On 24 and 25 April 2025, the four team members of the ECML project "A toolkit for implementing integrated didactics in language education" met in Graz to further develop the project’s core output – the toolkit. The focus was on structuring and elaborating the content of the toolkit, which is designed to support teachers in implementing integrated didactic approaches. The meeting enabled the team to review and discuss the existing text components and to plan for the completion of all elements of the toolkit by the end of 2025. In parallel, a glossary of key project-related terms is being developed.

The toolkit is taking shape and will be tested in practice during the workshop scheduled for March 2026. In the coming months, the project website will provide regular updates in the Recent Developments section.

A particular highlight will be the forthcoming symposium at the EDiLiC conference in Hamburg in July 2025, where the project will be presented to a wider audience.

Author: Christian Koch, project coordinator

• ECML project website “A toolkit for implementing integrated didactics in language education” (2024-27) (available in English and French): www.ecml.at/integrateddidactics

As part of the strategic partnership between the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and the Universidade de São Paulo, I was able to travel to Brazil and work on the approach of integrated didactics for Brazilian contexts in a postgraduate seminar. A total of 14 Masters and PhD students took part in the seminar, focusing on different target languages. The languages covered were English, Spanish, French, Italian, German, Chinese, Japanese and Armenian. On the first day, we discussed general approaches to plurilingual education and the added value of cross-linking languages in education. The second day was dedicated to comparing the structural foundations of different languages, where we were able to benefit from the wide range of Indo-European and East Asian languages represented in the classroom. Participants emphasised that this was the first time they had consciously compared differences such as articulatory challenges in different target languages. The third day focused on migration contexts and the integration of home languages in the contrast between Europe and Brazil. Historically, Brazil has been characterised by large migratory flows, which is reflected in the strong presence of languages such as German, Italian and Japanese, as well as Armenian, which can also be studied as a subject in São Paulo.

At the seminar, I had the opportunity to present our ongoing ECML project and to arouse curiosity about its further development. A presentation was given to the staff of the various language departments to familiarise them with integrated didactics. There are plans to continue the exchange in the form of a long-term cooperation for Romance and Germanic languages between Berlin and São Paulo.

Author: Christian Koch, ECML project coordinator “A toolkit for implementing integrated didactics in language education”

• ECML project website “A toolkit for implementing integrated didactics in language education” (2024-27) (available in English and French): www.ecml.at/integrateddidactics

2024 saw the launch of the ECML project A toolkit for implementing integrated didactics in language education, which aims to provide educators with structured models and tools to address the linguistic repertoires of the learners in the language classrooms.

Key milestones of the year include the formulation of a definition of integrated didactics, refinement of the project scope for the next three years, and the elaboration of the first draft of the toolkit structure as a framework for the project outputs. A highlight was the network meeting in November, which brought together international experts to discuss the challenges and opportunities of implementing integrated didactics in language education. This event underlined the overall importance of this approach as a core element of plurilingual education.

Among the aspects that have been highlighted so far are the consideration of learners’ full linguistic repertoires as resources for facilitating the learning of a new language and the use of AI as a support for adapting materials to different contexts. Looking to the future, the project team is ready to broaden the impact of integrated didactics and ensure that it responds to the needs of the linguistic and cultural diversity in 21st century classrooms.

Christian Koch, Dolors Masats, Elżbieta Sielanko-Byford, Marie Steffens

• ECML project website “A toolkit for implementing integrated didactics in language education” (2024-27) (available in English and French): www.ecml.at/integrateddidactics

The team members of the ECML project on integrated didactics organised their network meeting in Graz on 27-28 November. The programme consultant and a group of 15 teacher educators and researchers from Croatia, the Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Latvia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Ukraine took part in this two-day event dedicated to discussing views on how to use learners’ linguistic repertoires to improve language teaching and learning.

On the first day, team members introduced and discussed with participants the aims and expected outcomes of the project, which is developing a toolkit for implementing integrated didactics in language education. Participants were also given the floor to present related projects. The second day was dedicated to exchanging perspectives on integrated didactics and exploring future collaboration. Team members led workshops to reflect on how to adapt materials to local contexts (Elżbieta Sielanko-Byford), how to link integrated didactics with migration contexts (Marie Steffens), how to use AI to support integrated didactics (Christian Koch) and how to consider this plurilingual approach from a holistic perspective (Dolors Masats). The meeting provided a valuable platform for the team members to have their proposals examined from different angles, which will undoubtedly be beneficial for the development of the project.

Christian Koch, Dolors Masats, Elżbieta Sielanko-Byford, Marie Steffens

• ECML project website “A toolkit for implementing integrated didactics in language education” (2024-2027): English – French

What is integrated didactics for languages? And how can it be implemented effectively in European classrooms? Our project, which is dedicated to exploring this topic, seeks to provide a detailed answer. The contexts in which different languages can be integrated into language learning are very diverse, ranging from basic language constellations within the school system at the macro level to specific activities in language classes involving individual linguistic repertoires.

During our first expert meeting at the ECML, we tried to define these areas more precisely. With the support of Michel Candelier, we discussed the necessary components of a toolkit to help teachers implement integrated didactics. This toolkit will include theoretical guidance, sample materials and tools for adapting materials, as well as resources for additional support.

On the second day, with the expertise of Anna Schröder-Sura, we reviewed past ECML projects to identify instances where integrated didactics, which is also presented in FREPA, had previously been addressed. In this way we want to recall the earlier programmes through this topic.

We look forward to four years of collaboration and hope that our project will make a valuable contribution to plurilingual education in Europe.

Christian Koch, Dolors Masats, Elżbieta Sielanko-Byford, Marie Steffens

• ECML project website “A toolkit for implementing integrated didactics in language education”: English – French