The ECML and the Professional Network Forum

LAPP is an initial course in Language Assessment skills which is available free of charge to language teachers or trainee teachers. The course, launched on 19 January 2026,  will help teachers to develop their skills in assessing students’ language proficiency. This initial training course has been established by two members of the ECML’s Professional Network Forum – Eaquals and ALTE, in partnership with Mint-digital.

The focus of this course is the basic principles of assessment; it offers an introduction to best practice, and key considerations drawn from the European Profiling Grid (EPG) and the ALTE Principles of Good Practice 2020. Focusing on the skills needed to design and deliver a test, it will take the course participants to the intermediate level of assessment skills described in the European Profiling Grid. It is designed to offer an exciting, varied and goal-oriented way to improve participants’ skills in evaluating their students’ language competencies.

Website: https://lapp.education

Photo credit: lapp.education
 

The ECML’s Professional Network Forum (PNF) held its annual meeting in Graz on 5 December.

The network is comprised of 16 international associations and institutions united by shared values and complementary expertise in language education and assessment. Cooperation is also underpinned by formal agreements between the respective members and the ECML.

On the occasion of the PNF’s 15th meeting,  representatives from the following bodies attended:  American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL); the International Association of Applied Linguistics (AILA); the Association of Language Testers in Europe (ALTE), the European Confederation of Language Centres in Higher Education (CercleS), the European Association for Language Testing and Assessment (EALTE), the Evaluation and Accreditation of Quality in Language Services (EAQUALS), the European Civil Society Platform for Multilingualism (ECSPM),  Education, Cultural and Linguistic Diversity (EDiLiC), the European Parents' Association (EPA) and Official Languages and Bilingualism Institute of the University of Ottawa (OLBI), together with Anna Sole Mena from the European Commission and Aurelio la Torre from the Italian Presidency of the Council of Ministers, attending as an Observer.

The meeting gave the network partners the opportunity to share information on their ongoing activities and identify potential synergies, as well as discovering more about the most pertinent developments relating to the European Commission and the ECML.

Among the developments presented was a new initiative coordinated by EAQUALS and ALTE. The Language Assessment Professionalisation Programme (LAPP), which helps language teachers/trainee teachers, develop their skills in assessing their students’ language proficiency. The programme, which is free of charge will be officially launched on 19 January 2026.

Recognising the added value and power of this unique cooperation platform, the members of the Forum discussed a possible joint initiative, the Forum partners also discussed a possible initiative aimed at convincing politicians and stakeholders in education of the increasing value of languages.

The meeting followed on from the previous day’s ECML-EC Colloquium, Graz ‘Multiple voices in the classroom: Harnessing the power of regional and minority languages in secondary education’ which was attended by a number of the partners.

The latest issue of the ECML's e-newsletter, European Language Gazette No. 74, is now available. It features current news on ECML activities, including events, projects and resources, as well as updates from relevant sectors of the Council of Europe and ECML partner organisations. The Gazette also highlights national developments in language education from member states and beyond.

Enjoy this issue in English and French!

Table of contents

Featured articles

Live-streaming of the ECML-EC Colloquium on Regional and minority languages in secondary education on Thursday, 4 December 2025
European Day of Languages 2025
Programme manager in language education: call for candidates for a secondment at the European Centre for Modern Languages, Graz, Austria

ECML outreach events

“Language education at the heart of democracy”: from Parliamentary Assembly to city dialogue
ECML participation in the international workshop on “Maximising learning outcomes linked to CLIL in primary and secondary education” (Sèvres, France, 26-27 November 2025)

ECML programme of activities 2024-2027: latest developments

“AI for language education” workshop at the ECML
Pluriliteracies for global citizenship: Introducing the 4Rs Framework to design deeper learning episodes for the languages classroom
ARPI – a digital companion to guide users through ECML resources
“Fostering the plurilingual wellbeing of language teachers”: Flurry of Pluriwell activity blows into a new academic year
CLILMat workshop (Graz, 17-18 September 2025): enhancing CLIL materials for 21st-century competences learning

ECML training and consultancy in member states

ECML-EC workshops on “Using ICT in support of language teaching and learning (ICT-REV)”

Austria  (1-2 October 2025)
Germany (Kiel, 15-16 September 2025)
Poland (Sulejowek, 15-16 October 2025)

ECML-EC workshops on “Supporting Multilingual Classrooms”

Webinar “Supporting multilingual classrooms” (recorded on 16 October 2025)
Cyprus (Nicosia, 9-10 October 2025)
Spain (Melilla, 8-9 October 2025)

ECML-EC workshop on “Relating language curricula, tests and examinations to the CEFR” (RELANG)

Czechia (Prague, 9-11 September 2025)

ECML workshops on "The CEFR Companion Volume: Mediation and other key concepts" (MedVITbox)

Webinar “Mediation in teaching, learning and assessment” (recorded on 13 November 2025)
Finland(Oulu, 26-27 May 2025)
Slovenia(online, 8-9 October 2025)

ECML national training workshops “A ROADMAP for schools to support the language(s) of schooling”

Romania (online, 27-28 October 2025)
Sweden (Hässelby, 8-9 October 2025)

ECML national support events

Greece – Bridging vertical and horizontal transitions: CLIL across educational levels and languages (Thessaloniki, 17 October 2025)
Malta – “Languages in early childhood: Where to begin? Early language learning and the role of CLIL in LOTE contexts” (Pembroke, 31 October 2025)

National developments

Austria: Roadmap to Language Sensitivity in Austrian Schools

France: recent developments

Interview by France Éducation International – ECML Summer Academy 2025: reflections from a French teacher
A unique partnership in France to advance modern language learning

Recent publications quoting the work of the ECML

Professional Network Forum of the ECML
Forthcoming events of the Forum members

Council of Europe

The Republic of Moldova took over the Presidency of the Committee of Ministers
75th anniversary of the European Convention on Human Rights - Solemn Ceremony 
Policymakers and educators shape the future of foreign language education in Türkiye
World Forum for Democracy: “Democracy at risk: how can we revive it?” (Strasbourg, France, 5-7 November 2025)
European Year of Digital Citizenship Education 2025
Council of Europe launches the E-Democracy Lab online learning platform
The Knowledge Hub of the Education Department – a one-stop digital library for education professionals across Europe
European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages (ECRML)
Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities
Council of Europe bookshop: recent resources

News from other organisations

European Commission
European School Education Platform
Unesco
OECD
Mercator – European Research Centre on Multilingualism and Language Learning

Quick links