Gazette 50 – January-May 2020

Are you a parent struggling to find motivating activities to support your child’s language development at home? Or a language teacher adapting your pedagogy to online delivery? Perhaps you are a student, who would like to use this opportunity to have some fun while working on your language skills? If so, the new ECML treasure chest is for you.

Read the full news item: English – French

ECML member states, experts and wider stakeholders have recognised the occasion of the ECML’s 25th Anniversary as an opportunity to raise awareness of the political importance of quality language education and of its contribution to democratic, peaceful societies. They have agreed this Declaration which highlights the ECML’s key contribution to ensuring that inclusive, plurilingual and intercultural education becomes a reality in member states.

Read the full Declaration: English – French

All nine project teams have held successfully their first meetings and launched their respective project websites. Each site offers an overview of the respective project and details of how to get involved.

Stay tuned to these platforms for ongoing developments:

• CLIL in languages other than English: www.ecml.at/CLILforsuccessfultransitions
• CEFR Companion Volume implementation toolbox: www.ecml.at/companionvolumetoolbox
• Developing teacher competences for pluralistic approaches: www.ecml.at/pluralisticteachercompetences
• Developing transversal competences in language education: www.ecml.at/transversalcompetences
• Digital citizenship through language education: www.ecml.at/elangcitizen
• Enhancing language education in cross-border vocational education: www.ecml.at/crossbordervocationaleducation
• Mediation in teaching, learning and assessment: www.ecml.at/mediation
• Resources for assessing the home language competences of migrant pupils: www.ecml.at/homelanguagecompetences
• Young children's language learning pathways: www.ecml.at/younglearnerpathways

Given the current situation around the Coronavirus, the RELANG and Supporting Multilingual Classrooms workshops under the ECML-EU cooperation initially scheduled for the period March-June 2020 had to be postponed until autumn. The experts and the local coordinators are working together to find new dates for the training workshops. Please visit the ECML website and the online calendar for updates.

Would you be able to recognise Albanian, Armenian, Bosnian, Danish, English, Hungarian, Greek, Irish, Japanese, Lithuanian, Macedonian, Maltese, Occitan, Polish, Romanian, Russian or Serbian when you hear two people talking in one of these languages on a bus, in a café or on the street? The language game “Which language is it?” is one of many activities offered on the EDL website which may help you train this skill!

We are currently looking for the native speakers to volunteer to record a short conversation in an ‘everyday’ environment (in so far as this is possible in the current situation!). If you would be willing to volunteer for this feature, please contact gabija.kiausaite@ecml.at for further details.

E-lang provides language teachers with resources which promote the use of “realworld tasks” in a pedagogical approach that fully integrates social interactions. E-lang ultimately supports learners to become competent and autonomous language users as well as digital citizens.

Access download page: English – French

Braddell Alexander, Grünhage-Monetti Matilde, Portefin Christophe, Sjösvard Kerstin (2019), "Aus der Praxis: Deutsch für die Arbeit – Ein Wegweiser mit praktischen Tipps, um erwachsene Zugewanderte beim Lernen der deutschen Sprache für die Arbeit zu unterstützen", in Stein Margit, Steenkamp Daniela, Weingraber Sophie, Zimmer Veronika (eds.), Flucht.Migration.Pädagogik – Willkommen? Aktuelle Kontroversen und Vorhaben, Bad Heilbrunn: Verlag Julius Klinkhardt, pp. 412-426.

Recent publication: Les clés du Cadre

Adopted in 2001 by the Council of Europe, the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFRL) has profoundly changed modern language teaching and assessment in France and many other European countries. In this publication (2019), Francis Goullier lists and explains the key components of this language policy document.

Latest newsletters edited by France Éducation International, the national contact point for the ECML

Courriel européen des langues

On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the ECML and the completion of its "Languages at the heart of learning" programme, Issue no. 42 of the Courriel européen des langues gives the floor to Sarah Breslin, ECML Executive Director (review and conference on 5-6 December 2019), and Claire Extramiana, ECML Governing Board member for France, who offers an overview of the French projects in the 2016-2019 programme and presents the French representation within the new project teams for the period 2020-2023. Four ECML project coordinators present the outcomes and achievements of their projects. Bronka Straus, ECML Governing Board member for Slovenia, has been interviewed about language teaching in her country.

"La Lettre de France Éducation International": April 2020

Infolettre "Veille et ressources documentaires": January 2020 – February 2020 – Mars 2020

The updated bibliography “Découvrir le système éducatif français : sélection de ressources” (Discovering the French education system: selection of resources) (March 2020) offers a selection of resources (websites and publications in French and English) relating to the organisation, the functioning and the main institutions of the French education system.

Language teaching: at least two modern languages by the end of secondary education

On 26 November 2017 at the Sorbonne, in a speech entitled Initiative for Europe, the President of the Republic expressed the wish that all students should master two modern languages by the end of high school. Improving French students' proficiency in modern languages is a priority for the Ministry, as can be seen in the section devoted to foreign and regional modern languages on the website of the Ministry of Education and Youth. Every pupil must be able to communicate in at least two modern languages by the end of secondary education. To achieve this objective, language teaching is part of a strong common European perspective. Pupils have contact with a foreign language from the first grade and oral practice is a priority at all levels of schooling from primary onwards.

Ministry of National Education and Youth, DGESCO (General Directorate for School Education) – Modern Languages: National resource portal - SchoolNet

Dedicated to education professionals, this portal of modern language resources is made available online by Éduscol. It provides all modern language teachers with a single point of entry to resources and information they need in their profession or to prepare for it. Teachers can find free teaching resources (by level and programme, by device, for assessments and examinations, digital resources and resources for the common base) and institutional information (official texts and curricula). In addition to the “headline” (à la une) and "zoom in" (zoom sur) sections, there are four main headings: Teaching, Information, Training and News.

Renewing our partnership

In December, Jérémie Séror, Director of OLBI and Nikolay Slavkov, Director, Canadian Centre for Studies and Research on Bilingualism and Language Planning (CCERBAL) travelled to Austria for the 25th anniversary conference of the ECML. During the event, Sarah Breslin, the Centre's Executive Director, signed the renewal of the Memorandum of Cooperation and Liaison between ECML and OLBI. Established in 2008, this memorandum ensures cooperation between the two institutions. As per the agreement, OLBI disseminates ECML content and proposes Canadian experts to participate in various projects, making OLBI the National Nominating Authority for Canada.

In regards to OLBI’s achievements

OLBI invites you to read its 2017-2019 Annual Report, which presents key achievements from the last two years. The report outlines the progress and impact of OLBI’s programmes, its teaching practices, its research projects, all of which are enriched by valuable collaborations and partnerships, among others with the ECML (see pp. 12 and 23).

OLBI Working Papers on translanguaging

The newest edition of OLBI Working Papers, Volume 10, dubbed Translanguaging: opportunities and challenges in a global world, is available in digital format. A hard copy can be requested from olbi@uOttawa.ca.

This new report presents the results of the Council of Europe 2018 survey conducted in co-operation with the Association of Language Testers in Europe (ALTE) on language and knowledge of society policies (KoS) for migrants.

• Full news item
• Read the report
• Access the LIAM web page

The European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages is the European convention for the protection and promotion of languages used by traditional minorities. Together with the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities it constitutes the Council of Europe's commitment to the protection of national minorities.

Latest national developments: reports and recommendations

Cadre de référence des compétences pour une culture de la démocratie (3 volumes, now available in French)
(Original version published in English in 2018: Reference framework of competences for democratic culture (3 volumes)

Learning to live together – Council of Europe report on the state of citizenship and human rights education in Europe

The Intercultural City step by step
This is a toolkit providing principles, tools and examples of good practice tested in various cities to help communities achieve the inclusion of all types of newcomers, and more generally of people with diverse backgrounds.

The teaching of regional or minority languages in schools in Europe (abstract and all available language versions)

Digital competences and skills in schools (webinar 10.12.2019)

Digital education at school in Europe

Focus On: Digital learning environments – the best way forward?

Erasmus+: a turning point in the lives of 5 million European students

Should immigrants be taught in their mother tongue at schools?

Mercator European Research Centre on Multilingualism and Language Learning, hosted by the Fryske Akademy, researches multilingual education and language learning in Europe. For policy makers and professional workers, it is an independent and recognized reference centre.

Newsletter issue: no. 157, December 2019 – no. 158, March 2020 – no. 159, April 2020