ECML – a Council of Europe centre

promoting excellence in language education

Languages at the Council of Europewww.coe.int/lang

Languages are the basis of: communication, intercultural dialogue, social cohesion, democratic citizenship

Promotion of:

• Plurilingualism of citizens

• Linguistic diversity in member states

Language Policy Divisionwww.coe.int/lang

Examples of publications and ongoing work

• Common European Framework of Reference for Languages

• European Language Portfolio

• Guide for the development of language education policies in Europe

• Current project: Languages of schooling– Language as a subject– Language across the curriculum

European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages

www.coe.int/minlang

The only international treaty specifically devoted to

the protection and promotion of regional or minority languages

Aim:

To enable speakers

to use th

eir language

in public lif

e

European Centre for Modern Languageswww.ecml.at

• Founded in Graz, Austria, 1994

• Enlarged Partial Agreement

• 34 member states

• Supported by Austrian authorities

• Governing Board

• Secretariat

European Centre for Modern Languageswww.ecml.at

Mission:

• Support of language education policies

• Promote innovation and facilitate reform in language teaching and learning

• Development of networks of experts

• Dissemination of good practice

European Centre for Modern Languageswww.ecml.at

How the ECML works:

• 4-year medium term programmes of projects coordinated by international expert teams

• 2-year short term projects

• National contact points

• National nominating authorities

• Nominated participants from each member state who form national and international networksand function as multipliers

European Centre for Modern Languageswww.ecml.at

Activities:

• Expert meetings, workshops, conferences, regional events involving key multipliers in language education from member states

• Interactive online platform for expert communication

• Project results published as books, CD-ROMs, Internet materials etc.

ECML programme 2008–2011www.ecml.at/empowerment

20 projects, 4 thematic areas

Evaluation

Continuity in language learning

Content and language education

Plurilingual education

Programme objectives www.ecml.at/empowerment

1. Enhancing the professional competence of language teachers

2. Strengthening professional networks and the wider community of language educators

3. Enabling language professionals to have greater impact on reform processes

4. Contributing to better quality of language education in Europe

Projects in the ECML programme in the thematic area

CONTENT AND LANGUAGE EDUCATION

Content-based modern language teaching for young learners

http://eplc.ecml.at

Curriculum development for Content and Language Integrated Learning

http://clil-cd.ecml.at

Content and Language Integrated Learning through languages other than English - Getting started

http://clil-lote-start.ecml.at

Good practice in Content and Language Integrated Learning for languages other than English

http://clil-lote-go.ecml.at

Content based teaching + plurilingual/cultural awareness 

http://conbat.ecml.at

Projects in the ECML programme in the thematic area

PLURILINGUAL EDUCATION

A framework of reference for pluralistic approaches http://carap.ecml.at

Minority languages, collateral languages and bi-/plurilingual education

http://ebp-ici.ecml.at

Majority language instruction as basis for plurilingual education

http://marille.ecml.at

Language associations and collaborative support http://lacs.ecml.at

Why plurilingual education?• A political commitment to

protecting linguistic diversity• A response to the increasing

diversity of schools’ populations• A belief that language learning and

use always involves at least two languages

A political commitment to protecting linguistic diversity• Policy responses to multilingualism lie

between two ends of a continuum of attitudes and approaches: on the one hand policy for the reduction of diversity, and on the other the promotion and maintenance of diversity. Both can be pursued in the name of improved potential for international mobility, of intercomprehension and of economic development.

A political commitment to protecting linguistic diversity• The Council of Europe and its member States have

taken the position that it is the promotion of linguistic diversity which should be pursued in language education policy. For in addition to mobility, intercomprehension and economic development, there is the further important aim of maintaining the European cultural heritage, of which linguistic diversity is a significant constituent. This means, then, that language teaching must be seen as the development of a unique individual linguistic competence ('knowing' languages whichever they may be) and also as education for linguistic tolerance.

A political commitment to protecting linguistic diversity• Policies for language education should

therefore promote the learning of several languages for all individuals in the course of their lives, so that Europeans become plurilingual and intercultural citizens, able to interact with other Europeans in all aspects of their lives

A response to the increasing diversity of schools’ populations• “In London, where I live and work,

and where my children go to school, 32% of schoolchildren speak another language in addition to English. Three hundred languages, from Albanian to Zulu, are spoken by London schoolchildren, yet most pupils’ experience of another language within the school curriculum is French, possibly German or Spanish.”

A response to the increasing diversity of schools’ populations• Minority languages in Romania

– 19 minority languages: Hungarian, German, Ukrainian, Slovak, Serbian, Turkish, Tartar, Croatian, Russian, Czech, Bulgarian, Armenian, Greek, Romani, Polish, Hebrew, Italian, Chinese, Ceangai

• Educational structures with tuition in the mother tongue: Czech, German, Hungarian, Serbian, Slovakian, Ukrainian

• Educational structures with tuition partially in the mother tongue: Croatian, Turkish

• Educational structures with tuition in Romanian and study of the mother tongue: Armenian, Bulgarian, Greek, Polish, Romani, Russian

(Source: General View of Education for national minorities in Romania during 2003-2006, 2006)

A belief that language learning and use always involves at least two languages• “What is at stake is the abandoning of a

 compartmentalised » view of an individual’s linguistic and cultural competence(s), an abandon which is a logical consequence of the way in which « plurilingual and pluricultural competence » is represented by the Common European Framework of Reference:

• this competence is not « a collection of distinct and separate competences » but in a « a plurilingual and pluricultural competence encompassing the full range of the languages available to him/her »” (CEFR p. 129).

The Issues• The need for a coherent description of

plurilingual competence• Developing effective policies which

include the presence of a number of languages

• Methodological innovation which combine general educational needs with language development

The projects in the present medium term programme

• 1. CARAP - A framework of reference for pluralistic approaches

– awakening to language – The integration of didactic

approaches – inter-comprehension between related

languages

CARAP• Defines plurilingual and

pluricultural competence• Is developing didactic approaches

to integrate them in the classroom

Competence• The ability to activate interior

resources (knowledge, skills and attitudes) to be able to cope with a set of tasks which are complex

Examples of knowledge• Knows that cultural differences exist• Knows that cultural differences can be the source of

problems in communication and interaction• Knows that aspects of culture and identity condition

effective communication• Knows that cultures may have specific norms of social

conduct• Knows that the way other people interpret our conduct

may differ from our own interpretation

Examples of attitudes• Attention / curiosity /sensitivity / positive

acceptance / receptiveness to diversity / respect / esteem / readiness / questioning / relativising /adaptability / feeling comfortable:

• With regard to one’s own and other people’s:– Identities / social rites / customs / values / language /

media /

Skills• Analyse/ recognise/compare / interact /activate

– Can use a range of different criteria to recognise cultural closeness or distance

– Can compare different cultural customs and practices– Can recognise cultural prejudices– Can recognise differences and similarities between

different domains of life in society (for example: living conditions, working life, respect for the environment, participation in civic activities)

– Can compare meanings / connotations connected with cultural features (for example, the concept of time)

The projects in the present medium term programme

• 2. Minority languages, collateral languages and bi-/plurilingual education

– Aim – to collect good practice in integrating several languages in primary education – using developments in the Val d’Aosta as an example

The methodological approachDIDACTIC OPTIONS• Diversity of texts• “Early” learning

• “Spiral progression”• Goes from complex to simple to

complex• Intensive teaching• Texts with social and personal impact• Revision and rewriting as correction• Inductive approach• Shared control• Systematic teaching• Learning tasks• Bilingual learning and teaching

OPPOSED to• Little variety of text• “late” language learning• Linear progression• Goes from simple to complex• Fragmented learning and teaching• “School” type texts• Normative grading• Frontal, instructional teaching• Teacher control• Random teaching• “Reinforcing” tasks• Monolingual learning and teaching

The projects 3 Majority language instruction as basis for plurilingual

education• Aim – to examine the consequences for teaching the

« first » language of schools to classes where the learners come from a variety of linguistic backgrounds

The problem• I am the Director of a large Language College (1600 +

students) in Sheffield, UK, and we are currently in the process of exploring ways of bringing together all the language experiences of all our students in a more cohesive and coordinated fashion than we have been able to so far. Our pupils are 11-18 years old and speak between then 30 different home languages. Our language of instruction is, of course, English, and we also teach 8 different foreign languages (although some of these may well be the home languages of some of the pupils). 

The problem 2• We want to bring some cohesion to the language development of our pupils and are looking in

particular at the following:

• 1. English as a first language (studied across the school by all children - including those for whom English is not the first language !!)

• 2. EAL (English as an additional/second language) - very patchy provision at the moment, and some of the learning there would also benefit some of our monolingual youngsters; we work more intensively with younger pupils, including withdrawal lessons but explicit timetabled EAL support drops off once the children have mastered the basic social language (BICS) with CALP (cognitive academic language proficiency) being neglected

• 3. the 30+ home languages of our students (some of which we teach as foreign language to other students, some of which we teach as mother tongues to those who wish to gain accreditation in their home language); we are working with a number of complimentary schools who teach these languages to children of their own communities and also teach two of these ourselves, outside the normal timetable (Arabic, Somali).

•4. Modern foreign languages - who could, we are sure, learn a lot from EAL and TEFL methodology as well as being able to contribute to the teaching and development of the other three areas.

Looking for a response• A Framework for Planning

What do learners bring to the task?

What does the task demand of them?

What support measures are needed?

Social

Cognitive

Linguistic

Principles of plurilingual learning• It is based on and impelled by a desire to communicate.• They must be treated as communicators from the start.• Emphasis should be on meaning rather than form.• Language learning takes place with and through other

learning.• It requires models of natural speech in a range of normal

settings.• Learning a language is a creative process that involves

making errors and formulating rules.• It is a risk-taking process so a supportive environment is

important.• It is not a linear process.• Bilingual learners already have at least one other language to

build on.