Date and venue: 30-31 May 2024, Tallinn, Estonia
Local organiser: Ministry of Culture, Estonia
ECML moderators: Alexander Braddell (United Kingdom) and Matilde Grünhage-Monetti (Germany)
Participants: teachers, and researchers of Estonian as a second language (L2) for adults, Ministry of Culture, Ministry of Education and Research, Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications, Integration Foundation, The Estonian Unemployment Insurance Fund, The Estonian Employers’ Confederation, employers (including employer associations)

On 30-31 May 2024, the Ministry of Culture, Estonia, in cooperation with the European Centre for Modern Languages (ECML), hosted a seminar entitled “Language education for labour market integration”. The event, held at Roosikrants Residence, Tallinn, brought together 34 participants, including representatives from various ministries, language companies, and integration foundations. Expert moderators Matilde Grünhage-Monetti and Alexander Braddell shared insights and best practices from across Europe, focusing on enhancing work-related language skills for adult migrants and ethnic minorities. 

The seminar emphasized the importance of flexible, needs-based language learning, collaboration with employers, and the development of digital learning tools. Positive feedback from participants highlighted the seminar's relevance and effectiveness. This initiative is a step towards creating a coherent and sustainable system for language education, aiding the integration of non-native speakers into the Estonian labour market and society. Future activities will continue to build on the strategies and commitments developed during the seminar.

Author: Ministry of Culture, Estonia

Estonian version:

Piiratud ressursside tingimustes tuleb otsida alternatiivseid lahendusi keeleõppe pakkumisel. Näiteks arendades digitaalseid õppevõimalusi ja otsides koostöövõimalusi tööandjatega.
30.05-31.05.24  toimus Kultuuriministeeriumi toel ja Euroopa Nõukogu kaasrahastusel keeleõppe seminar, kus Euroopa Nüüdiskeelte Keskuse eksperdid Matilde Grünhage-Monetti ja Alexander Braddell jagasid osalejatele teadmisi ja kogemusi ning tutvustasid teiste riikide parimaid praktikaid.
Kahe päeva jooksul otsisime vastuseid peamisele küsimusele – kuidas aidata täiskasvanud sisserändajatel arendada tööalast keeleoskust?
Seminarist võtsid lisaks tööandjatele veel osa ka Kultuuriministeeriumi, Majandus- ja Kommunikatsiooniministeeriumi ning Haridus- ja Teadusministeeriumi ametnikud, keelefirmad, Eesti Integratsiooni Sihtasutus ning Eesti Töötukassa.

Source: www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:ugcPost:7203388268317519873/

Ministry of Culture, Estonia

Related links

• ECML resource website: Language for work – Tools for professional development (available in English and French)
• ECML training and consultancy offer “Language for work: how to support work-related language learning for adult migrants”

“Inspiring innovation in language education: changing contexts, evolving competences” – Join the livestream!

The conference represents the culmination of the four years of work of the ECML’s “Inspiring innovation in language education: changing contexts, evolving competences”  programme, involving, among others, 9projects, 1think tank, 12offers of training and consultancy (TaC) and a series of initiatives developed with the support of the European Commission.

The conference is aimed at all language education professionals and in particular at ECML stakeholders, policy makers and persons with a professional focus on the practice of language education (curriculum development, teacher education, material design…).

The programme involves plenary presentations, speeches, a round table, a series of smaller workshops for the presentation and discussion of programme outputs and outcomes as well as envisaged links to activities in the 2024-2027 programme.

The workshops on the second day of the conference will be organised thematically:

• Language teacher and learner competences,
• Transversal dimension of language education / Competences for life and work,
• Plurilingual and intercultural education,
• Languages of schooling; language in subjects.

Within each given theme there will be a focus on the completed project resources and related TaC activities from the current programme. Presenters will focus on the inspiring and innovative aspects of their TaC activity/new resources and will consider how the different approaches and materials presented in their thematic session complement one other.

This will also be an excellent opportunity to get a preview of the new ECML programme “Language education at the heart of democracy” (2024-2027).

In order to ensure access to a wider audience, the event will be streamed in both working languages (English and French) and the recordings made available on the ECML website.

Conference web page: English – French

Conference programme: English – French

Join the live streaming here – no registration required: English – French

#ECMLCELVconf2023

Date: 8 September 2022 and 9 May 2023, Germany
ECML experts: Matilde Grünhage-Monetti, Alexander Braddell and Christophe Portefin, Language for Work website, network and insights
Local organiser: Matthias von Gehlen, Goethe-Institut
Participants: 24 (8 September 2022) and 49 (9 May 2023)

“Developing the language of the immigration country (L2) for adult migrants for and at work is teamwork.” This could be the motto of the Language for Work (LfW) National Support for Germany 2022/23. This was split into two events: a face-to-face round table, during the 25^th Metropolis Conference, Berlin on 8 September 2022 and an online Workshop on 9 May 2023.

The round table (Fair Migration section) presented the point of view of L2 practitioners, researchers and providers, as well of employers and trade unions, stressing the need for partnership and joint action. The audience welcomed this systemic approach. The Clavis magazine for Labour Market and Integration reported on it along with other nine workshops in a special edition dedicated to the conference (www.bmas.de/SharedDocs/Downloads/EN/Topics/Labour-Market/imcb-2022-voices-and-insights.pdf? __blob=publicationFile&v=2).

The second event brought together L2 research and practice, business, trade unions, workers’ councils, labour administration and BAMF (Federal Office for Migration and Refugees). They discussed structures and conditions for fair, effective and sustainable ways to support migrant workers learning German for and at work.

In both events language was discussed as instrument for action in the context of work, constructing and giving meaning to ones’ own activities and enabling the speakers to act upon their world. Such an understanding requires approaches embedding language learning in the context in which it is used and gets its meaning: the workplace.

Matilde Grünhage-Monetti

• Online-Zukunftswerkstatt (available in German) 
• Programme (available in German) 
• ECML resource website: Language for work – Tools for professional development (available in English and French) 
• ECML training and consultancy offer “Language for work: how to support work-related language learning for adult migrants”