In early June, the University of Iceland hosted a dynamic ECML Training and consultancy event on “Beyond CLIL – Pluriliteracies Teaching for Deeper Learning” bringing together educators, student teachers and teacher educators committed to deepening learning through integrated language and content teaching. Led by ECML experts, the workshop offered hands-on strategies for designing learning sequences that support the development of both subject knowledge and language competences, with a strong focus on learner agency, multimodal meaning-making and transferability.

The event provided participants with tools to rethink their practice and beliefs through the lens of the Pluriliteracies framework, fostering collaboration across disciplines and languages. Feedback from participants was enthusiastic, highlighting the relevance of the approach in multilingual classrooms and the value of sharing practice across contexts.

This initiative was part of the ECML’s Training and consultancy programme, which offers tailored support to member states on key educational themes. If you are looking to transform your teaching and professional culture, we can warmly encourage you to explore this opportunity. Learn more about how to host an event: https://www.ecml.at/TrainingConsultancy.

Author: Caterina Poggi, local organiser, University of Iceland

• Further information about the ECML training and consultancy offer for member states: "Beyond CLIL – Pluriliteracies teaching for deeper learning"

Icelandic version:

Beyond CLIL vinnustofa: Innblástur til breytinga í fjöltyngdum bekkjum

Í byrjun júní stóð Háskóli Íslands fyrir vinnustofu á vegum ECML um efnið „Beyond CLIL – Pluriliteracies Teaching for Deeper Learning“. Vinnustofuna sóttu kennarar, kennaranemar og leiðsagnarkennarar sem deila áhuga á að dýpka nám með samþættingu tungumáls og efnis. Vinnustofan var leidd af sérfræðingum ECML og bauð upp á hagnýtar leiðir til að skipuleggja kennslu sem styrkir bæði þekkingu á viðfangsefnum og málfærni, með áherslu á virkni nemenda, fjölbreytta merkingarsköpun og yfirfæranleika þekkingar.

Viðburðurinn gaf þátttakendum tækifæri til að endurskoða eigið starf og fagleg viðhorf í ljósi Pluriliteracies-rammans og hvatti til samstarfs þvert á greinar og tungumál. Ánægja þátttakenda kom skýrt fram í endurgjöf, þar sem fram kom hversu vel nálgunin nýtist í fjöltyngdu kennsluumhverfi og hversu dýrmætt það er að deila reynslu með öðrum.

Þessi vinnustofa var hluti af þjónustu ECML, sem býður aðildarríkjum upp á sérsniðinn stuðning á sviði tungumálanáms og kennslu. Ef þú vilt breyta kennsluháttum og fagmenningu í þínu kennsluumhveri hvet ég þig eindregið til að skoða þessa þjónustu nánar.

Nánari upplýsingar um hvernig hægt er að skipuleggja slíka viðburði með aðstoð ECML: https://www.ecml.at/TrainingConsultancy

Τhe Training and consultancy event "Beyond CLIL: Pluriliteracies teaching for deeper learning",  was organised by the European Centre for Modern Languages (ECML) of the Council of Europe in cooperation with the Regional Directorate of Primary and Secondary Education of Peloponnese and the Ministry of Education, Sports and Religious Affairs of Greece.

It took place on 3-4 April 2025 in Korinthos, Greece and was attended by 35 participants: 17 education advisors of various subjects and 18 school principals of pre-school, primary and secondary level school units.

The principles of the CLIL approach and the Deep Learning procedures were introduced by the ECML expert, Kevin Schuck, who involved the mixed group of participants in a series of hands-on activities conducted in a creative and cooperative climate.

The event closed with the participants’ commitment to participate in dissemination events with the aim of creating new material and building a larger network. It is hoped that this ECML Training and consultancy event marks the beginning of future collaborations and similar participatory training activities for educators who strive to enhance their pedagogical practices and promote a more meaningful and profound learning experience for their students.

Dr Urania Sarri, local organiser

• More information about the ECML training and consultancy offer for member states: "Beyond CLIL – Pluriliteracies teaching for deeper learning"

This training activity is designed for teachers, teacher educators and educational administrators, aiming to establish a new framework for plurilingual development programmes in European educational institutions. The concept of "pluriliteracies" opens a highly relevant new horizon for professional development, where all educational stakeholders can find a theoretical foundation based on academic research, significant initial theoretical proposals, and a set of high-quality materials to apply directly in their respective educational contexts.

The workshop explores the possibilities offered by a sound structuring of an educational programme; the adoption by teachers of an appropriate content and linguistic perspective; and, finally, the planning of evidence-based classroom activities that provide an effective framework for action in any educational context. The key to the success of this workshop lies in starting from a well-established model like CLIL and evolving towards a new approach (Pluriliteracies for Deeper Learning) in which the most validated and advanced pedagogical proposals give meaning to a new way of implementing our teaching practice.

Authors: Eduardo Obradó Mancholas & Javier Barbero Andrés (Education Administration, Cantabria, Spain)

ESPAÑOL

La Consejería de Educación de Cantabria organiza en colaboración con el Centro Europeo para las Lenguas Modernas el taller Beyond CLIL – Pluriliteracies Teaching for Deeper Learning.

El Centro Europeo para las Lenguas Modernas ofrece el taller Beyond CLIL – Pluriliteracies teaching for deeper learning. Esta actividad formativa está pensada para docentes, formadores y responsables de administraciones educativas y trata de establecer un nuevo marco de actuación para los programas de desarrollo plurilingüe en los centros educativos europeos. El concepto de “pluriliteracies” abre un nuevo horizonte de desarrollo profesional muy relevante en el que todos los agentes educativos pueden encontrar un refredo teórico basado en investigaciones académicas, unas propuestas teóricas de partida muy significativas y un conjunto de materiales de alta calidad para poder aplicar directamente en sus respectivos contextos educativos. El taller explora las posibilidades que ofrece la estructuración razonable de un programa educativo; la adopción, por parte de los docentes, de una perspectiva de contenido y lingüística adecuada; y, finalmente, la programación de actividades de aula basadas en evidencias que proporcionan un marco de actuación eficaz en cualquier contexto educativo. La clave del éxito de este taller consiste en partir de un modelo ya contrastado como es CLIL para evolucionar hacia un nuevo enfoque (Pluriliteracies for Deeper Learning) en el que las propuestas pedagógicas más contrastadas y avanzadas dan sentido a una nueva forma de implementar nuestra acción docente.

Autores: Eduardo Obradó Mancholas y Javier Barbero Andrés (Consejería de Educación, Cantabria)