content objectives into language objectives. Teachers are asked to reflect on the linguistic characteristics, the function, and the vocabulary necessary for students to understand or express the content objective. Here, linguistic characteristics can mean the verb tense or other grammatical constructions that we expect students to use, a function is the action they must engage in (e.g., to describe), and vocabulary can include both academic terms (e.g., chloroform, constitution) and discourse terms (e.g., however, in that case, as a result).

This tool allows teachers to plan for more explicit language instruction, whether they use it only for themselves or give it to their students prior to the teaching unit.

This promising practice is extracted from the following ECML project:
Developing language awareness in subject classes (2016-2019)

Link: Developing language awareness in subject classes under development

While Tools 1 and 2 help teachers identify ultimate content/language objectives, this tool allows them to realistically differentiate their language expectations for students at lower proficiency levels. In this way, they can guide students towards the achievement of content objectives as they continue to work towards development of their academic language. This tool is intended for the teacher. It begins with the identification of the content objectives and progresses towards the definition of language objectives (primarily vocabulary objectives) that are attainable for students at A2 and B1 levels. Thus, the language level is adjusted, but the content learning objectives remain the same.

This promising practice is extracted from the following ECML project:
Developing language awareness in subject classes (2016-2019)

Link: Developing language awareness in subject classes under development