Romania: experts involved and ECML activities

Date of the event: 27-28 October 2022

Format of the event: Training workshop, webinar
https://edu.ro/organizatii-internationale
https://ccdar.ro/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=871

Local organiser of the event: Rodica Diana Cherciu, Ministry of Education with the support of Teachers’ Training Centre – Arad

ECML experts:Letizia Cinganotto (Italy) and Kevin Schuck (Netherlands)

Participants: 27 teachers

• Foreign language teachers teaching in bilingual/intensive classes – high school level
• Teachers of non-linguistic subjects at bilingual/intensive classes – high school level
• Teacher educators
• Foreign language inspectors (who endorse elective studies in foreign languages)

The webinar “CLIL and beyond: pluriliteracies for deeper learning” has offered an innovative professional experience in the field of modern languages as a vehicle for making visible and further fostering students’ literacy in various non-linguistic fields. Beyond the theoretical perspectives, CLIL is perhaps one of the most challenging approaches that stimulates didactic creativity, out-of-the -box and critical thinking at the same time, challenging teachers’ mastery in turning language into a tool for deepening, connecting and transferring knowledge.

What ECML offers foreign language teachers, especially through its training workshops, together with the publications, toolkits, and webinars, represents a key stage in the process of capitalising the potential of modern languages within the context of the increasingly growing demand for an education tailored to meet the challenges of an ongoing changing society.

Rodica Diana Cherciu
Inspector
Ministerul Educației
România

You can further explore the work of the ECML in this field here:

• ECML training and consultancy offer for member states (2020-2023) “CLIL and beyond: pluriliteracies for deeper learning”    
• ECML thematic collection on “Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL)”

Romanian version

CLIL – O provocare care răsplătește

Atelierul “CLIL and beyond: Pluriliteracies for deeper learning” a oferit o experiență profesională novatoare în domeniul studiului limbilor moderne, vizualizate ca instrumente de stimulare și facilitare a alfabetizării elevilor în diferite alte domenii științifice. Dincolo de perspectivele teoretice, CLIL reprezintă poate unul dintre cele mai provocatoare exerciții care solicită  creativitatea didactică, gândirea critică, provocând măiestria profesorului în transformarea limbii într-un instrument de aprofundare, de relaționare și de transfer al cunoștințelor.

Ceea ce ECML pune la dispoziția profesorilor de limbi moderne, cu precădere prin oferta de programe de formare, alături de publicații, webinarii și alte resurse deschise, reprezintă un pas înainte pentru valorificarea potențialului limbilor moderne  la maximum, în contextul cerinței din ce în ce mai mari ca educația să răspundă provocărilor unei societăți în continuă transformare.

Rodica Diana Cherciu
Inspector
Ministerul Educației
România

Local organiser: Rodica Diana Cherciu, Ministry of Education      

ECML experts: Rita Jukneviciene, Lithuania; José Noijons, Netherlands

Participants: 26 (teachers, teacher trainers, curriculum developers, foreign language inspectors from across Romania)

“The Ministry of Education in partnership with the European Centre for Modern Languages in Graz organized a national training workshop dedicated to the specialists in the field of curricular development and evaluation, trainers and teachers, on the topic of alternative methods of continuous evaluation in the with the Common European Framework of reference for languages (CEFR) and the Companion Volume.

The event was held at the request of the Ministry of Education in Constanta, Romania as part of the Relating language curricula, tests and examinations to the Common European Framework of Reference (RELANG) initiative within the ECML - EU cooperation.

During the three workshop days, the participants, under the guidance of the RELANG team of experts, became familiar with relevant methods and techniques of continuous evaluation, ways to integrate assessment into the current teaching - learning process and design assessment tasks and test items in accordance with the CEFR descriptors. The focus was also on the use of self-assessment methods and techniques, the development of tasks for self-assessment and the valorisation of the evaluation feedback.

The acquired skills will support current curricular reform efforts which aim to turn assessment into a constant and continuous dimension of the teaching-learning process.”

Rodica Diana Cherciu, local organiser, 6 June 2022

ECML project website: RELANG – EU-ECML cooperation agreement 2022 "Innovative methodologies and assessment in language learning"

Local organiser: Rodica Diana Cherciu, Ministry of Education and Research      

ECML experts: José Noijons, the Netherlands

Participants: 24 (language testers and examiners, item writers, teachers and teacher trainers, curriculum developers, language inspectors)

“In the context of the visible reform of the Romanian educational system, the workshop entitled ‘Literature and creative texts: how to practice and test literature in line with the CEFR and the Companion Volume’ stood for an authentically new shift in the approach to the CEFR standards in relation to literature. What stirred the interest of the attendees was the way literature and especially the creative response could be used in the process of reaching the standards associated to the linguistic levels.

At the same time, the integrative manner of presenting the main topics put forth challenging connections, ranging from envisioning and valuing literature, as part of curriculum, in CEFR terms, to making up learning tasks grounded on literary texts to be further assessed and rated according to adequate scales.

The seminar proved to be a relevant exercise of curriculum design and assessment appreciated by all the participants who unanimously agreed on the workshop novelty and efficiency and recommended this course to the foreign language teachers regardless of the language taught.” 

Rodica Diana Cherciu, local organiser, 3 November 2021

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

Dates: 14 and 21 November 2020
Format: online event
Local organisation: Doina SPITA, Vice-President of the International Federation of Teachers of French (Fédération internationale des professeurs de français, FIPF), Iasi, Romania
ECML experts: Ildikó Lőrincz (Hungary), Jean-François de Pietro (Switzerland)
23 participants: 14 secondary school teachers of French as a foreign language, 3 subject teachers teaching in French, 3 students - future teachers of French as a foreign language, 3 university professors (Romania)

Language teachers in the 21st century need the knowledge and know-how to set up working arrangements that help learners to become aware of their plurilingual potential and then to develop it in multilingual communication situations, which are so frequent in both the real and virtual world.

However, it must be acknowledged that such an innovative methodology, adapted to the new challenges of language teaching and learning in the context of plurilingualism, occupies a very modest place in the initial and in-service training programmes of most countries. This is why it is a priority to involve the various teachers and future teachers of and in French in such a training module.

The workshop « Pluralistic approaches to languages and cultures in French as a foreign language and non-linguistic subjects in the French classroom (« Les approches plurielles des langues et des cultures en classe de français langue étrangère (FLE) et de disciplines non linguistiques (DNL) en français ») perfectly met these objectives. At the end of the event, the participants showed that they had understood the challenges of the new methodology, had integrated the opportunities of the Framework of reference for pluralistic approaches to languages and cultures (FREPA) and were even able to design specific autonomous modules and thus to enhance the value of pluralistic approaches and digital technology as a vector of learning motivation.

Doina SPITA, coordinatrice locale de la formation

• FREPA: A framework of reference for pluralistic approaches to languages and cultures
• More information about the training and consultancy offer of the ECML for member states "Plurilingual and intercultural approaches - A didactic tool for integrated plurilingual and intercultural education"
• Programme of the FREPA online training event (published in French on the Facebook of the University Alexandru Ioan Cuza, Iasi, Romania)
• Follow the news of the International Federation of Teachers of French (Fédération internationale des professeurs de français, FIPF) (website)

Romanian version

Ca profesori de limbi ai secolului XXI, avem nevoie să știm să concepem dispozitive de lucru care să-i ajute pe elevi/studenți să-și descopere și conștientizeze potențialul plurilingv pentru a-l putea mai apoi valorifica în situațiile de comunicare multilingvă, atât de frecvente în lumea reală ca și în cea virtuală.

Trebuie să recunoaștem că o asemenea metodologie inovatoare, adaptată noilor provocări ale predării-învățării limbilor în contextul plurilingvismului, ocupă un loc foarte modest în programele de formare inițială și continuă din majoritatea țărilor. Acesta este motivul pentru care considerăm că a-i antrena pe profesorii sau viitorii profesori de franceză sau de DNL în franceză să participe la o asemenea formare reprezintă o prioritate.

Atelierul  Les approches plurielles des langues et des cultures en classe de FLE et de DNL en français a răspuns perfect acestor deziderate. La terminarea sa, participanții au putut dovedi că au înțeles provocările noii metodologii, că au integrat oportunitățile CARAP-ului și că sunt capabili să conceapă module specifice autonome valorificând astfel beneficiile abordărilor pluraliste și ale digitalizării ca vectori de motivare a învățării.

Action research workshop for German teachers in Romania organised by the Centrul pentru formarea Continua in Limba Germana (CPD)

Action research carried out by dedicated teachers leads to innovation in classrooms, enhanced teacher efficacy and helps learners to reach their potential.

Until very recently, for many European action researchers, it had always seemed that face-to-face meetings are an absolute necessity to get teachers involved in action research. However, we are currently making new experiences and discoveries.

The CPD Centre for German teachers in Sibiu/Hermannstadt is running a series of training activities on action research based on the ECML project “Action research communities for language teachers” (ARC). The framework for the activities is:

• 90-minute session on action research for German teachers organised by the Centre and held by members of ARC team
• 90-minute session on an innovative didactic approach held by an expert from Germany
• Teachers embark on small action research projects supported by a member of the ARC team at the Centre
• Theme: Moving around in the language classroom - even in times of online learning
• Online presentations of projects by participants

What we are finding out:

• The web-based tools developed by the project www.ecml.at/actionresearch are particularly suitable to be shown online!
• It is necessary to reduce timeslots, which, in turn, means precise preparation.
• Teachers from different parts of the country were surprised by the invitation to participate and grateful for the opportunity.
• It is really important that the communication platform for the events is well-organised and offers the functionality to:
  • chat and record the chat;
  • allow participants to speak;
  • see everyone present during the session;
  • show materials through screenshare moving flexibly from PowerPoint to pictures and websites;
  • allow work in breakout rooms with easy transfer into breakout rooms and back again to plenary.

​*****

German version

Aktionsforschungsworkshop für DeutschlehrerInnen in Rumänien, organisiert vom Centrul pentru Formarea Continua in Limba Germana (CFCLG) / Zentrum für Lehrerfortbildung in deutscher Sprache 

Aktionsforschung, die von engagierten LehrerInnen durchgeführt wird, führt zu Innovationen im Klassenzimmer, erhöht die Effizienz der LehrerInnen und hilft den Lernenden, ihr Potenzial auszuschöpfen.

Bis vor kurzem schien es vielen europäischen AktionsforscherInnen, dass persönliche Treffen eine absolute Notwendigkeit sind, um LehrerInnen in die Aktionsforschung einzubeziehen. Zurzeit machen wir jedoch ganz neue Erfahrungen und Entdeckungen.

Das Fortbildungszentrum für Deutschlehrerinnen und -lehrer in Sibiu/Hermannstadt, führt auf der Grundlage des Projekts „Aktionsforschungsnetzwerke für SprachenlehrerInnen“ Fortbildungen zur Aktionsforschung durch.

Es wurde folgender Ablauf geplant:

• 90-minütige Sitzung zur Aktionsforschung für DeutschlehrerInnen, organisiert vom Zentrum und durchgeführt von Mitgliedern des ARC-Teams
• 90-minütige Sitzung über einen innovativen didaktischen Ansatz, unter der Leitung einer Expertin aus Deutschland
• LehrerInnen beginnen mit kleinen Aktionsforschungsprojekten, die von einem Mitglied des ARC-Teams im Zentrum unterstützt werden
  • Thema: sich im Sprachunterricht bewegen - auch in Zeiten des Online-Lernens
  • Online-Präsentationen von Projekten durch TeilnehmerInnen

Was wir gerade entdecken:

• Die vom Projekt www.ecml.at/actionresearch entwickelten Online-Tools sind für den Online-Einsatz besonders gut geeignet.
• Es ist notwendig, die Zeitfenster zu verkürzen, was wiederum eine präzise Vorbereitung bedeutet.
• Lehrerinnen und Lehrer aus verschiedenen Teilen des Landes waren von der Einladung zur Teilnahme überrascht und dankbar für die Gelegenheit.
• Es ist wichtig,
  • dass die Plattform gut organisiert ist und Funktionen auf dem neuesten Stand der Technik bietet;
  • dass es eine Chatmöglichkeit gibt und dass der Chat aufgezeichnet werden kann;
  • dass man den TeilnehmerInnen das Wort erteilen kann;
  • dass man alle während des Treffens sehen kann;
  • dass man Materialien durch Teilen des Bildschirmes zeigen kann;
  • dass man flexibel von PowerPoint zu Bildern und Webseiten wechseln kann;
  • dass Gespräche in den Breakout-Räumen möglich sind, mit reibungslosem Hin- und Herschalten zwischen den Breakout-Räume und dem Plenum.

In March 2018, the Bucharest University of Economic studies (www.ase.ro) served as a venue for a regional project workshop. Prof. Laura-Mihaela Muresan, who has been a member of the project network since 2016, invited over forty teacher educators, teachers, educational managers and students to the two-day event. The specializations of the experts from Romania, Bulgaria, Moldova, Poland ranged from languages for specific purposes (e.g. Business English and French) to the teaching of Romanian as a foreign language.

For the project team, the event was an opportunity to learn about current priorities and challenges for language educators in Central and Eastern Europe, and to gather feedback and insights on the project work in progress. 

The experts scrutinized the draft online Guide to teacher competence instruments, which is accessible here, and gave valuable feedback on a first draft inventory of teacher competences. The discussions resulted in many inspiring ideas and concrete suggestions to make the website and the other project outputs attractive and lively, but also innovative in terms of content, ambitious in its aims, and solid in its ambition to provide maximal support for different kinds of teachers and their learners.

• Project website "Towards a Common European Framework of Reference for language teachers" (2016-2019): English - French

The ECML project team:
Lukas Bleichenbacher (project coordinator), Francis Goullier, Anna Schröder-Sura, Richard Rossner

Members of the Action Research Communities for language teachers ran a workshop for teachers of German in Hermannstadt/Sibiu from 20^th to 22^nd of October, 2016. The aim was to introduce teachers to an action research way of thinking, to understand the benefits of action research for the enhancement of their classroom practice.

The content theme of the seminar was “Teaching about the culture of a target-country language in the language classroom: Austria”. The workshop opened with activities to exchange and compare knowledge, beliefs and opinions about Austria. The next stage was an analytic discourse based on posters made by the teachers to visualise a typical lesson on a cultural aspect in their German class.

The first day was concluded by general information about the “Action Research Communities for language teachers” and also by showing what the European Centre for Modern Languages (ECML) can offer to teachers of languages. It was important to ask for the participant feedback on what they had found interesting on the first day and what their hopes were for the continuation. Clearly, the teachers were keen to get concrete input that they could use at school. We were very pleased that they had found the exchange and getting to know each other professionally at some depth through the analytic discourse useful.

The second day opened with input on action research followed by an opportunity for the teachers to look at materials on Austria and approaches that they might use. They worked in groups moving from station to station. At the end of the second day, the teachers started to think about themes that they might work on and appropriate groups.

The third day opened with input on Learning Study as a co-operative form of action research and on an activity to generate shared visions for lessons on aspects of culture. The participating teachers planned in groups to hold lessons in their own classrooms and to write a joint report following individual experiences. The plans were shared through short presentations showing intentions and expectations.

We ended the workshop with a “crumple-paper” evaluation: “Lots of fun - using the methods presented will be worthwhile – we will carry on working together”.

The 8th International Conference on the teaching of FLE "Share to enrich" took place on 16 April 2016 in Iasi, Romania. The event was organised by the School Inspectorate of Iasi and the Romanian Association of Teachers of French with the support of the Wallonia-Brussels Delegation and the Embassy of France in Romania.

The varied programme included conferences, keynote presentations and brainstorming workshops  on didactics. Special focus was given to the use of the Framework of Reference for Pluralistic Approaches to Languages and Cultures (FREPA/CARAP) during two sessions for different target groups  – a plenary intervention involving 195 participants and a workshop on the setting up of interlinguistic and interdisciplinary projects (which brought together 24 highly motivated participants).

The two ECML experts structured their input around two core topics ("How to create bridges between the languages of one’s own repertoire in schools" and "Setting-up a plurilingual project by enhancing the synergies of learning languages") which highlighted the relevance and richness of the FREPA/CARAP project at a time when the issue of diversity is at the heart of European education policies.

This represented the third FREPA/CARAP training and consultancy event focusing on the professional development of didactic competences of teachers of Romance languages in Romania: the educational resources database developed within the FREPA/CARAP project and the intercomprehensive methodology were showcased in Iasi in April and June 2015 respectively.

In 2016, taking advantage  of FREPA/CARAP’s tools for describing plurilingual and intercultural competence, particular attention was given to the cognitive benefits of pluralistic approaches, and in particular to the benefits of integrated modern languages pedagogy. This provided an excellent basis for lively exchanges on the need for an integrated curriculum for modern languages, notably on repositioning the teaching of French in the context of plurilingual education.

Author: Dan Ion Nasta, Institute of educational sciences, Bucharest

Related resources:

• Press article: "Conferinţe în limba franceză, la Iași - Partager pour s’enrichir", Buna Ziua Iasi, Edition a VIII-a, 16 April 2016) (available in Romanian)
• Training and consultancy offer of the ECML for the member states on "Plurilingual and intercultural competences: descriptors and teaching materials (FREPA)" (available in English and French)
• Website "A framework of reference for pluralistic approaches to languages and cultures" (available in English, French and German)
• Publication CARAP/FREPA - A Framework of reference for pluralistic approaches (available in Arabic, English, French, German, Italian and Spanish)
• ECML thematic collection on plurilingual education