Young migrants
Supporting multilingual classrooms

The Network of Experts working on the Social Dimension of Education and Training (NESET), one of the seven official knowledge providers of European Commission’s Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture (DG EAC), has recently published a new analytical report, titled ‘The future of language education in Europe: case studies of innovative practices’.

The main purpose of this report is to explore emerging innovative approaches and strategies of language teaching in Europe supporting learners’ plurilingualism, inspire educators and policy makers to innovate and implement forward-looking policies and practices in language education, and contribute to the implementation of the EU Council Recommendation on a comprehensive approach to the teaching and learning of languages (adopted in May 2019).

The publication also refers to the work of the Council of Europe’s European Centre for Modern Languages (ECML) and highlights 8 projects and tools promoting plurilingual pedagogies (see pp. 4, 36, 37, 40, 61, 88, 114, 118, 128):

• Language in subjects - Developing language awareness in subject classes (ww.ecml.at/languageinsubjects)
• A roadmap for schools to support the language(s) of schooling (www.ecml.at/roadmapforschools)
• ICT-rev - Inventory of ICT tools and open educational resources (https://ict-rev.ecml.at/)
• CONBAT+ - Plurilingualism and pluriculturalism in content-based teaching: A training kit (https://conbat.ecml.at/)
• CARAP - FREPA: A Framework of reference for pluralistic approaches to languages and cultures - Competences and resources (https://carap.ecml.at/)
• Maledive - Teaching the language of schooling in the context of diversity - Study materials for teacher development (https://maledive.ecml.at/)
• MARILLE - Promoting plurilingualism - Majority language in multilingual settings (https://marille.ecml.at/)
• CLIL-CD - European Framework for CLIL Teacher Education (https://clil-cd.ecml.at)

You can access the full report (English) and executive summaries (English, French and German) on the website nesetweb.eu.

Local organiser: Lília Maria Vicente, Directorate-General for School Administration, Ministry of Education and Science

ECML experts: Brigitte Gerber, Switzerland; Mercè Bernaus, Spain

Participants: 24 (school principals, heads of department of languages, representatives of school advisers and policy makers)

Programme

The Supporting Multilingual Classrooms initiative aims to help member states ensure access to quality education for migrant learners and bridge the attainment gap between these learners and non-migrant pupils. Given this context, the Portuguese Directorate-General for School Administration recently hosted the second Supporting Multilingual Classrooms workshop on the topic of developing language-aware schools.

Its main goals were: i) to call school principals and other education professionals’ attention to the advantages of multilingualism for promoting academic success and enabling inclusion; ii) to help principals’ and teachers developing awareness regarding the importance of multilingualism; iii) to promote the development of teaching and learning practices intended to promote multilingualism in each and every classroom; iv) to engage the wider school community and municipalities in the task of promoting multilingualism as a way to improve meaningful learning.

The school principals have to manage school clusters that incorporate pupils from many different nationalities. This requires the establishment of strategies that ensure that every member of their community has opportunities to develop awareness of the value of multilingualism for all and integrate these opportunities into their practices. Therefore, it is very important to give school principals the opportunity to share their reality with others and to get to know new ways of addressing their problems in a more effective and rewarding way.

Lília Maria Vicente, local organiser, 23 March 2020

ECML project website: Supporting multilingual classrooms – EU-ECML cooperation agreement 2019-2020 "Innovative methodologies and assessment in language learning"

Local organiser: Lara Sammut Debono, Education Officer, Migrant Learners' Unit - Ministry of Education and Employment (MEDE)

ECML experts: Katja Schnitzer, Germany; Kristin Brogan, Ireland

Participants: 26 (foreign language teachers, teacher educators, teachers of the language of schooling, school administrators and school advisers)

Programme

On the 5^th and 6^th of March 2020, under the auspices of the cooperation partnership with the European Commission, the ECML and the Maltese Ministry of Education and Employment (MEDE) organised a very beneficial training workshop on Supporting Multilingual Classrooms. It focused on developing a whole-school approach to valuing and supporting linguistic and cultural diversity and multiple ways of collaboration among teachers of various levels and subjects. Education professionals representing public entities attended the workshop. These included education officers, members of school management teams, teachers from both the primary and secondary sectors and community liaison workers. This provided a cross-section of stakeholders working at multiple levels, with the aim of exploiting multilingualism as a valuable resource.

The event demonstrated that all learners, both those speaking the majority language and those speaking minority languages, can be empowered by their own plurilingual identity in a multilingual society. Teachers were encouraged to develop positive attitudes towards linguistic and cultural diversity. The strong point of the training was the practical approach to supporting plurilingual learners in mainstream classrooms. Ideas were shared on how learning can be scaffolded and on how to develop strategies for differentiated learning. The moderators guided participants during workshops on how to apply these principles to their existing school context. The experts referred to existing ECML resources and participants discussed how these could be adapted to their learners’ needs. Formative assessment was addressed and in particular its supportive role in language development in different subjects with the help of a Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) approach. The experts’ delivery was greatly appreciated by the participants attending the workshop.

 Lara Sammut Debono, local organiser, 14 March 2020

ECML project website: Supporting multilingual classrooms – EU-ECML cooperation agreement 2019-2020 "Innovative methodologies and assessment in language learning"

Given the current situation around the Coronavirus, the RELANG and Supporting Multilingual Classrooms workshops under the ECML-EU cooperation initially scheduled for the period March-June 2020 had to be postponed until autumn. The experts and the local coordinators are working together to find new dates for the training workshops. Please visit the ECML website and the online calendar for updates.

Local coordinators from 8 countries (Armenia, Denmark, Greece, Latvia, Malta, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia) met with the project team at the ECML on 29 - 30 October to advance preparations for national workshops to be hosted on the themes of Supporting Multilingual Classrooms.  The series of events targeting practitioners, multipliers and administrators at national level will take place between January and September 2020.

The Supporting Multilingual Classrooms initiative, providing training to Member States of the European Union and the European Centre for Modern Languages, is organised through a joint cooperation action with the European Commission - first launched in 2013. The action will offer training and consultancy over the next year to around 500 language professionals within national systems.

Further details on the events and how to participate will be made available on the Supporting Multilingual Classrooms website.

In September 2019, the European Centre for Modern Languages of the Council of Europe and the European Commission, Directorate-General for Education and Culture, plan to launch another round of activity within the joint action on Innovative methodologies and assessment in language learning.

The action includes two initiatives: RELANG and Supporting Multilingual Classrooms. RELANG focuses on relating foreign/second language curricula, tests and examinations to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), and Supporting Multilingual Classrooms focuses on the linguistic integration of migrant learners in schools across Europe. The activities are scheduled to take place from 21 September 2019 to 20 September 2020, each initiative offering up to 9 national workshops during this period.

The call is open to current European Union member states and the additional member states of the ECML until 5 July 2019.

For further information, please contact Adelina Rosca (adelina.rosca@ecml.at), the ECML-EC cooperation agreement coordinator.

Local organiser: Lília Vicente, Directorate-General for School Administration

ECML experts: Katja Schnitzer, Germany; Mercè Bernaus, Spain

Participants: 28; language teachers, school directors, representatives of local authorities, expert from the Ministry of Education

“Teachers and school leaders from 12 different schools from all over Portugal attended the Council of Europe workshop Supporting Multilingual Classrooms (SMC) on 21 and 22 February 2019. The Lisbon workshop, part of a series being held in a number of member states, has been hosted by the Ministry of Education (DGAE). 

During the last years the number of multilingual classes in Portugal has increased continuously. Some of the teachers attending the workshop come from schools where up to 50% of the student population speak at least one language other than Portuguese at home. 

At the workshop, participants explored tools that support both second language development and the promotion of a better understanding of learners' specific needs. Creating an inclusive school environment in which all languages, including all home languages, are valued was an important theme. Participants discussed how multilingualism in their schools can become an asset, and how a whole school approach to supporting it can be developed. 

This intercultural approach examines how learners' home languages and cultures can be taken account of when planning classes, how links can be established between home languages and the language of schooling, and how the knowledge and experience that learners, parents and community groups bring to Portuguese education and society can be harnessed. 

At the end of the workshop the 12 participating schools decided, supported by the representatives of the Ministry of Education (DGAE), to build a network for mutual support. All tools and materials from the workshop will be used in the participating schools. In this way the workshop results can contribute to the teaching and learning of languages in Portuguese schools. 

This two-day workshop was funded by the EU Commission and the ECML (European Centre for Modern Languages). The workshop provided support to teachers on how to value students’ home languages as well as on how to draw on these languages as a rich resource for learning, by involving them in a wide range of interactive and experiential activities.”

Katja Schnitzer and Mercè Bernaus, Supporting Multilingual Classrooms experts
22 February 2019

• Programme
• ECML project website: Supporting multilingual classrooms – EU-ECML cooperation agreement 2018-2019 "Innovative methodologies and assessment in language learning"

Local coordinators from 16 countries (Albania, Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Lithuania, Malta, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia and Spain) met with project teams at the ECML on 30-31 October to  advance preparations for  national workshops to be hosted  on the themes  of  Relating language curricula, tests and examinations to the Common European Framework of Reference (RELANG) and Supporting Multilingual Classrooms.  The  series of events targeting practitioners, multipliers and administrators at national level will take place between January and August 2019.

The RELANG and Supporting Multilingual Classrooms initiatives, providing training to Member States of the European Union and the European Centre for Modern Languages, are organised through a joint cooperation action with the European Commission - first launched in 2013. www.ecml.at/ec-cooperation. The action which is based on  two key language education concerns within the targeted states will offer training and consultancy over the next year  to around 500 language professionals within national systems.

Further details on the events and how to participate will be made available on the initiatives’ respective websites

Dedicated websites:

• RELANG
• Supporting Multilingual Classrooms

RELANG network

'Supporting Multilingual Classes' Network

Are you looking for input for an in-service training to develop the professional skills of language educators? Or are you in need of consultancy to advance local, regional or national reform processes and to meet international standards? Then take a closer look at what the ECML has on offer.

ECML experts in language education work with national authorities and local experts to devise and implement in-country activities, tailored to the particular context and target audience.

Information on offers and the 2019 request form are available online: http://www.ecml.at/TrainingandConsultancy

Requests for a training and consultancy activity must be submitted until 4 November 2018 via the national ECML representative in the Governing Board.
Educational professionals interested in organising a particular activity should therefore contact their national representative.

Local organiser: Louise Glen, Education Scotland
ECML experts: Chantal Muller, Belgium; Katja Schnitzer, Germany
Participants: 45; teachers, teacher educators, school administrators, policymakers, parents 

That the ECML experts were willing and able to adapt the type of workshop and inputs they led at the events in Scotland made a huge difference in terms of encouraging teachers to attend, as we currently have a national shortage of teachers and difficulty in finding supply teachers.  In order that as many teachers as possible could attend, the experts tailored their inputs into two x 1 day events, the second day a repeat of the first.

Despite the challenge of truncating a two-day workshop, the team put together a highly effective, engaging and impressive event which received 100% positive feedback from the participants.

As an observer of each day’s proceedings, I saw how engaged the teachers were throughout each day; they appreciated the opportunity to share practice , as well as learn about  methodologies to enhance their own pedagogy. There is possibly a gap in provision in Scotland of relevant, up-to-date training for teachers who are tasked with integrating learners with limited or no English into their classrooms, as well as training which equips teachers with approaches on how to ensure that migrant children’s home language(s) are recognised and respected. This ECML workshop has helped to open up a debate on how we provide support for our school-age ‘New Scots’.

The ECML experts were knowledgeable, approachable and highly professional - they thoroughly deserve the very positive feedback they have received from the Scottish participants!

Louise Glen, local organiser, 12 July 2018

ECML project website: Supporting multilingual classrooms – EU-ECML cooperation agreement 2017-2018 "Innovative methodologies and assessment in language learning" 

In the recent Communication "Strengthening European Identity through Education and Culture - The European Commission's contribution to the Leaders' meeting in Gothenburg, 17 November 2017", language learning has emerged as one of the European Commission's priorities. Over the last years, the Commission has worked together with the Member States to identify successful strategies for language learning in multilingual settings and to facilitate the sharing of good practices in the field.

A Lunchtime debate about how language learning should be promoted in schools will take place in Brussels on 6 February 2018, 12:00-14:00. The session will be opened by Kristina Cunningham (Multilingualism Policy, Directorate General for Education and Culture of the European Commission), who will discuss the role of languages in the European Education Area. It will be followed by a presentation of two new reports that offer a comprehensive view on literacy and language learning and that take into account the challenges and opportunities facing schools and teachers, including the need to accommodate increasing linguistic diversity in the classrooms:

• Rethinking language education in schools
• Language teaching and learning in multilingual classrooms (presenting many examples of ECML projects)

From the EC contract partner ECORYS, François Staring and Laurie Day will help present the reports. Three external experts, Dina Mehmedbegovic, Kristin Brogan and Deirdre Kirwan will be asked to comment and kick off the discussion. In the past years, Kristin and Deirdre have been involved in several projects, think tanks, training and consultancy initiatives and/or conferences of the European Centre for Modern Languages of the Council of Europe.

The event is open to staff from other DGs of the European Commission and it will be web-streamed.

Find out more

• EC web section dedicated to multilingual classrooms
• ECML training and consultancy “Young migrants – Supporting multilingual classrooms”

Related ECML projects and thematic collection

• A Framework of Reference for Pluralistic Approaches to Languages and Cultures: Competences and Resources (FREPA) (2012)
• Collaborative community approach to migrant education – A virtual open course for educators (EDUCOMIGRANT) (2015)
• Content-based teaching + Plurilingual/-cultural awareness (ConBaT+) ( (2011)
• Language skills for successful subject learning – CEFR linked descriptors for mathematics and history/civics (Language Descriptors) (2015)
• Majority language instruction as basis for plurilingual education (MARILLE) (2011)
• Teaching the language of schooling in the context of diversity – Study materials for teacher development (Maledive) (2015)
• Thematic collection on Migration and language education

With the increasingly diverse linguistic and cultural composition of classrooms around Europe, this topic has become a central issue in language education.

This one and a half day event will bring together several renowned experts in the field of pluralistic and pluricultural approaches to discuss progress that has been made in this field in recent years, giving special emphasis to how projects initiated under the auspices of the ECML have supported the development and expansion of this important area. 

At the core of this colloquium will be the contribution made by the Framework of Reference for Pluralistic Approaches (FREPA) and its impact on different aspects of language education throughout Europe.

This colloquium will be of particular interest to those who are engaged in pluralistic education, whether as teachers, teacher educators or curriculum designers, and aims to support their efforts in facilitating change in this area. The contributions from experts from different European countries will provide valuable insights from various European perspectives.

The event takes place in cooperation with the European Commission, within the framework of the EC-ECML "Innovative methodologies and assessment in language learning" joint action and in particular its "Supporting multilingual classrooms" initiative.

• Costs: no attendance fee; participants will be expected to cover their own travel and subsistence costs.
• Registration: 50 places in total will be available and these will be allotted strictly on a first-come, first-served basis.
• Draft programme: English – French
• Background information and online registration: English – French

Linguistic and cultural diversity is now the norm in European classrooms. What does this mean for teachers, both language teachers and teachers of other subjects? How can teachers adapt their methodology to ensure that this linguistic and cultural capital becomes a rich resource for learning? This seminar aimed to encourage teachers to question their own beliefs as they discover for themselves the answers to these questions and the wide range of free resources developed by the European Centre for Modern Languages of the Council of Europe (ECML) in support of an inclusive, plurilingual and intercultural approach to teaching and learning.

A recording of the  seminar involving Sarah Breslin, Executive Director of the ECML, and Terry Lamb, Co-coordinator of the ECML-EC Training and consultancy activity “Supporting multilingual classrooms” is now available on YouTube.

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.

Read the latest issue: English - French

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Issue no. 36 – Contents

Focus on ECML programme developments – "Languages at the heart of learning" (2016-2019)

Latest project developments

"Language awareness in subject classes": participate in an online survey

"Towards a Common European Framework for Language Teachers": latest news

e-lang project in 2016: laying the foundations for a digital literacy in the language teaching and learning context

"Promoting excellence in sign language instruction (PRO-Sign2)": ECML workshop (Graz, Austria, 1-2 March 2017) – cooperation partnership with Moscow State Linguistic University

"A quality matrix for CEFR use": ECML workshop (Graz, Austria, 15-16 November 2016) – Interview with Denis Vigneron, French participant

ECML training and consultancy for member states

Network meeting of local organisers and ECML consultants (Graz, Austria, 7-8 March 2017) and upcoming national training workshops

National training workshop "Supporting multilingual classes" in Slovenia (Koper, 2-3 March 2017)

National workshops "A pluriliteracies approach to teaching for learning" in Malta (Floriana, 2-3 March 2017) and Latvia (Riga, 6-7 March 2017) 

Forthcoming events

Recent ECML publication: Language skills for successful subject learning – CEFR linked descriptors for mathematics and history/civics

European Day of Languages

National developments in Armenia, Austria, Canada, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Malta, Poland, Slovenia, Switzerland

Professional Network Forum of the ECML: upcoming events

Council of Europe developments

The linguistic integration of adult migrants: some lessons from research

Council of Europe Ad hoc Committee of Experts on Roma and Traveller Issues (CAHROM) (ECML, Graz, Austria, 29-31 March 2017)

International Roma Day – 8 April

Pestalozzi programme: creating an online community of action researchers – summer school 2017

Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities: developments in Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Finland, Kosovo*, Lithuania, Moldova, Montenegro, Norway, Romania, Russian Federation, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, United Kingdom, "The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia"

Urban policies for inclusive integration and diversity advantage: join the Intercultural Cities 2017 Milestone Event (Lisbon, Portugal, 28-29 November 2017)

Cyprus Chairmanship Conference in Nicosia: "Securing Democracy through Education"

Recent publication

Editorial news from other organisations: Eurostat, Eurydice, OECD, Unesco, Mercator European Research Centre on Multilingualism and Language Learning, Babylonia

Quick links

Are you part of the eTwinning community? If so, why not join us tomorrow, February 9^th at 4 pm GMT (5 pm CET) for an interactive online seminar entitled “Supporting multilingual classrooms”?

What is it all about?

Linguistic and cultural diversity is now the norm in European classrooms. What does this mean for teachers, both language teachers and teachers of other subjects? How can teachers adapt their methodology to ensure that this linguistic and cultural capital becomes a rich resource for learning?  This seminar will encourage teachers to question their own beliefs as they discover for themselves the answers to these questions and the wide range of free resources developed by the European Centre for Modern Languages of the Council of Europe (ECML) in support of an inclusive, plurilingual and intercultural approach to teaching and learning.

The seminar will be led by Sarah Breslin, Executive Director of the ECML and by Professor Terry Lamb, Co-coordinator of the ECML-EU Training and Consultancy Activity “Supporting Multilingual Classrooms”.

How will taking part benefit your work in eTwinning?

The goal is to raise awareness of the support which is available via the ECML to help teachers adapt to the new reality in ways that will be beneficial to the learner and professionally fulfilling for the teacher. In the specific context of e-twinning, teachers will be better equipped to understand the different contexts and challenges facing teachers across Europe.

To sign up, please click on this link and enter your eTwinning login details.