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Thematic areas of ECML expertise

On this webpage the ECML provides an overview of nine key areas in language education which are at the core of ECML projects and the work of the Council of Europe in general. The themes, illustrated in the accompanying graphic, reflect main trends in language learning and teaching and provide insights into the wide range of topics, theories and practices that have been the concern of language education in recent years. Each thematic area presents the ECML projects that have been carried out within this area, outlines relevant issues and challenges and indicates how these themes are addressed through the work of the Centre.

The structure of the thematic areas

Each thematic area is divided into 4 sections. 

The Introduction section provides a brief discussion of some of the main issues connected with this area and focuses on how the Council of Europe and ECML projects have contributed to the development of this topic. It further indicates links between this topic and other thematic areas. Under the headings Featured resources and Current projects the core projects undertaken by the ECML within this area are highlighted and those being carried out in the present ECML programme are listed, accompanying by descriptive videos.

The Council of Europe Resources section provides a comprehensive list of ECML projects in this area, as well as other Council of Europe projects and tools related to the theme.

Under Other Resources are listed external – i.e. non-Council of Europe – resources, which include those of the European Commission.

By clicking on ECML Training and Consultancy users will be guided to events offered by specialised ECML teams in the selected thematic area to help individual countries build capacity at national level.

General resources

Several ECML resources are of a general nature and do not relate to specific thematic areas. These include: 

As an entry point to the resources of the Council of Europe the user is invited to consult the Language Policy Portal. Further dedicated websites can be accessed from this site; these links are also indicated in the relevant thematic areas.

Teacher education at the centre

Acknowledgements

The ECML would like to thank David Newby for refreshing and updating these thematic areas, building on the significant contributions of Frank Heyworth, Marisa Cavalli, Hanna Komorowska, Isabel Landsiedler, Waldemar Martyniuk, Jessica Gough and Adelina Rosca to their original development.

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