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Transversal competences in foreign language education

Overview
Resources
and links
Think tank moderators
Untitled Document

Resources and links

Resources from the think tank on transversal competences in language education

On February 8th and 9th, 2022, a transnational think tank on “Transversal competences in language education” took place, during which representatives from more than 30 ECML member States participated to exchange their thoughts, experiences and ideas related to the topic. This is an overview of what was discussed during those two days – in the form of video clips, PowerPoint slides and additional materials.

COMPILATION BY RICHARD ROSSNER AND KATJA ZAKI


This graphic summarises the key issues that were addressed in
a background document and further explored during the think tank.

A. Orientation: Introduction and summary of pre-think tank survey

Before the think tank, nominated participants were asked to complete a questionnaire. This included questions about their role and professional experience of working with transversal competences, especially in foreign language education. In this section you will find summaries of participants’ responses to these questions – in the form of short slides, an extensive PDF with all responses given (in an anonymised version without personal data), as well as a link to all responses in an html-format.

The survey information provided the moderators with an overview of the different kinds of expertise and experience participants would bring to the think tank and be able to draw on during the sessions.

As can be seen from the programme, the think tank combined presentations from the moderators and certain participants with group discussion and feedback sessions, during which participants shared their expertise and experiences of working with transversal competences.

Survey on transversal competences in ECML member States

B. Concepts and frameworks: towards a shared understanding of transversal competences (TCs)

In this section you will find two video presentations. The first (27 minutes), from early in the think tank programme, contains an overview of key policy-related issues, frameworks and terminology. The second (20 minutes), raises some issues arising from input and discussions during the first day of the think tank, including questions about the nature of transversal competences and the ways in which they can be focused on in educational settings.

Overview of key policy-related issues, frameworks and terminology

Pulling things together: points that have emerged so far

C. Taking stock of TCs in European education: TCs in national and regional curricula

This section focuses on the ways in which transversal competences have been incorporated into educational curricula in certain countries. It contains: 

  • the presentation slides of the session comprising a short introduction, followed by descriptions of the different ways in which curricula in three different countries have been designed to include transversal competences as an integral part of education
  • video recordings
  • summary of the group work done on the topic of TCs in Curricula

Issues arising from input and discussions during the first day of the think tank are highlighted.

Presentation slides

Video "Taking stock of transversal competences in European education - transversal competences in national/school curricula" mit Katja Zaki, Raili Hilden and Paula Mattila

Video "Examples of competences in B2/B3 languages" von Benita Lindström, Finnland

Video "From law to classroom - a curricular perspective" von Ligia Sarivan, Rumänien

Summary of results of group work

D. TCs in teacher education and teacher development

The materials in this section show how transversal competences are being incorporated into pre-service and in-service teacher education in certain countries. It contains: 

  • slides of all presentations
  • video clips in which selected country cases are described

Presentation slides

Video "Transversal competences in language education in Armenia" von Lusine Flyjan, Armenien

Video "Education of foreign language teachers in Latvia" von Dita Lapina, Lettland

Video  "Storyline in teacher education" von Virginia Lockhart Pedersen, Ostfold College University, Halden, Norwegen

E. Moving forward: challenges and opportunities in working on TCs in foreign language education

During the second day of the think tank, participants were asked to think of some main challenges and agree some recommendations on ways in which the development of learners’ transversal competences part of language education could be improved. The challenges and recommendations discussed by participants are described in a narrated Power Point presentation "Challenges and recommendations" (Englisch)

F. Key areas for future work identified by think tank participants

In the final session of the think tank participants were asked to prepare brief personal action plans. These described ways in which individual participants were planning to incorporate the insights gained during the think tank into their discussions with colleagues and their work on transversal competences in language education in their contexts. These planned actions are summarised in an anonymised PDF document.

Annotated bibliography
This lists the main frameworks and descriptions of transversal competences that were referred to in the think tank, as well as some books and articles that analyse certain TCs or describe research projects concerning different aspects of incorporating transversal competences in education.

A. Orientierung: Einführung und Zusammenfassung der Befragung in Vorbereitung auf den Think Tank

Vor dem Think Tank wurden die nominierten Teilnehmenden gebeten, einen Fragebogen auszufüllen. Dieser enthielt Fragen zu ihrer Rolle und ihren beruflichen Erfahrungen bei der Arbeit mit transversalen Kompetenzen, insbesondere im Fremdsprachenunterricht. In diesem Abschnitt finden Sie Zusammenfassungen der Antworten - in Form von PPT-Folien, einem umfangreichen PDF mit allen Antworten (anonymisierte Version ohne persönliche Daten) sowie eines Links zu allen Antworten im html-Format.

Wie aus dem Programm ersichtlich gab es Präsentationen der ModeratorInnen und einiger Teilnehmenden sowie Gruppendiskussionen und Feedback-Sitzungen, in denen die Teilnehmenden sich über ihr Fachwissen und ihre Erfahrungen bei der Arbeit mit transversalen Kompetenzen austauschten.

Befragung zu transversalen Kompetenzen in den EFSZ-Mitgliedsstaaten

B. Konzepte und Referenzrahmen: Der Weg zu einem gemeinsamen Verständnis von transversalen Kompetenzen

In diesem Abschnitt finden Sie zwei Videopräsentationen. Die erste (27 Minuten) zu Beginn des Think Tanks gibt einen Überblick über die wichtigsten politikbezogenen Themen, zu Rahmenbedingungen und zur Terminologie. Die zweite (20 Minuten) greift einige Fragen auf, die sich aus den Beiträgen und Diskussionen des ersten Tages des Think Tanks ergeben haben, darunter auch Fragen zur Charakteristik von transversalen Kompetenzen und die Art und Weise, wie sie in Bildungseinrichtungen in den Fokus gerückt werden können.

Overview of key policy-related issues, frameworks and terminology (Englisch)

Pulling things together: points that have emerged so far (Englisch)

C. Bilanz ziehen über transversale Kompetenzen in der europäischen Bildung: Transversale Kompetenzen in nationalen/schulischen Curricula

Dieser Abschnitt befasst sich mit der Art und Weise, in der transversale Kompetenzen in die Lehrpläne mancher Länder aufgenommen wurden.

  • Präsentationsfolien mit einer kurzen Einführung, gefolgt von Beschreibungen der unterschiedlichen Art und Weise, wie die Lehrpläne in drei verschiedenen Ländern gestaltet wurden, um transversale Kompetenzen als integralen Bestandteil der Bildung einzubeziehen
  • Videoaufnahmen
  • Zusammenfassung der Gruppenarbeit zum Thema "Transversale Kompetenzen in den Curricula"

Die Themen, die sich aus den Beiträgen und Diskussionen des ersten Tages des Think Tanks ergeben haben, sind hervorgehoben.

Präsentationsfolien

Video "Taking stock of transversal competences in European education - transversal competences in national/school curricula" mit Katja Zaki, Raili Hilden und Paula Mattila

Video "Examples of competences in B2/B3 languages" von Benita Lindström, Finnland

Video "From law to classroom - a curricular perspective" von Ligia Sarivan, Rumänien

Zusammenfassung der Ergebnisse der Gruppenarbeit

D. Transversale Kompetenzen in Lehrer:innenbildung und -fortbildung

Die Materialien in diesem Abschnitt zeigen, wie transversale Kompetenzen in bestimmten Ländern in die Lehreraus- und -fortbildung integriert werden.

  • Folien aller Präsentationen
  • Videoclips, in denen ausgewählte Länderbeispiele beschrieben werden

Präsentationsfolien

Videoclip "Transversal competences in language education in Armenia" von Lusine Flyjan, Armenien

Videoclip "Education of foreign language teachers in Latvia" von Dita Lapina, Lettland

Videoclip "Storyline in teacher education" von Virginia Lockhart Pedersen, Ostfold College University, Halden, Norwegen

E. Ausblick: Herausforderungen und Chancen bei der Arbeit mit transversalen Kompetenzen in der Fremdsprachenbildung

Am zweiten Tag des Think Tanks wurden die Teilnehmenden gebeten, sich über die wichtigsten Herausforderungen Gedanken zu machen und Empfehlungen zu formulieren, wie die Entwicklung der transversalen Kompetenzen der Lernenden im Rahmen des Sprachenunterrichts verbessert werden könnte. Die von den Teilnehmenden diskutierten Herausforderungen und Empfehlungen sind in einer sprachkommentierten Power Point Präsentation "Herausforderungen und Empfehlungen"  zusammengefasst. (Englisch)

F. Von den Teilnehmenden des Think Tanks aufgezeigte Schlüsselbereiche für künftige Arbeiten

Am Ende der Veranstaltung wurden die Teilnehmenden gebeten, kurze persönliche Aktionspläne zu erstellen. Darin wurde beschrieben, wie die einzelnen Teilnehmenden die während des Think Tanks gewonnenen Erkenntnisse in ihre Diskussionen mit KollegInnen und ihre Arbeit zu transversalen Kompetenzen im Sprachenunterricht in ihrem Umfeld einfließen lassen wollten. Die geplanten Maßnahmen sind in einem anonymisierten PDF-Dokument zusammengefasst.

Kommentierte Bibliographie
Hier werden die wichtigsten Referenzrahmen und Beschreibungen transversaler Kompetenzen aufgeführt, auf die im Think Tank Bezug genommen wurde, sowie einige Werke und Artikel, die bestimmte transversale Kompetenzen analysieren oder Forschungsprojekte zu verschiedenen Aspekten der Integration von transversalen Kompetenzen in die Bildung beschreiben.


Transversal competences frameworks and websites

Reference Framework of Competences for Democratic Culture (3 volumes) (Council of Europe, 2018)

This major initiative of the Council of Europe’s Language Policy Division specifies competences for democratic culture and “is intended for use by educationists in all sectors of education systems from pre-school through primary and secondary schooling to higher education, including adult education and vocational education.” (vol 1: 11)

https://www.coe.int/en/web/reference-framework-of-competences-for-democratic-culture 

Key Competences for Lifelong Learning - a European Reference Framework (European Union, 2019)

Incorporated into an EU recommendation (2018/C 189/01), the framework “is a reference tool for education and training stakeholders. It sets up a common understanding of competences needed nowadays and in the future.” (page 4)

https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/297a33c8-a1f3-11e9-9d01-01aa75ed71a1/language-en 

UN Agenda 2030 – sustainable development goals

https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/development-agenda/ 

“The Sustainable Development Goals are a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and improve the lives and prospects of everyone, everywhere. The 17 Goals were adopted by all UN Member States in 2015, as part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development which set out a 15-year plan to achieve the Goals.”
Goal 4 concerns quality education. Among the 10 goals under this heading are the following:

“4.6. By 2030, ensure that all youth and a substantial proportion of adults, both men and women, achieve literacy and numeracy”

“4.7 By 2030, ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development, including, among others, through education for sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles, human rights, gender equality, promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence, global citizenship and appreciation of cultural diversity and of culture’s contribution to sustainable development.” (quotations from the UN website below).

https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/education/

Learning Compass 2030 (OECD, 2019)

The framework in the Learning Compass “offers a broad vision of the types of competencies students will need to thrive in 2030 and beyond. It also develops a common language and understanding that is globally relevant and informed, while providing space to adapt the framework to local contexts.” (page 2)

https://www.oecd.org/education/2030-project/teaching-and-learning/learning/learning-compass-2030/OECD_Learning_Compass_2030_concept_note.pdf

https://www.oecd.org/education/2030-project/teaching-and-learning/learning/all-concept-notes/

Transversal Competencies in Education Policy and Practice (UNESCO, 2015)

The transversal competences in the framework have been the focus of various studies in Asia-Pacific countries. The 2015 document explored issues of ‘policy and practice’ in incorporating the competences into mainstream education, while the 2016 document examined how these competences were being assessed in the participating countries in the Asia-Pacific region.

https://unesdoc.unesco.org/in/documentViewer.....%3A1259   

Assessment of Transversal Competencies. Policies and Practice in the Asian-Pacific Region (UNESCO, 2016)

https://neqmap.bangkok.unesco.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/246590eng.pdf especially page VI and page 4

Global Framework of Transferable Skills (UNICEF, 2019)

The Framework, created for and with the involvement of countries in the Middle East and North Africa, is designed to result in “the systematic development of a breadth of transferable skills, at scale, across the life course and through multiple learning pathways: formal, non-formal and community based.” (page 9)

https://www.unicef.org/media/64751/file/Global-framework-on-transferable-skills-2019.pdf 


The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR)

https://www.coe.int/en/web/common-european-framework-reference-languages 

CEFR Companion Volume (2020) 

“The CEFR Companion Volume broadens the scope of language education, reflecting academic and societal developments since the CEFR publication in 2001. It presents the key aspects of the CEFR for teaching and learning in a user-friendly form and contains the complete set of extended CEFR descriptors, replacing the 2001 set. These now include descriptors for mediation, online interaction, plurilingual/pluricultural competence, and sign language competences. The illustrative descriptors have been adapted with modality-inclusive formulations for sign languages and all descriptors are now gender-neutral.” 

The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (2001)

“The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, teaching, assessment (CEFR) was designed to provide a transparent, coherent and comprehensive basis for the elaboration of language syllabuses and curriculum guidelines, the design of teaching and learning materials, and the assessment of foreign language proficiency.”

(quotations from the CEFR website above)

Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) website (Harvard University, 2021)

This website offers a means of exploring numerous frameworks of social and emotional skills and transversal competences. “Generally speaking, this set of skills can be organized into three interrelated areas: cognitive, social, and emotional. Importantly, these skills and competencies develop and are in dynamic interaction with attitudes, beliefs, and mindsets as well as character and values, all of which are fundamentally tied to characteristics of settings.” (homepage, under “What is SEL?”)

Website accessed 17 December 2021

http://exploresel.gse.harvard.edu/