Ireland: experts involved and ECML activities

The European Language Gazette, the ECML's e-newsletter, provides up-to-date news about the ECML (events, projects, resources) and other relevant sectors of the Council of Europe as well as of our partners. It focuses on national developments in the field of language education in the member states and beyond.

Enjoy the latest issue: English – French

European Language Gazette no. 63 (January – March 2023)

Table of contents:

“A new Council of Europe Recommendation on language education: the importance of teacher education”

ECML programme developments 2020-2023 – “Inspiring innovation in language education: changing contexts, evolving competences”

• Save the dates!
  - Launch event of the ECML Call for proposals for the 2024-27 programme, 15 May 2023
  - ECML Summer Academy, Graz, 3-7 July 2023
• “Enhancing language education in cross-border vocational education education (initial/in-service)”: a critical topic all over Europe

ECML national support event

• “Diving into deep learning” – Vlaamse CLIL-studiedag (Brussels, Belgium, 6 March 2023)

Recent ECML resources

• Selected ECML flyers in German
• Selection of ECML resources and projects in German
• Publication translations
• Inventory of ICT tools and OERs: discover the latest resources!

Publications quoting the work of the ECML

• Related ECML work on language awareness, the language of schooling, subject classes, mediation, learning environments

European Day of Languages: EDL t-shirt contest

• EDL t-shirt 2023
• EDL t-shirt contest 2024

Training and consultancy activities

• Launch of a series of 48 language education workshops in member states

National developments

• Austria: competition for the European Language Label in Austria 2023
• France
  - LISEO highlights the work and resources of the ECML and national language policies in Europe
  - World Language Barometer 2022 – launch of the 4th edition
• Germany: MitSprache Deutsch4U - a programme for non-profit organisations to foster learning environments where diversity flourishes
• Ireland
  - Erasmus+ School Education: The impact of mobility projects on the professional development of staff
  - #ThinkLanguages Week 2023 (27 November – 1 December 2023)
• Canada: 2020-2021 Annual Report of the Official Languages and Bilingualism Institute (OLBI)

Professional Network Forum of the ECML

• Forthcoming events of the Forum members
• Eaquals webinar series 2023
• ECSPM: International Symposium “The social role of higher education: Developing the civil society’s awareness and impacting policies on the role of multilingualism in education” (Strasbourg, France, 22-24 March 2023)
• 10th EDiLiC conference (University of Copenhagen, Denmark, 28-30 June 2023)
• ICC – the International Language Association: conference, articles, new YouTube channel
• “Future of languages”: FIPLV Nordic-Baltic Region Conference (Reykjavik, Iceland, 8-9 June 2023)

In memoriam – Evangelia Moussouri and Tony Fitzpatrick

Council of Europe developments

• Towards the 26th session of the Council of Europe Standing Conference of Ministers of Education: a series of consultations
• CEFR online workshop series
• The European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages
  - The European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages is celebrating its 25th anniversary
  - Recent reports: Netherlands, Sweden
• Council of Europe online bookshop: recent publications

News from other organisations

• International Colloquium “Plurensa-2023: Multilingualism/plurilingualism, teaching and learning, complexity and integrity: epistemological, pedagogical and political perspectives” (7-10 June 2023, Montpellier, France)
• EU: European Year of Skills 2023, recent EU resources
• OECD: recent resources
• International Mother Language Day – UNESCO event “Multilingual education – a necessity to transform education” (21 February 2023)
• Global Citizenship and Multilingual Competences: new teaching module
• The European Wergeland Centre: recent resources
  - New handbook “31 basic activities”
  - “How does Artificial Intelligence influence the way teachers teach and students learn to live in a democracy?” – Webinar recorded on 7 February 2023
• Journal of International Mobility: special issue on Interculturality, intercultural skills and mobility in adult education – Call for paper until 28 April 2023
• Journal Education Sciences: special issue on Multiculturalism in higher education: current trends, challenges, and practices – Call for papers until 31 July 2023
• Babylonia, the Swiss Journal of Language Education: latest issue

Quick links

Local organisers of this ECML training and consultancy event: Dr Deirdre Ni Loingsigh (University of Limerick (UL)) , Dr Catherine Martin (UL), Ciara Considine (UL) and Tara Robinson (Limerick & Clare Education Training Board)

This was the first ECML funded Language for Work National Training and Consultancy event to take place in Ireland. The event was designed to support development of work-related language skills crucial to the integration and participation of second language (L2) adult migrants and ethnic minorities in Irish workplace settings. A broad range of stakeholders attended the event and shared ideas about developing and supporting language for work provision for L2 learners in Ireland. The ECML moderators of the event offered participants practical guidance for helping teachers, providers, employers, policymakers, and others involved in supporting work-related L2 learning of adult migrants and ethnic minorities across the country. The event facilitated the creation of useful networks amongst key stakeholders in Ireland and there are plans to begin implementation of some of the LfW models presented at the event. 

This event provided a significant opportunity for staff from further and higher education to come together around an area of interest - that of Language for Work. The success of the event shows that there is exciting potential for collaborative work in the future which will be of benefit to all. The event energised stakeholders and provided tangibles examples of effective practice from other countries which can be implemented in Ireland. The importance of this training and consultancy was highlighted by the Vice-president of the University of Limerick, Professor Máiréad Moriarty also, who noted that “in bringing together a broad range of stakeholders to network and share ideas about language for work for L2 learners in Ireland, this event is addressing an urgent linguistic, cultural and economic need of Ireland”. 

Contact details: [email protected]

• More information about the ECML Training and Consultancy offer "Language for work: how to support work-related language learning for adult migrants"

****

Irish language press release (October 2021)

Scileanna Teanga don Ionad Oibre: Ag Tacú le Foghlaim an Dara Teanga ag an Obair  

Ar an 30 Meán Fómhair agus an 1 Deireadh Fómhair 2021, bhí ócáid Scileanna Teanga don Ionad Oibre (LfW): Ag Tacú le Foghlaim an Dara Teanga ag an Obair (T2) in Éirinn ar siúl den chéad uair in Éirinn. Tacaíonn an tionscadal Scileanna Teanga don Ionad Oibre (LfW) atá maoinithe ag an Lárionad Eorpach um Nuatheangacha (ECML) le forbairt scileanna teanga ag an obair, rud atá ríthábhachtach do chomhtháthú agus do rannpháirtíocht imirceach fásta dara teanga (T2) agus mionlaigh eitneacha san ionad oibre. Bhí sé mar aidhm leis an ócáid náisiúnta LfW seo raon leathan lucht leasa a thabhairt le chéile chun plé a dhéanamh agus smaointe a roinnt maidir le forbairt agus tacú le scileanna teanga don ionad oibre a chur ar fáil d’fhoghlaimeoirí T2 in Éirinn. Tugadh treoir phraiticiúil do mhúinteoirí, do lucht déanta polasaithe agus do dhreamanna eile a bhfuil baint acu le tacú le foghlaim T2 ag an obair d’imircigh fásta agus do mhionlaigh eitneacha ar fud na tíre ag an ócáid.

Ba iad comhordaitheoirí na hócáide náisiúnta seo an Dr Deirdre Ní Loingsigh, Scoil an Bhéarla, na Gaeilge agus na Cumarsáide, an Dr Catherine Martin, Scoil na Nuatheangacha agus na Teangeolaíochta Feidhmí, Ciara Considine, Aonad na Gaeilge, Ollscoil Luimnigh agus Tara Robinson, Bord Oideachais & Oiliúna Luimnigh & an Chláir.

Ag labhairt di faoi thábhacht na hócáide, dúirt an tOllamh Máiréad Moriarty, Leas-Uachtarán OL don Rannpháirtíocht Dhomhanda agus Pobail, go bhfuil an tionscadal seo ag tabhairt aghaidh ar riachtanas práinneach teanga, cultúrtha agus eacnamaíoch na hÉireann trí raon leathan 70+ lucht leasa a thabhairt le chéile chun smaointe a phlé agus a roinnt faoi scileanna teanga don ionad oibre d’fhoghlaimeoirí T2 in Éirinn. Is deis é seo scileanna teanga na n-imirceach fásta in Éirinn a fhorbairt don ionad oibre, agus ag an am céanna, scileanna ilteangacha na ndaoine a ghlacann páirt sa tionscadal a cheiliúradh.

D’oscail Maria Lorigan Cigire Sinsearach sa Roinn Oideachais agus ionadaí na hÉireann ar Bhord Gobharnóirí an Lárionaid Eorpaigh um Nuatheangacha, an ócáid go hoifigiúil,  agus dúirt an Dr Angela Farrell, Déan Cúnta, Idirnáisiúnta, OL, agus léachtóir in TESOL agus Teangeolaíocht Fheidhmeach, Ollsoil Luimnigh cúpla focal fáilte agus tacaíochta.

Bhí tairiscint na hÉireann ar cheann de líon beag iarratas rathúil ó bhallstáit ar fud na hEorpa chun oiliúint agus comhairleoireacht a reáchtáil sa cheantar. Ba iad áisitheoirí agus saineolaithe an Lárionaid sa réimse Matilde Grünhage-Monetti (DE); Alexander Braddell (RA), agus Kerstin Sjösvärd (SE). Roinn siad samplaí d’idirghabhálacha agus de thionscadail rathúla atá deartha chun tacú le foghlaim teangacha don ionad oibre i gcomhthéacsanna éagsúla ar fud na hEorpa.

Ar an gclár oibre bhí cur i láthair ar an tionscadal 'Eolas ar mhaithe le hAthrú' (K4C) i Luimneach, tionscnamh de chuid Chathaoir UNESCO le Taighde Pobalbhunaithe agus Freagracht Shóisialta san Ardoideachas chomh maith. Tá ríméad ar OL agus ar Bhord Oideachais & Oiliúna Luimnigh & an Chláir tacú le comhpháirtíochtaí nua maidir le Foghlaim Dara Teanga ag an Obair in Éirinn ag leibhéal áitiúil, náisiúnta agus Eorpach.

Sonraí teagmhála:

[email protected]

Local organiser: Soraya Sobrevía, Mother Tongues

ECML experts: Terry Lamb, UK; Chantal Muller, Belgium

Participants: 20 (teachers of other subjects/teacher educators, teachers of the language of schooling, policymakers/ curriculum writers, speech and language therapist, home school liaison)

“The SMC workshop in Dublin was a success! Despite it being online, it was well attended and very well received by participants because the training modules were adapted to meet the participants’ different needs. The ECML experts were very knowledgeable in the topic. There was time spent guiding us through a dedicated section on the ECML website with key resources for multilingual classrooms. Judging by the feedback we heard, everyone seemed very happy with the sessions devoted to discovering how to draw on children’s heritage languages as a rich resource for learning. We would strongly recommend hosting this workshop in your setting.”

 Soraya Sobrevía, local organiser, 12 October 2021

ECML project website: Supporting multilingual classrooms – EU-ECML cooperation agreement 2020-2021 "Innovative methodologies and assessment in language learning"

David Little, Trinity College Dublin, and Déirdre Kirwan, formerly principal of Scoil Bhríde (Cailíní), Blanchardstown, reflect on the role of language and culture in forming the identities of pupils in a linguistically and culturally diverse population.

Read the article - available in 29 languages on the EU's School Education Gateway, Europe's online platform for school education

Tobias Haug reports that the University of Applied Science of Special Needs Education (HfH, Zurich, Switzerland) has set up a CEFR¹ working group to align the existing Swiss German Sign Language curricular to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). The outputs of the ECML "Pro-Sign project - Promoting excellence in sign language instruction" are a very important resource for this process. The working group, led by Tobias Haug, is also in close cooperation with other stakeholders, mostly with the Swiss Deaf Federation.

In Ireland, Lorraine Leeson and Carmel Grehan, along with student ISL² teachers Anita Nolan and Eimear Mowlds, have been working on the European Language Portfolio (ELP) piloting with students at Trinity College Dublin. They have talked with students at three points over the course of this academic year about their experiences of using the pilot ELP and explored their thoughts on its usefulness.

At Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany, Christian Rathmann and Thomas Geissler have been working on the implementation of ELP with the students enrolled in BA Deaf Studies. Two focus groups have been arranged, and the experiences were shared. Moreover, the team at the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin has been working on sign language assessment in three areas: production, reception and interaction. Another focus group has been arranged as well.

Colleagues at both institutions are analysing the data to prepare for the Pro-Sign II network meeting in Graz (Austria, 5-6 April 2018). The project team is very much looking forward to telling you about our progress at the network meeting!

The Sign Language Curriculum in Deaf Studies at Humboldt University, Germany, was revamped and is now aligned with the CEFR.

Third, the preparations of the Pro-Sign Conference in Belgrade, Serbia, include the release of a "Save the date" announcement, and the call for papers will be distributed soon.

In Toronto, Canada, a CEFR workshop has been delivered by Christian Rathmann (21-24 February 2018). 

Beppie van den Bogaerde represented the Pro-Sign II expert team at an EALTA organised event, VIth EALTA CEFR SIG in Dublin, Ireland, on 27 January 2018, “The CEFR Companion Volume with new descriptors: uses and implications for language testing and assessment”. A report will be published soon, drafted by Prof. Dr. David Little.

The Pro-Sign II project team:
Christian Rathmann (coordinator), Tobias Haug, Lorraine Leeson, Beppie van den Bogaerde

*****

1 CEFR: Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, teaching, assessment
2 ISL: Irish Sign Language
3 ELP: European Language Portfolio

The European Language Gazette, the ECML's e-newsletter, provides up-to-date news about the ECML (events, projects, resources), the Language Policy Unit and other relevant sectors of the Council of Europe, as well as our partners. It focuses on national developments in the field of language education in the member states and beyond.

Issue no. 33 (September - October 2016): available in English and in French. 

An Intercultural Look at our Schools Toolkit is an online toolkit for self-evaluation and support for intercultural and linguistic diversity in schools wishing to address inclusion. It was developed in Ireland as a localised version of the self assessment tools established by the ECML project “A Roadmap to support the languages of schooling” (which is available in English, French, German and Finnish).

Set up at the initiative of the Post-Primary Languages Ireland (PPLI) in collaboration with Dublin-Dun Laoghaire Education and Training Board (DDLETB) the Irish toolkit aims to:

• raise awareness of the role students’ plurilingual and pluricultural identities and competences play in their learning in a school setting;
• support teachers and school management in facilitating and promoting students’ access to the curriculum;
• encourage schools to cast an intercultural look at aspects of school life beyond the classroom to ensure that all languages and cultures of the school community are included and valued.

The toolkit advocates for a whole-school approach to improvement. It surveys and includes the voices of all members of the school community.

Find out more at : https://ilaos.ppli.ie/

Watch video

One school, Many Languages (January 2022) – this attractive brochure has been designed as a practical resource for primary school teachers. It contains links to lesson plans, videos, audio resources that can be used in the classroom and articles following the latest research and best practice.

The toolkit has been designed by Mother Tongues to disseminate some of the key points from the Supporting Multilingual Classrooms national workshop, delivered in Ireland on 27th and 28th September 2021 by the ECML experts, Chantal Muller and Prof. Terry  Lamb. This event was funded by the European Union and the European Centre for Modern Languages.

In February 2022, The Irish Times featured Mother Tongues and the toolkit in an article:
“Speaking in mother tongues shows heritage is a class act – Embracing diverse languages inside the classroom gives all pupils a great advantage”.

Follow Mother Tongues on social media:
Facebook: @mothertongues.ie
Twitter: @MotherTonguesIE
Instagram: @mother_tongues_ireland
#MotherTongues

Four DECODE project team members and their ECML consultant met with 19 teacher educators, teachers and researchers at the network meeting which was held at the ECML in Graz, Austria, on 24-25 June 2025. The participants were from Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Germany, Greece, Ireland, North Macedonia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.

During the two-day meeting, participants explored how to foster competences for democratic culture (CDC) in young learners through language education. On the first day, the team introduced the CDC model and discussed challenges in language education, the role of CEFR tools, and principles for developing CDC-related materials. A template for CDC materials was presented, and participants shared best practices and identified teachers’ needs. On the second day, they collaborated in groups to create and present initial CDC teaching materials, offering feedback on the template. Five of the network participants also shared highly interesting testimonials (see below) about CDC’s relevance in their professional contexts and the value of the DECODE project. The meeting strengthened understanding of CDC and highlighted the importance of collaboration for successful implementation of the DECODE project.

Authors: Emina Jelešković, Martina Kramar

• ECML project website “Developing competences for democratic culture for young learners through language education” (2024-26) (available in English and German): www.ecml.at/decode
• Video testimonials of network participants from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Greece, German, Ireland, and Sweden: see Recent developments

From 30 May to 1st June 2016, the Pluriliteracies team met with national representatives from 7 European countries (Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Serbia and Slovenia) to share the latest iteration of the pluriliteracies model as well as a newly developed planning tool for mentoring deeper learning which was illustrated by practical examples for different subjects and levels from associated partner schools and teacher training seminars.

The teacher training and consultancy events will address a wide audience including teachers, teacher educators, policy makers, curriculum writers, heads of schools and ministry officials.

The events are intended to promote change towards deeper learning mindsets. Outcomes will include university training modules and courses, curriculum consultancy, and teacher training courses for a wide range of audiences, subjects, languages and age groups.

Related ECML resources:

• A pluriliteracies approach to teaching for learning – Content and Language Integrated Learning
• Literacies through Content and Language Integrated Learning: effective learning across subjects and languages
• Thematic collection on CLIL

• Web section dedicated to the ECML

• Web section dedicated to the European Day of Languages 

• Ireland and the ECML (ECML web pages)