Latest articles
08.07.2024
Empowering integration through language education
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
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02.07.2024
“Language of schooling: Developing language awareness in subject classes” workshop in Lesbos, Greece
Date and venue: Lesbos, Greece, 18-19 June 2024
Local organiser: Angeliki Tsakyri, Primary School Ippiou, Lesbos
ECML experts: Eli Moe (Norway) and Jérôme Béliard (France)
Participants: 33 primary and secondary language and subject teachers, refugee education coordinators, school advisors
The “Language of schooling: developing language awareness in subject classes” workshop organised by the European Centre for Modern Languages (ECML) in cooperation with the Section of International Relations of the Hellenic Ministry of Education and the Regional Directorate of Education of the North Aegean, offered significant benefits for teachers who develop the modern educational systems. The event followed an agenda of well-structured workshops, to emphasize the critical role of language across all subjects,empowering teachers with tools and strategies to support students' language development and thereby enhance overall academic outcomes. Participants had the opportunity to gain insights into fostering an inclusive learning environment for all students.
This workshop also promoted collaboration among educators from different educational levels, encouraging the exchange of best practices and resources. It highlighted the importance of language-aware teaching in policy and curriculum development, advocating for its inclusion.
For further resources, the ECML website offers a wealth of information and tools for educators seeking to implement language awareness in their teaching practices.
Further developments in this area can be found on the ECML’s official website, providing continuous support and updates for educators committed to enhancing language awareness in schools. This initiative is a step forward in ensuring that all students, regardless of their language or cultural background, have equal opportunities to succeed academically.
Tsakyri Angeliki
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In Greek
Το επιμορφωτικό εργαστήριο «Language of Schooling: Developing Language Awareness in Subject Classes» που διοργάνωσε το Ευρωπαϊκό Κέντρο Σύγχρονων Γλωσσών (ECML) σε συνεργασία με το Τμήμα Διεθνών Σχέσεων του Ελληνικού Υπουργείου Παιδείας και την Περιφερειακή Διεύθυνση Εκπαίδευσης Βορείου Αιγαίου, προσέφερε σημαντικά οφέλη σε εκπαιδευτικούς που διαμορφώνουν τα σύγχρονα εκπαιδευτικά συστήματα. Η επιμόρφωση ακολούθησε μια ατζέντα καλά δομημένων πρακτικών εργαστηρίων, έτσι ώστε να τονιστεί ο κρίσιμος ρόλος της γλώσσας σε όλα τα μαθήματα, ενδυναμώνοντας τους δασκάλους με εργαλεία και στρατηγικές για να υποστηρίξουν τη γλωσσική ανάπτυξη των μαθητών και να ενισχύσουν τα συνολικά ακαδημαϊκά αποτελέσματα. Οι συμμετέχοντες είχαν έτσι την ευκαιρία να αποκτήσουν γνώσεις για την δημιουργία ενός περιβάλλοντος μάθησης χωρίς αποκλεισμούς για όλους τους μαθητές.
Το εργαστήριο κατάφερε παράλληλα, να προωθήσει τη συνεργασία μεταξύ εκπαιδευτικών από διαφορετικές εκπαιδευτικές βαθμίδες, ενθαρρύνοντας την ανταλλαγή βέλτιστων πρακτικών και πόρων, υπογραμμίζοντας τη σημασία της γλωσσικής διδασκαλίας στην ανάπτυξη πολιτικών και προγραμμάτων σπουδών και υποστηρίζοντας τη συμπερίληψη.
Οι εκπαιδευτές και ο ιστότοπος του ECML προσέφεραν πληθώρα πληροφοριών, πόρων και εργαλείων για τους εκπαιδευτικούς που επιδιώκουν να εφαρμόσουν τη γλωσσική επίγνωση στις διδακτικές τους πρακτικές.
Περισσότερο υλικό σε αυτόν τον τομέα υπάρχει στον επίσημο ιστότοπο του ECML, παρέχοντας συνεχή υποστήριξη και ενημερώσεις σε εκπαιδευτικούς που στοχεύουν στο να ενισχύσουν τη γλωσσική ευαισθητοποίηση στα σχολεία. Αυτή η πρωτοβουλία είναι ένα βήμα προς τη διασφάλιση ότι όλοι οι μαθητές, ανεξάρτητα από τη γλώσσα ή το πολιτιστικό τους υπόβαθρο, έχουν ίσες ευκαιρίες για αποτελεσματικότερη εκπαίδευση.
Tsakyri Angeliki
21.06.2024
France: uniting the educational community by legitimising all the languages present
Date: 16 and 17 November 2023
Venue: Lycée Hôtelier International de Lille
Local organiser: Emmanuel HAUCHARD, CASNAV coordinator, Académie de Lille
ECML moderators: Nermina Wikström (Sweden) and Sophie Babault (France)
Participants: 23 teachers of various subjects (literature, English, physical and sports education, German, earth and life sciences), senior education advisers, teachers of French as a language of schooling, CASNAV academic advisers (trainers)
The inclusion of newly arrived allophone pupils in school is now a principle affirmed by academic directives and accepted by all members of the educational community. However, the objective of acquiring the French language – the language of schooling – sometimes means that other languages present in schools are overlooked. Yet knowledge and use of many languages designated as 'foreign' are not restricted to the minority of children from families that have recently arrived in France.
Thanks to ROADMAP/FEUILLE DE ROUTE, we can initiate a collective process of reflection involving all staff, as well as parents and pupils themselves. The self-assessment tool is easy to use, and invites the various players to consider all the languages involved as potential levers for learning, while strengthening the cohesion of the educational community. The practices proposed at the end of the diagnosis are inspiring and adaptable to different local contexts. With the support of ECML experts, the approach is easy to adopt and is showing promising results.
Emmanuel Hauchard, coordinator of the CASNAV of the Académie de Lille
20.06.2024
The role of ECML projects for language educators
ECML training and consultancy: Action Research Communities online workshop
Date: pre-workshop on 23 May 2024; workshop: 31 May – 1st June 2024
Venue: Brusov State University, Yerevan
Local organiser: Arpine Hovhannisyan, Brusov State University
ECML moderators: Christine Lechner, Austria, and Renata Zanin, Italy
Participants: 22 language teachers working at the university, schools, language centres
As a local organiser and recent participant in the European Centre for Modern Languages (ECML) online Workshop on Action Research Communities (ARC), I am excited to share the incredible training and consultancy opportunities offered by ECML! These events are designed to empower language educators with cutting-edge methodologies and innovative practices, ensuring that we – Armenian language teachers – stay at the forefront of language teaching.
The ARC workshop was a transformative experience. You engage with educators from different Institutions, exploring innovative research methods, collaborative strategies, and effective practices in language education. The insights and practical tools develop the participants’ knowledge and creative impulses to enhance the effectiveness of their teaching.
ECML’s training and consultancy events cover a wide range of language education themes, including digital literacy, plurilingual education, and inclusive teaching strategies. These events are tailored to meet our diverse needs, offering engaging workshops and collaborative learning experiences.
By participating in ECML events, we benefit from the expertise of leading professionals in the field and join a supportive community of educators committed to excellence in language education. These programmes provide unparalleled opportunities to advance our skills, network with peers, and contribute to the evolution of language teaching.
I encourage all language educators to take advantage of these exceptional opportunities. Elevate your teaching and make a meaningful impact on your students’ language learning journeys.
Visit the ECML website to learn more and register for upcoming events. Together, we can transform language education and evolve further!
Arpine Hovhannisyan
19.06.2024
Supporting Multilingual Classrooms: ECML national training workshop (6 – 7 June 2024, Belgrade, Serbia)
Supporting Multilingual Classrooms: ECML national training workshop (6 – 7 June 2024, Belgrade, Serbia)
Local organiser: Milena Kostić & Tamara Đorđević, Foundation Tempus
ECML experts: Terry Lamb, Brigitte Gerber
Participants: 17 (teacher educators, mentors, teachers organising professional development activities, school leaders)
The workshop organised on 6 and 7 June 2024 in Belgrade brought together teacher educators, mentors, teachers organising professional development activities and school leaders from primary, secondary and tertiary education institutions across Serbia.
The workshop offered sessions involving individual and group work. The participants learnt about valuing plurilingual identities and attitudes towards diversity in the classroom, developing competences to support the learning of other languages in the classroom, how to support multilingualism across the curriculum and in the whole school. The importance of cooperation at the school level was emphasised with the aim of raising awareness of multilingualism and interculturality. The participants could apply the insights and knowledge they gained while creating joint projects.
The participants found it particularly useful that they could observe how students feel in the classrooms where they neither speak nor understand (well) the language of schooling and to reflect on and discuss the ways of integrating them. During the workshop, the moderators presented the activities in which – in addition to teachers – peers, parents and the wider community could also participate, as they are important in the process of welcoming foreign students and introducing them to the new language and culture.
Milena Kostić and Tamara Đorđević, local organisers, 18 June 2024
18.06.2024
France: "Plurilingual and intercultural approaches" academic seminar
Date and venue: 11 April 2024, Grenoble-Alpes University, France
Local organisation: Academic Steering Committee for Modern Languages and Academic School for Continuing Education
ECML experts: Béatrice Leonforte (Switzerland) and Michel Candelier (France)
Participants: 120 - supervisory staff and trainers from primary and secondary schools
In the presence of ECML experts (Michel Candelier and Béatrice Leonforte) and academics from the Lidilem laboratory at Grenoble Alpes University, a seminar on pluralistic approaches to languages and cultures was attended by 120 managers and trainers from the Grenoble education authority. This seminar, which took a resolutely cross-curricular approach, enabled primary and secondary school teachers to become aware of the work already underway in the field of pluralistic approaches to languages, as well as benefiting from high-level scientific contributions, discovering numerous examples of activities and acquiring new resources.
This workshop, organised with the strong support of the ECML, consolidated what already exists and opened up fruitful avenues of work for the future – in particular by outlining prospects for work in nursery schools, CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning) classes, mathematics, vocational training or as part of bilanguage continuity classes (classes of 6ème pupils who have benefited from the teaching of two modern languages at primary level). The participants appreciated this time for taking a step back, exchanging ideas and reflecting, which gave them the desire to go further in developing the plurilingual and pluricultural skills promoted by the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.
Frédéric Bablon, Diana-Lee Simon, Jean-Christophe Larbaud