The result of over twenty years of research, the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, teaching, assessment (CEFR) is exactly what its title says it is: a framework of reference. It was designed to provide a transparent, coherent and comprehensive basis for the elaboration of language syllabuses and curriculum guidelines, the design of teaching and learning materials, and the assessment of foreign language proficiency. It is used in Europe but also in other continents and is now available in 39 languages.
Available in 39 languages.
Go to the CEFR page
This guide is a response to the need to develop language policies on the basis of a coherent approach: clarifying principles and defining goals, analysing situations, identifying resources, expectations and needs, and the implementation and evaluation of these measures. The aim is to reduce the number of ad hoc decisions, often taken under the pressure of events, and promote a “global concept” for languages.
Available in English and French.
Download the publication
The purpose of this text is to clarify the concepts of societal multilingualism and individual plurilingualism, in accordance with other texts of the Council of Europe, to describe the characteristics of plurilingual and intercultural education, to make clear the crucial importance of competence in languages with respect to educational and therefore social success so that, in a multipolar world, knowledge of languages is not reduced to the efficacy of linguistic communication.
This paper recalls the history and main developments in language education policy and practice since the late 1950s to the present. The strong commitment of member states over many years has ensured that Council of Europe’s programmes in language education have been, and remain, seminal in promoting innovation and a platform for dialogue and fruitful cooperation among policy makers and practitioners.
The QualiRom initiative has published an extensive databank of teaching and learning materials for teachers of Romani. The materials developed in six Romani varieties range from proficiency levels A1 to B2 for learners at primary, secondary and tertiary levels and constitute the largest resource of its kind for the teaching and learning of the Romani language based on European standards. The databank comprises 39 sets of materials (some 16,000 pages!) in Arlije, East Slovak, Finnish, Gurbet, Lovara and Kalderaš Romani.
Available in English.
Go to the project page
The following documents and tools are available in English and in Romani (Kalderash or Usary).
Go to the Council of Europe page
This position paper was designed to guide and clarify the scope of the protection afforded to the Romani language under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages.
ELP: Primary
ELP: Lower Secondary
Handbook for Teachers
The EDILIC association intends to congregate all the efforts aiming at facilitating the dissemination of awakening to languages in the school systems, including those in connexion with efforts aiming at the dissemination of other plural approaches (integrated didactics, intercomprehension of related languages, and intercultural approaches)
Go to the association page
The objective of this three year Nordplus Horizontal project is to disseminate and exchange results and experiences in education by examining how the Language Awareness/Eveil aux langues approach can be integrated and further developed in the Nordic/Baltic context. The project will give the partners the possibility to establish a network, to adapt, develop and evaluate teaching materials for the Nordic/Baltic context, to collect information about plurilingualism in the Nordic/Baltic countries and to compare and disseminate the results.
Available in English and Danish.
Le projet se fixe pour objectif de faire progresser le champ de recherche relatif au plurilinguisme. Il s'intéresse aux représentations sociales que les acteurs (en particulier enseignants et apprenants) ont du plurilinguisme, en lien avec leurs pratiques, le développement de ces dernières et les compétences complexes qui leur sont sous-jacentes.
Available in French.
The Network of European Language Labelled Initiatives aims to promote quality in language learning through the application of the quality criteria used to award the European Language Label. The NELLIP Network selected relevant language learning initiatives having received the European Language Label that are consistent with the current political priorities of the European Commission in the field of language learning.
The International Association of Multilingualism is an international network of scholars who share an interest in multilingualism.
At the European Commission’s request, Amin Maalouf chaired a think tank on multilingualism.
The project brings together 20 European universities and two research centres which are willing to develop relevant multilingual structures and to engage in a high-level debate on the implications of multilingualism for Europe. We will seek to integrate these themes into a coherent programme which will oblige each University to rethink its relationship to multilingualism.
The EU funded Network of Universities and Research Institutes on Multilingualism (EUnoM) (2010-2012) has delivered its final report at the closing conference in Brussels. The project focused on themes such as language teachers, longitudinal and transferable models of multilingual education, university language planning, social media, economic aspects of multilingualism, the multi-ethnic society as well as the knowledge economy and multilingualism.
Download the report
The Language Rich Europe (LRE) aims to promote greater co-operation between policy makers and practitioners in Europe in developing good policies and practices for multilingualism. Such polices will ensure that languages and cultural exchange continue to be promoted and encouraged at school, university and in broader society.
The EU encourages all citizens to be multilingual, with the long-term objective that every citizen has practical skills in at least two languages in addition to his or her mother tongue. This survey has been undertaken with the overall objectives of understanding European citizens’ experiences and perceptions of multilingualism.
Available in English, French, Spanish, Russian and Chinese.
Go to the UNESCO page
The publication Key Data on Teaching Languages at School in Europe gives a picture of the language teaching systems in place in 32 European countries. It examines various aspects of foreign language teaching, in particular its organisational features, participation levels and the initial and continuing education of foreign language teachers.
The European Language Council is a permanent and independent association, whose main aim is the quantitative and qualitative improvement of knowledge of the languages and cultures of the European Union and beyond.The association was officially launched in July 1997 by a group of leading European universities and associations with the support of the then DG XXII of the Commission of the European Communities.
CercleS brings together some 290 Language Centres, Departments, Institutes, Faculties or Schools in Higher Education whose main responsibility is the teaching of language. Its members have several thousand academic, administrative and technical staff, and some 250, 000 students who learn all the world's main languages. CercleS is committed to the highest possible standards in language education and research.
The ICC is a non-government organisation (NGO) with participatory status at the Council of Europe. ICC sets standards for a transnational network of language learners.
The database "Plurilingualism and promotion of linguistic competences" was created between 2012 –2014 as part of the EU projects AMuSE (Approaches to Multilingual Schools in Europe) and will continue to exist after 2014. Its aim is to help users at different levels of the educational system and in different institutions to gain access to information about projects demonstrating good practice, materials, publications and tools.
Available in English and German.
The OECD blog discusses existing and emerging issues in education, including international student performance (PISA), skills for the 21st century, developments in higher education and early childhood learning, and more.
Go to the blog page
Drawing from classroom ethnographic case studies involving library corners and conducted in British Columbia, this paper explores the use of bi-/plurilingual books in multilingual and multicultural classrooms. Within the perspective of a plurilingual and intercultural education, we explore how some teachers use learners’ different languages and cultures during the teaching process to develop literacy. Moreover, we examine how such practices embrace the growing diversity of learning contexts by offering a locus of continuity between families, schools and communities.