What do teachers, teacher educators, learners, political and economic stakeholders think about languages, plurilingualism and intercultural proficiency in cross-border working environments? What are their experiences? What are the main difficulties? In order to learn more about these questions, the members of the project “Enhancing language education in cross-border vocational education” launched a survey focused on the different stakeholders in the fields of education, the economy and politics in different border regions. The first instructive insights were discussed during a project team meeting on 15th and 16th November. Although there is a wide range of answers to certain questions, not surprisingly, in view of the specificity of each border region, there is great unanimity on certain issues, first and foremost: knowing languages is an asset for professional success. The detailed analysis of all the responses will be helpful for developing concepts and pedagogical materials.
Claudia Polzin-Haumann, project coordinator