Anniversary ceremony programmme

The European Centre for Modern Languages celebrated its 10th anniversary on Friday 16 September 2005. Council of Europe Deputy Secretary General Maud de Boer-Buquicchio, guests and representatives of the host country from the Austrian Ministry of Education, Science and Culture, the Steiermark Region and the City of Graz took part in the celebrations.

Speech by Maud de Boer-Buquicchio, in honour of the ECML  
10th Anniversary Photogallery

The anniversary ceremony was also an occasion to honour the work of Dr. John Trim, a renowned expert in the Council of Europe's work on language education for over 35 years. Following speeches by Dagmar Heindler, Austrian Representative to the Governing Board of the ECML and Joseph Sheils, Head of the Department of Language Education and Policy of the Council of Europe, Maud de Boer-Buquicchio awarded Mr. Trim the Council of Europe's Pro Merito medal. The ceremony culminated in the inauguration of the John Trim Collection in the ECML documentation and resource centre. The collection consists of books, documents and papers relating to Mr. Trim's work with the Council.

Speech by Joseph Sheils, in honour of John Trim (English and French)  
Keynote speech by John Trim at the beginning of the workshop   
Description of the John Trim collection  

Workshop on the occasion of the 10th Anniversary of the ECML

On 16-17 September 2005, 32 young teachers, students and researchers gathered at the ECML for the workshop "Back to the Future: the needs of tomorrow's language educators". The workshop served as a means for up and coming language experts to get to know the Council of Europe's language policies as well as to work on aspects of the ECML project "From Profile to Portfolio: A Framework for Reflection in Language Teacher Education" (FTE) under the coordination of David Newby.

Workshop report  
Photogallery
FTE project website

ECML 10th Anniversary brochure

On the occasion of its 10th Anniversary, the ECML published a special brochure packed with facts, information and quotes related to the ECML's history. The brochure can be downloaded in

English   

French   

German   

The ECML's influence on language teaching: an article by Frank Heyworth

Frank Heyworth has acted as a team co-ordinator and as a specialist trainer for a large number of ECML projects. On the occasion of the 10th anniversary we asked him to highlight the ECML's contribution to language teaching over these last ten years.

English   

French   

German  

To mark the occasion of the 5th European Day of Languages , the Council of Europe issued a special EDL press release which was translated into 12 languages thanks to the co-operation of the national relays. The ECML's EDL event databank recorded details of 725 events from 36 European countries and Japan. Photos from a number of these events can be seen in the 2005 EDL photo gallery.

A new interactive game constituted the new feature of the EDL website. With the help of the "Talk to me" stickers, the game prompts players to guess the origin of 41 European languages. After the EDL celebrations, 15 players who successfully identified the 41 languages received a special "Talk to me" T-shirt.

EDL press release  
EDL photo gallery 2005
Interactive game "Talk to me"

Since its foundation, the ECML has organised over 60 traineeships with trainees from close to 20 countries. The ECML offers traineeships twice a year for recent graduates with an excellent command of at least one of the working languages of the Council of Europe (English and French).

Traineeships last 6 months and relate to three aspects of the Centre's work: its programme activities, its information and documentation services and its website. And since September 2005, the Centre is experimenting in offering traineeships in its administration once a year (September-February). Full details can be found on the newly revised ECML traineeship site.

The traineeship pages of the ECML website provide information, in English and French, on trainees' profiles, duties and tasks, on living and working conditions, finance and the application procedure and form. They also include information on Graz. The deadline for applying to be among the intake of trainees from January to June 2007 is 30 September 2006.

Web pages on traineeships

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To follow progress of the various projects in the ECML's current medium-term programme, visit the relevant project websites. These provide access to the project description (background, objectives, expected results, action plan) and the materials produced and give news on latest developments.

Medium-term programme of activities 2004-2007  
Overview of the project websites
Annual Calendar of activities 2006

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In the course of Central Workshop 2/2006 (Graz, 9-11 March 2006), experts provided input on the potential value of community languages as a European resource. The data collected was reviewed and an appropriate strategy for evaluating and disseminating the results was discussed. Joseph Lo Bianco, Professor at Melbourne University and Honorary Professor at Hong Kong University held a keynote speech on the topic "New times, world kids, valuing languages".

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In the course of this project, a set of training materials has been developed with the help of aspiring and beginning-of-career trainers to support teacher trainers in their daily practice. These materials were improved on the basis of suggestions made by experienced trainers who participated in the first workshop in Graz in 2004 and in the six national training events which took place in Croatia, Greece, Latvia, Poland, Czech Republic and France in 2005.
The aim of Central Workshop 1/2006 (Graz, 28 February – 4 March 2006) was to test and pilot the kit with less experienced pre- or in-service teacher trainers.

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Workshop 8/2005 (Graz, 14-17 December 2005) gathered twenty-two head teachers from different states. The aims of the workshop were:

• to exchange views about experiences with whole-school language profiles and policies;

• to collect and analyse a selection of case studies reflecting the various language and cultural backgrounds in which whole-school language profiles and policies are set up;

• to present models of good practice in plurilingual education and the promotion of plurilingualism;

• to collect and develop tools to assist schools in designing language policies or profiles;

• to disseminate the Council of Europe’s Guide for the development of language education policies in Europe, a reference document for the setting up or reorganisation of language teaching and the formulation of language policies to promote plurilingualism in member states.

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Regional workshops:
International Learning and Research Centre, Sir Bernard Lovell School, Bath, United Kingdom (6-8 October 2005)
New Bulgarian University (NBU), Sofia, Bulgaria (8-10 December 2005)

The objectives of both regional workshops:

• to exchange knowledge and experience in the area of quality development and training for quality assurance;

• to present national developments related to quality management and teacher training;

• to study the preliminary version of the “Qualitraining” guide for quality assurance which will be the end product of this project.

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The aim of Central Workshop 7/2005 (Graz, 23-26 November 2005) was

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Central workshop 6/2005 (Graz, 3-5 November 2005) focused on describing good practice in Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL). The workshop identified and examined the essential conditions and competencies needed for quality to be achieved and sustained in this educational approach.

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Central Workshop 5/2005 (Graz, 27-29 October 2005) gathered 21 professionals representing 20 different nationalities, all of whom are involved in intercultural communication, education and teacher training. The purpose of the workshop was to present a tentative model of intercultural competence and to test the related training activities developed so far.

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Ildikó Lázár et al. (adaptation of the French version by Ildikó Lázár and Efrosyn Tofaridou), Miroirs et fenêtres - un manuel de communication interculturelle, Conseil de l'Europe / Centre européen pour les langues vivantes, 2005, ISBN 92-871-5914-9.
This publication is the end product of the project on "ICCinTE - Intercultural communication in teacher training"

To order the French publication
Abstract of the French publication
To download the English publication
Project website

Reminder: All ECML publications may be downloaded from the website or ordered free of charge from the documentation and resource centre.

Online publications
List of ECML publications and order form

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Finnish, collection designed and compiled by Heli Annika Lesjak

Hungarian, collection designed and compiled by Etelka Halász

Polish, collection designed and compiled by Malgorzata Sliwinska

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New titles acquired between September 2005 and March 2006   

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After examining both the educational and economic effects that the presence of the ECML has had in Austria and in the region in its 2004 report, the Austrian Association, in its 2005 report, focuses on the special relations between the ECML and Graz University.

Full version in German  

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The Division's programme is concerned with policies and European standards for the languages of school education, modern ('foreign') languages, the languages of minorities and of migrants. The medium-term programme 2006-2009 is summarised as four main interrelated projects which represent a combination of new activities and the further development of others:

1. Policies and standards in languages of school education

2. Language Education Policy Profiles

3. European proficiency standards for transparency and quality

   o Relating language examinations to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR)

   o Language requirements based on CEFR for adult migrants in relation to residence or citizenship;

   o Common curriculum framework for Romani

4. European Language Portfolio (ELP)

   
   

Overview of the medium-term programme  
European Language Portfolio website
Contact at the Language Policy Division

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The Language Policy Division has launched a new activity with a view to promoting social cohesion in the follow-up to the 3rd Council of Europe Summit of Heads of State and Government. It is concerned with the development of effective reading and writing skills in the language(s) of instruction which are essential for successful learning across the whole curriculum.

The project will analyse and define approaches to curricula for languages of school education, taking into account the language skills needed for study across the curriculum; it will also examine possible links with learning, teaching and assessment in foreign (and other) languages in order to promote a coherent approach to language education.

The results are expected to lead to proposals for a common instrument offering benchmarks for describing and assessing competence in the languages of school education. A further outcome will include possible policy strategies and variations in curricula for languages of school education so as to cater for the specific needs of disadvantaged native speakers and non-native speakers, such as minorities and migrants.

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A number of countries now require newcomers to demonstrate a degree of proficiency in the official language of the receiving country in order to obtain long-term residence rights or citizenship. Some countries may recommend or require attendance at language classes while others may insist on an examination. Many examination and certification bodies responsible for testing language for granting residence permits or citizenship to non-nationals use the levels of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. Countries set different levels (varying from A1 to B1/2) and have different practices for assessing the level of applicants.

The Action Plan approved at the 3rd Summit refers, in the context of nationality law, to the promotion of the acquisition of citizenship as a focus point of the Council of Europe. Accordingly, this activity aims to provide a follow-up to the Summit by offering to facilitate co-operation among political decision makers, relevant ministries, language testers and representatives of immigrants on the issues related to languages and residence or citizenship. It aims to promote transparency and equity in this process through a common understanding among officials and teaching/certification bodies of the language needs of migrants and to promote professional testing and certification standards.

At a recent meeting of experts (2-3 February 2006), the Language Policy Division invited representatives of three other Council of Europe bodies (the Parliamentary Assembly, the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities and Directorate General of Social Cohesion) with a view to giving to this project a stronger political and social dimension.

An action plan has been established aiming at the development of a conceptual reference framework (with a Human Rights approach) to assist member states in defining their policies concerning the integration of migrants.

Contact at the Language Policy Division

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The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe has just adopted a recommendation for the attention of the German authorities on measures they could take to improve the application of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages in Germany.

Council of Europe's note to editors
Report and recommendation on the application of the Charter in Germany   
Information on the Charter and its monitoring mechanism
Theme file on minority languages

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More information about Council of Europe activities on education, culture and the cultural heritage is provided in the Education Newsletter published by the Directorate of School, Out-of School and Higher Education.

Education Newsletter (No. 18, Autumn 2005)   
All issues of the Education Newsletter

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