New Media in Language Education

In her presentation on 28 January at the online conference for teachers of German as a foreign language – DaFWEBKON 2026 –, Susanna Slivensky, Deputy Director and Head of programmes of the  European Centre for Modern Languages of the Council of Europe, highlighted how the Centre links language education with digital citizenship and democratic culture. Framing language education as a core component of “Education for Democracy”, she explained that plurilingual and intercultural competences, together with critical digital skills, are essential for responsible participation in today’s societies. The ECML’s current programme, Language education at the heart of democracy, supports member states through research-based, practice-oriented projects that focus on teacher education and classroom implementation.

A central focus of the talk was the strong connection between plurilingualism and digital citizenship. According to ECML policy frameworks and Council of Europe recommendations, plurilingual and intercultural education not only strengthens communication and mediation skills, but also fosters ethical action, critical media use, inclusion, and awareness of rights and responsibilities online. Language classrooms are therefore seen as key spaces where learners can develop both democratic and digital competences in an integrated way.

Slivensky presented two major ECML resources: Digital Citizenship through Language Education (E-LANG Citizen) and the ICT-REV database of digital tools for language teaching. These platforms offer teaching guides, classroom tasks, searchable activity banks, and practical tutorials that help teachers integrate digital media, AI tools, and multilingual approaches into their lessons. All materials are openly accessible and designed to support educators in strengthening digital citizenship through language education.

DAFWEBKON Conference

• Online presentation in German by Susanna Slivensky (28 January 2026): www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZuShTUI90Fk
• All DaFWEBKON online presentations (28-30 January 2026): www.youtube.com/@DaFWEBKON/videos

Freely accessible ECML resources

• Thematic area “New media in language education”
• All thematic areas of ECML expertise
• ECML publications database: resources available in 44 languages
   

Empower Language Teaching with ICT and AI Competence

Norwegian schools are among the most digitalized in Europe, yet language teaching in English, French, German, and Spanish still faces a critical challenge: effectively integrating ICT tools into classroom practice. With rapid developments in artificial intelligence, this need has never been more urgent.

Teachers today must navigate new ways of organizing lessons and assessments while guiding students to critically evaluate the benefits and risks of AI. At the same time, societal debates around digital detox highlight the importance of purposeful, pedagogically sound use of technology in education.

The ICT-REV initiative by the European Centre for Modern Languages (ECML) offers practical solutions. Their resources and training, which took place in Bergen on 20 and 21 November, empowered 22 Norwegian teachers and teacher educators to:

• Design lesson plans that leverage ICT tools to achieve learning goals.
• Create assessment formats that reflect students’ use of AI responsibly.
• Foster digital literacy and critical thinking in language learning.

At the workshop, participants explored innovative strategies, accessed hands-on tools, and became part of a European network committed to quality teaching in the digital age.

Discover more and start transforming your classroom today: https://ict-rev.ecml.at/en/

Norwegian version (bokmål):

Styrk språkopplæringen med kompetanse i IKT og KI

Norske skoler er blant de mest digitaliserte i Europa, men språkopplæring i engelsk, fransk, tysk og spansk står fortsatt overfor en viktig utfordring: å integrere IKT-verktøy effektivt i undervisningen. Med raske utviklinger innen kunstig intelligens har dette behovet aldri vært mer presserende.

Lærere må i dag finne nye måter å organisere undervisning og vurdering på, samtidig som de veileder elever til kritisk å vurdere fordeler og ulemper ved KI. Samtidig peker samfunnsdebatten om «digital detox» på hvor viktig det er med målrettet og pedagogisk forsvarlig bruk av teknologi i skolen.

ICT-REV-initiativet fra Det europeiske senteret for moderne språk (ECML) tilbyr praktiske løsninger. Ressursene og opplæringen deres gir lærere og lærerutdannere kompetanse til å:

• Utforme undervisningsopplegg som bruker IKT-verktøy for å nå læringsmål.
• Lage vurderingsformer som tar hensyn til elevenes bruk av KI på en ansvarlig måte.
• Fremme digital kompetanse og kritisk tenkning i språkopplæringen.

Bli med og form fremtiden for språkopplæring. Utforsk innovative strategier, få tilgang til praktiske verktøy, og bli en del av et europeisk nettverk for kvalitetsundervisning i den digitale tidsalderen.

Les mer og start endringen i klasserommet i dag: https://ict-rev.ecml.at/en/

Deirdre Smith, local coordinator

On 25–26 November, the European Centre for Modern Languages (ECML) of the Council of Europe welcomed 38 language teachers and teacher educators to Graz for a workshop of the current AI for language education (AI Lang) project (2024–2027). The event focused on how AI can support language teaching and learning in responsible, meaningful, and context-sensitive ways.

The AI Lang team presented a draft set of guidelines for the ethical and pedagogically purposeful use of AI, accompanied by practical classroom examples. Participants also received a preview of pilot professional development resources, including modules of a Moodle-based training course designed to help teachers plan lessons, design materials, and integrate AI responsibly into assessment. They were able to contribute their own practices, shared insights into national regulations, and offered reflections on the practical challenges and opportunities of AI in language education — helping ensure the resources can be effectively adapted across different educational contexts.

A particularly innovative aspect of the workshop was the audio-recording of group discussions in a World-Café format. These recordings will be transformed into AI-generated podcasts in various languages, capturing the collaborative reflections of participants and feeding into future iterations of the AI Lang guidelines.

The workshop will help build a community of practice around AI-enhanced language teaching. Foreseen outputs include a report on AI use and emerging challenges across national contexts, refined guidelines, and sample professional development activities suitable for online or on-site delivery.

AI Lang is part of the ECML’s thematic area “New Media in Language Education”, complementing initiatives and resources such as ICT-REV (Using ICT in support of language teaching and learning), E-lang citizen (Digital citizenship through language education), and recent ECML webinars on AI.

Updates — including guidelines, Moodle modules, and podcasts — will be published on the project website: www.ecml.at/AI-lang.