European Language Gazette no. 61

Lots of exciting and creative events are foreseen all over Europe and indeed the world. Just have a look through the EDL calendar (https://edl.ecml.at/edlcalendar) to find out what is happening close to you! The European Commission alone is involved in the coordination of over 70 events.

If you are involved in organising an event which does not yet feature in the calendar, please don’t forget to include it – no matter how big or small – and to promote it on social media by using the hashtag #coeEDL. The EDL calendar also allows you, as an event organiser, to generate an official certificate of participation in the Day.

And… if you are still looking for ideas for how best to celebrate the Day this year, have a look through our 20 suggestions on activities which you can organise around 26 September. Through the wide variety of formats proposed, there are many fun ways to be actively involved for any age group!
https://edl.ecml.at/eventsuggestions

The following two challenges can be included within almost any event being organised to celebrate this year’s Day of Languages:

In how many languages can you make someone laugh?

A sense of humour and what a person finds amusing are often considered to be strongly influenced by the language/s and culture of an individual. In order to find out if this is really the case, we are inviting you to send us your best jokes. The jokes can be related to language/ adaptable to different languages or just plain funny to anyone – no matter where they come from or which languages the speak!
Your joke/s may be selected to feature in the ‘greatest ever (or perhaps only!) multilingual joke book’ to be published after the EDL.
https://edl.ecml.at/jokebook

Multilingual tongue twister challenge

How many tongue twisters, in at least 3 different languages, can you manage, more or less correctly, within one minute? Tongue twisters are tricky in one language but in 3 or more is certainly not for the faint-hearted! You can prove just how good you are, either individually or within a group, by submitting a video. There will be prizes for the top ten videos. You can find some examples of tongue twisters here.
https://edl.ecml.at/tonguetwisterchallenge

Event organisers who enter their activities in the EDL calendar can spice up their event with a range of promotional items from their National EDL Relay: EDL fabric wristbands, “Talk to me” stickers, sheets of stickers linked to the booklet “Lara’s language journey across Europe” with “Hello”, “How are you?”, “Thank you” in over 40 languages, “Write with me” pencils in 7 different language sets and colours.

As it is not always possible to send materials, particularly at short notice, event organisers and schools can also reproduce themselves a number of resources such as posters, postcards, images, banners, flyers and logos for social media and printing from the Downloads section of the EDL website.

It is also possible to purchase a t-shirt with the 2022 EDL design from an external supplier.

Graz language festival
Festival open to all, Graz, Austria, 22 September 2022
Language workshops, language city walks, competitions, treasure hunts, and many other activities will provide a fun and enjoyable opportunity to get to know the linguistic and cultural diversity. The musical and artistic programme will include songs, dances, plays and literature from all over the world.
Dedicated padlet

Open air live event – Language fair
Fair, 17 September 2022, Sofia, Bulgaria
Target groups: language learners, pupils, children, language teachers, general public, young people (in general)

European Day of Languages
Celebration, 26 September – 7 October 2022, Kaštel Gomilica, Croatia
Target groups: language learners, pupils, children, language teachers, language experts, general public, parents

Online speak date with physical launching event
Language teaching and learning, 28 September 2022, Nicosia, Cyprus
Target groups: language learners, pupils, children, students, general public, young people (in general)

Training “Stepping up foreign language learning and teaching”
Conference, 26-27 September 2022, Tallinn, Estonia
Target groups: language teachers

Rare European languages
Open doors, 1st -30 September 2022, Tampere, Finland
Target groups: adults (in general), language learners, language teachers, students, language experts, young people (in general), participants in adult education programmes, tourism

Bibliothèque vivante. Je parle une autre langue : emprunte-moi !
Language exchange, 24 September 2022, Strasbourg, France
Target groups: adults (in general), language learners, general public, young people (in general)

Photo competition “Europe around me”
Competition/Tournament, 25 August  – 21 September 2022, Georgia
Target groups: pupils

European Day of Languages
School project, 26-30 September  2022, Ymittos, Athens, Greece
Target groups: language learners, language teachers, students, general public, young people (in general), parents

Languages as a bridge for peace
Language festival, 26 September 2022, Bergamo, Italy
Target groups: language teachers, students, general public, young people (in general)

Språkdagkonferanse 2022
Conference, 26 September 2022, Halden, Norway
Target groups: researchers, language teachers, students, language experts

How multilingual are you?
Round table, 19-30 September 2022, Navodari, Romania
Target groups: students, young people (in general)

The magic of words – Магија речи
Language week, 26-30 September 2022, Lipe, Smederevo, Serbia
Target groups: pupils, general public, parents

Let's meet and speak!
Language Day, 26 September 2022, Žiar nad Hronom, Slovak Republic
Target groups: language learners

Partners for Language – EUNIC in support of Seal of Biliteracy
Fair, 30 September 2022, New York, USA
Target groups: adults (in general), business and commerce, researchers, children, language teachers, students, language experts, media, policy deciders/politicians at national level

The RECOLANG team (Resources for assessing the home language competences of migrant pupils) is carrying out a European survey on the place of home languages at school, particularly within different education programmes or curricula involving migrant adolescents aged 11-18. This survey focuses on the practices of assessing home language skills and their role in different European education systems.

More detailed information on the project and the survey

From 15-20 August 2022, 2 800 participants from 110 countries met at the University of Vienna for the conference entitled “mit.sprache.teil.haben”. The host associations ÖDaF (Austrian Association for German as a Foreign and Second Language) and IDV (International Association of Teachers of German), in close cooperation with the Goethe-Institut, offered a rich programme to stimulate discussion on both academic and practical aspects of teaching and learning German.

In her video greeting at the opening of the IDT, the ECML director Sarah Breslin responded to the conference motto on the role of languages for active participation in society by emphasising the vital role of plurilingualism and intercultural competences for a democratic culture in Europe.

Two ECML events were offered as part of the conference programme: a presentation of an ECML project (“CLIL in German: Transitions between educational levels”) and a workshop on the ECML resource “A roadmap for schools to support the language(s) of schooling”. Participants highlighted the practical relevance and innovative potential of the presented ECML approaches for innovative language education in their feedback.

The initiatives and resources offered by the ECML to teachers and other language professionals were presented at a well-attended ECML information stand.

Full news item including the 2 ECML workshop presentations

The Recommendation has been adopted on 2 February 2022 by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe. It emphasises the cognitive, linguistic and social benefits of learning several languages, demonstrating the ways in which plurilingual and intercultural competences contribute to educational success, to societal integration and to understanding, assessing and formulating the arguments and opinions that are essential to democracy.
A specific web page has been dedicated to this key document which is now available in English, French, German, and Norwegian (bokmål and nynorsk).

Editors: Neus Figueras, David Little and Barry O’Sullivan

The Handbook, jointly published in April 2022 by leading players in the field of language teaching and assessment: the British Council, UKALTA, EALTA and ALTE, is freely available online.
The Handbook provides practical and accessible guidance to assist with the process of CEFR alignment in a variety of language education contexts. It has been prepared for those who are teaching, testing and developing materials in language education, as well as stakeholders concerned with education policy matters and decision making. There are plans to collect feedback on the uses and views on the Handbook so that they can be incorporated in a future revised edition.

Author: Neus Figueras

The article “Action research projects making a difference” includes two examples of school and teacher participation from the ECML project “Action research communities for language teachers”. You can find it here in 29 languages.

The “Courriel européen des langues”, the journal of the national contact point for the ECML in France, is changing format! The articles, dedicated to ECML activities and news on language teaching in France and Europe, are now available in the “ECML News” section on the LISEO portal of France Education International. This new section includes interviews with ECML national contact points, who offer an overview of the language provision and language teaching situation in their respective countries, as well as news on ECML projects and recent language policy initiatives by European institutions.

Two new articles to discover this month:

• An EUFP committed to multilingualism:
  The French Presidency of the Council of Ministers of the European Union, from 1 January to 30 June 2022, has been an opportunity for the Ministries of Europe and Foreign Affairs, Education, Youth and Culture to promote linguistic and cultural diversity as a factor of mobility and exchange, through an agenda focused on the development of a rich and diverse culture, of an outward-looking citizenship towards Europe and the world, of better employability and of the reinforcement of our common humanist values. The Presidency has also promoted multilingualism, both in the work of the Council and in the meetings organised in France.
• “CLIL in languages other than English – Successful transitions across educational stages”:
  presentation of the results of a survey carried out within the framework of the project among experts from 29 countries with specific knowledge of CLIL in their country.

Author: Haydée Maga, France Éducation International, National Contact Point for the ECML in France

In the Strategy paper for the promotion of the Luxembourgish language, the government recognises the importance of the Luxembourgish language as a language of communication, integration and literature. In addition to Luxembourgish, German and French, other languages are used in everyday life. Together they shape the identity of the country and contribute significantly to social cohesion. Therefore, the government's commitment to the promotion of the Luxembourgish language promotes multilingualism at the same time.

The four major, overarching goals are:

• strengthening the status of the Luxembourgish language;
• advancing the standardisation, use and study of the Luxembourgish language;
• promoting the learning of Luxembourgish and learning about Luxembourgish culture;
• promoting Luxembourgish-language culture.

Dedicated web section

IRDP provides didactic models of textual genres

The didactic models presented here are intended to provide teachers and trainers with a theoretically sound and operational framework to support the teaching of textual genres in schools. For each textual genre, the model consists of three documents (Definition, Modelling, Schematisation), presented in detail in a user guide.

Recent publication: Représentation inclusive du genre et de l’interculturalité dans les moyens d’enseignement – Analyse scientifique

Authors: Annabelle Daenzer, sous la direction d’Anne Bourgoz Froidevaux et Viridiana Marc
The representation of diversity is one of the quality criteria that the CIIP (Conférence intercantonale de l’instruction publique de la Suisse romande et du Tessin) takes into consideration when developing teaching materials in French-speaking Switzerland that are compatible with the Plan d’études romand. The report examines the literature that addresses these issues, providing a theoretical basis for the review grid developed to ensure an equitable representation of gender and cultures, particularly in the French-language teaching materials.

CIIP annual report 2021 published

The report (p. 80) published by CIIP (Conférence intercantonale de l’instruction publique de la Suisse romande et du Tessin) mentions in particular the involvement of Swiss expertise in ECML training and consultancy services related to the Framework of Reference for Pluralistic Approaches to Languages and Cultures (CARAP).

The Eaquals webinar series offers monthly online training on a variety of topics within the language teaching sector relevant for language teachers, teacher trainers, academic managers and researchers. The next webinars are:

• Christopher Graham: 21st century skills and the climate crisis – encouraging student engagement (13 September, 11 am – 12 pm CEST)
• Kassandra Robertson: Teaching students how to make stress work for them (20 September, 11 am – 12 pm CEST)
• Abeer Okaz – البادلت: عصا المعلم السحرية (27 September, 11 am – 12 pm CEST)
• Florence Michelet: L’utilisation en ligne de ressources authentiques pour tous les niveaux (4 October, 3 pm – 4 pm CEST)
• Sonali Bhattacharyya: Methods and strategies for teaching visual representation (13 December, 11 am – 12 pm CEST)

Free places for the online teacher training course EUROLTA

As a sign of solidarity with the Ukrainian people, the ICC offers some free places on the online teacher training course EUROLTA. The European Certificate in Language Teaching to Adults is an international certificate enabling participants to start a career in language teaching.

29th ICC-Languages Annual Online Conference: recordings of the presentations available

The ICC-Languages Online Annual Conference “Winds of change /– teaching and learning languages in a changing environment” took place on 9 April 2022. The ICC website provides the recordings of the presentations and the Q and A session that followed. The summaries of the presentations have been published in a special issue of the ICC-Journal.

Upcoming ICC webinars

• Geoff Tranter: “’Digital Twins’ – A project to enhance language learning and international understanding”, 22nd September, 17:00-18:00 CET
• Deborah Swallow: “Negotiating across borders and cultures”, 20 October, from 5 to 6 pm CET

Next webinars and recordings

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.

Recent developments

• Statement on the promotion of regional or minority languages through artificial intelligence
• Follow the newsroom

On the occasion of the World Refugee Day 2022, the Council of Europe launched a new video to present the European Qualifications Passport for Refugees (EQPR) and stories of refugees who obtained and used the EQPR. The EQPR enables refugees to have their qualifications assessed even in the absence of a full documentation. The EQPR, as a document, can be used by refugees when they wish to enter further studies or when they seek employment.

Full news item

Supporting refugee learners from Ukraine in schools in Europe

Supporting refugee learners from Ukraine in higher education in Europe

Education and support for Ukrainian refugees

Recent publication:

Upcoming and past webinars (2022):

• Teachers are crafting our future (12 September)
Pack your school bag! Priorities for the new year (7 September)

Webinar recordings:

• Does higher education teach students to think critically? (30 August)
• Two years into the pandemic: How education systems have coped with the second year of COVID (6 July)
• How are education systems in host OECD countries supporting refugee students from Ukraine? (5 July)
• How vocational education and training systems can support Ukraine (1st July)
• Creating an inclusive school climate for refugee students (20 June)
• Re-thinking education from the classroom up – What teachers think about the future of schooling (16 June)

Blog OECD Education Today:

• Education recovery after COVID-19: Better, stronger & collaborative (1st July)
• Leveraging the power of PISA for schools (2 June)
• Our changing nature: Education in a hybrid world (24 May)