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    Gazette 38

Gazette no. 38 - August-September 2017


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European Day of Languages

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26 September - European Day of Languages 2017: a very special day to remember!

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Promote the events in your country in the online calendar!

Preparations are in full flow for the European Day of Languages! With only a few days left before the 2017 edition of the Day, we are very pleased to inform you that over 700 events are already in the Calendar of activities. If you have not already done so, you are still very welcome to promote any events and activities you are involved with in the online calendar!

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World record attempt: “I love [a language] because…”

To add a little extra spice to the European Day of Languages this year, we are aiming to establish a ‘world record’. We would like to encourage as many people as possible to create a short video clip based on the phrase “I love [a language] because…”.
The video, using the above phrase, can be recorded in any language and can be about any language(s) and uploaded to the dedicated web page: http://edl.ecml.at/record. The clips may involve an individual, a group or a class and should be no longer than 10-20 seconds in length and filmed in landscape format. The more creative the video, the better!
By the closing date on 30 September we hope to compile the largest number of videos ever assembled on the theme of languages.
We are using the hashtag #EDLrecord to promote the initiative.
Further details can be found in the flyer and on the EDL web pages which are available in over 20 languages thanks to the support of many of the National Relays. Some examples of video clips are also included on the webpage.

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Other new features and competitions in 2017

New features

  • ‘All the colours of the rainbow’. This new section features characteristics and expressions associated with colours in different European languages: http://edl.ecml.at/colours.
  • A directory of language (teacher) associations in Europe: the Directory originally developed by the ECML’s Language Associations and Collaborative Support (LACS) network is now available online. The directory provides details of over 350 associations/organisations : http://edl.ecml.at/directory.
  • Downloadable materials: the materials section of the website has been further developed with a number of downloadable items that event organisers and schools can reproduce themselves http://edl.ecml.at/downloads.
  • It is also possible to purchase a T-shirt with the EDL design from an external supplier: http://edl.ecml.at/T-shirts/tabid/3146/Default.aspx.

Competitions

  • The voting feature for the most innovative European Day of Languages event in 2017 will be open from 20 September - 20 October, with a prize for the event receiving the most votes in each participating country (where there are more than 10 events registered in the EDL calendar).
  • The EDL T-shirt design contest for the 2018 European Day of Languages is now online. Further details are available here.
  • Social media: follow us on a dedicated EDL Facebook page and on Twitter. A series of posts is using the hashtag #coeEDL to promote the Day and to publicise activities taking place on this special occasion.
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2017 Council of Europe EDL statement

To mark the 2017 European Day of Languages, a statement has been issued by the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Thorbjørn Jagland. The statement on the occasion of the Day focuses on the role of innovation in language learning and teaching.
In addition, a more detailed Council of Europe declaration will be published on the EDL site closer to the Day.

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Council of Europe and European Commission events taking place around the Day

Language Festival in Graz
This year the European Centre for Modern Languages of the Council of Europe is again involved in organising a language festival on 28 September from 09:00-18.00. All age groups are invited to the festival which offers a wide range of activities highlighting the linguistic and cultural diversity of the city of Graz. The event features a lively mix of language workshops, games, quizzes and international theatre, music and dance. We hope to attract over 2000 participants this year.

European Commission’s activities
The European Commission’s translation field offices are involved in the organisation of over 50 events taking place in cities around Europe – you can find details of all these events in the online calendar.

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Think tank "Language learning pathways": Participate in the online survey until Sunday 1st October 2017 (midnight CET)!

In January 2018 the ECML will be hosting the third think tank within its 2016-19 Programme, Languages at the heart of learning. The topic is Language learning pathways – how can language education empower the learner as a person and as a citizen? How can it respond to the diverse learner needs and goals?
To find out more and to share your views and experiences, please follow the link to the online survey and you might be selected to come to Graz and participate in the think tank meeting itself.

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Launch of the ECML project "A roadmap for schools to support language(s) of schooling"

The project aims at supporting schools to develop their own strategy regarding languages of schooling, which assures the efficiency in enhancing students’ academic language skills and developing a language-aware school culture. A roadmap for schools to support language(s) of schooling will offer a user-friendly self-assessment tool – the Roadmap - to investigate the school’s strengths and areas to be developed regarding language dimension across all subjects and settings. It will also enable schools to deepen their understanding of the national/regional curricular aims to academic language and literacy skills and assist them in affirming and improving language-sensitive teaching across all subjects.

Read the full news item: English - French - German

Project website: English - French - German

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Training and consultancy activities

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Forthcoming events

This strand of ECML activities responds in a targeted and bilateral way to specific national priorities in ECML member states.
Twelve training and consultancy events and national support events are still about to be held until December 2017.
Consult the calendar

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A pluriliteracies approach to teaching for learning

A pluriliteracies approach builds on CLIL approaches to help learners become better meaning-makers, who can draw on content knowledge to communicate successfully across languages, disciplines and cultures. In this way it promotes deep learning and helps develop responsible, global citizens.

Web resources for teachers, teacher trainers, educational authorities responsible for CLIL programmes, teacher associations:

  • Informative videos on a pluriliteracies approach
  • Ideas for putting a pluriliteracies approach into practice
  • A glossary of CLIL-related terms

Authors: Oliver Meyer, Do Coyle, Ana Halbach, Kevin Schuck,Teresa Ting.

Website: English - German
Flyer: English - German

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New tools added in the Inventory of ICT tools and open educational resources

The inventory of free online tools and open educational resources for language teaching and learning has been developed by the ICT-REV project of the ECML for language teachers, teacher trainers, language policy makers and multipliers. It currently contains 92 tools that have been evaluated with specific criteria in mind.
Suggestions for new tools are welcome at any time! Discover the latest resources below:

  • Kahoot!: tool allowing those teachers with an interest in gamification to design and use learning games in their classroom. There are 4 different formats available: quiz, discussion, survey or jumble.
  • Librivox: platform where independent users share partial or complete audiobooks, which they have recorded themselves. It allows teachers and students of different foreign languages to browse the catalogue by author, title, genre or language and to download the available audiobooks for free.
  • Mindomo: tool for collaborating and editing online, drawing mind maps, transforming the maps into dynamic presentations, creating organigrammes, and sharing assignments with your students.
  • PodOmatic: allows language teachers and students to browse and find podcasts from users all over the world, to upload audios or videos to create a podcast and share it on different social media, blogs, websites, etc.
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ECML related publication

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Professional development and collaboration with the European Centre for Modern Languages (ECML) in Graz, Austria

Laura Ambrosio, FSL Professor at the Official Languages and Bilingualism Institute (OLBI), University of Ottawa, Canada, spent part of her university professional leave as a guest researcher with the team of the European Centre for Modern Languages (ECML) from 5 to 23 May 2017.

Laura began her fellowship at the ECML immediately after presenting at the ALTE 6th International Conference: “Learning and Assessment: Making the Connections”, where she spoke about FREPA, the ECML Framework of references for pluralistic approaches, and how these can be used to help integrate students from different linguistic backgrounds. She provided the ECML with detailed feedback on this conference, suggesting ways in which the findings could feed into the work of the centre. Moreover, she contributed to the preparation for the ECML Think tank "Language learning pathways". Her preparatory work served as the basis for developing an online survey which was launched in early September and which will remain online until 1st October 2017. The ECML would like to express its deepest gratitude to Laura for her valuable contribution to the ECML.

Laura describes her enriching journey at the ECML in the following article: English - French.

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National developments

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France: new resources and national contact point

Latest resources

Notes edited by the DEPP-Directorate for Evaluation, Foresight and Performance of the Ministry of National Education, following the 4th edition of the report "Key data on language teaching at school in Europe ":

  • Note no. 15 "Learning modern foreign languages in the European Union: focus on students": English - French
  • Note no. 16 "Learning modern foreign languages in the European Union: Initial teacher education and mobility in lower secondary education": English - French

Migrants : les échecs de l'apprentissage du français et des valeurs civiques" (Migrants: the failures of learning French and civic values), report written by Roger Karoutchi [available in French only]

 

New National Contact Point for the ECML in France

The ECML is pleased to welcome Ms Marion Latour from the International Centre for Pedagogical Studies (CIEP), as its new National Contact Point in France. The ECML would like to express its deepest gratitude to Ms Bernadette Plumelle for her continuous support and wholehearted involvement in this role during the last years.

Web pages dedicated to France (official contacts, ECML experts, language education resources): English - French

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Slovenia: new certificate of language proficiency

The National Examinations Centre of Slovenia concluded the project on relating national foreign language examinations to the CEFR. The main aims of the project were to ensure the comparability of different examinations and to facilitate the mobility of candidates who pass the Matura foreign language examinations. Students who reach the CEFR level cut score now receive a certificate indicating their CEFR level of proficiency. With the certificate they will be able to prove that they possess adequate language skills for studying or working abroad.
In the process of linking the examinations to the CEFR the Centre adopted the methodology described in the Manual for Relating Language Examinations to the CEFR.

More information (in Slovene)

In this process two training and consultancy workshops within the framework of the RELANG initiative were organised in Slovenia.

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Switzerland: Recent publications

Institute for Pedagogical Research and Documentation (IRDP / Intercantonal Conference of Public Education of French-Speaking Switzerland and of Ticino) – Latest documentary monitoring:
8-21 September 2017
23 August - 7 September 2017
7 July - 22 August 2017
23 June - 6 July 2017
9-22 June 2017
19 May - 8 June 2017
All issues

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Professional Network Forum of the ECML

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Forthcoming events

The Professional Network Forum of the ECML is comprised of international associations and institutions that share common values and have overlapping expertise in the field of language education and assessment. Under the auspices of the ECML, the members of the Forum share their know-how and work together on areas of common interest in the service of language education.

Members of the Forum: ACTFL, AILA, ALTE, CEL/ELC, CercleS, EALTA, EAQUALS, ECSPM, ECML/Council of Europe, EDiLiC, EFNIL, EPA, EUNIC, FIPLV, IAM, ICC, OLBI.

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Council of Europe developments

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Migration and refugees

Launch of the new website of the Special Representative of the Secretary General on migration and refugees on 15 September. The website provides including country reports, thematic work, and migration news: English - French

Subscribe to the Council of Europe Migration Newsletter: English - French

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School segregation still deprives many children of quality education

The position paper of the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights first provides an overview of school segregation in Council of Europe member states, as well as its main causes. It then reviews the risks that separate education entails and outlines the key principles that should underpin any policy to eradicate segregation and promote inclusive education. Finally, the report sets forth twelve recommendations to develop more inclusive education policies, in particular through improved anti-discrimination legislation, school desegregation strategies and better regulation of school admissions.

Read the news: English - French

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North-South Centre (NSC): Global Education eLearning courses

Launching of the new cycle of the NSC Global Education eLearning courses and of its first course on the intercultural dimension of global education
Website: English - French

Forthcoming courses on the Citizenship dimension of Global Education and on the Human Rights dimension of Global Education:

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Launch of a new Digital Citizenship Education website

This website is being developed in the framework of a new project of the Education Policy Division and provides information and knowledge about the basics of Digital Citizenship Education. The project will contribute to reshaping the role that education plays in enabling all children to acquire the competences they need as digital citizens to participate actively and responsibly in democratic society, whether offline or online.
Discover the website: English - French

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European Commission

EPALE’s thematic focus workplace learning promotes the role of workplace learning as an important tool for developing employees and maintaining their effectiveness. EPALE’s national teams and the community published a number of inspiring case studies, articles, reports and other resources on the topic.

Erasmus+: new education and training website where you can find out about the EU's policies and initiatives all across Europe

The organisation of school time in Europe. Primary and general secondary education – 2017/18

The organisation of the academic year in Europe – 2017/18

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Quick links

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