Latest articles
18.07.2022
National training workshop "Supporting Multilingual Classrooms" (5 – 6 May 2022, Bratislava, Slovak Republic)
Local organiser: Denisa Ďuranová, Methodology-Pedagogy Centre
ECML experts: Terry Lamb, United Kingdom; Mercè Bernaus, Spain
Participants: 14 (foreign language teachers, teachers of other subjects, teacher educators, teachers of the language of schooling, special educators)
“In the Slovak Republic, the Supporting Multilingual Classrooms workshop was a great opportunity to promote a positive attitude towards linguistic and cultural diversity by developing an understanding of the principles and values underlying pluralistic and intercultural approaches. It allowed to improve the quality of teaching and to support the development of plurilingual competences of teachers by building on the linguistic and cultural diversity of their pupils. The participants raised their awareness of the value of plurilingualism and multilingual environment in order to achieve educational success and to support the inclusion of children with a migrant background. The workshop was focused on valuing all languages – challenging assumptions, plurilingualism as a resource in the language classrooms, benefitting from multilingualism across school subjects, democratic classrooms, scaffolding learning – supporting second language development across the curriculum, opening the school to plurilingual approaches, developing collaborative projects.
Information about the Supporting Multilingual Classrooms workshop is available online on the National Institute for Education website: https://www.statpedu.sk/sk/vyskum/vzdelavacie-aktivity/podpora-multilingvalnych-tried-iii/”
Denisa Ďuranová, local organiser, 29 June 2022
ECML project website: Supporting multilingual classrooms – EU-ECML cooperation agreement 2022 "Innovative methodologies and assessment in language learning"
28.06.2022
National training workshop "Supporting Multilingual Classrooms" (15 – 16 June 2022, Dresden, Germany)
Local organiser: Rachel Bowden, Technische Universität Dresden
ECML experts: Brigitte Gerber, Switzerland; Chantal Muller, Belgium
Participants: 25 (foreign language teachers, teachers of other subjects, teacher educators, teachers of the language of schooling, school administrators, educational researchers)
“The first ever Supporting Mulitlingual Classrooms workshop in Germany was held on the 15th and 16th of June at Gymnasium Dresden Johannstadt and Friedrich Schiller Gymnasium Pirna. Participants included school leaders and teachers from GDJ and FSGP, for whom multilingual education is a central focus area; German as a second language teachers and language assistants from a number of other Dresden and Pirna schools; and teacher educators from TU Dresden.
The workshop aimed to enrich educators’ knowledge, attitudes and skills for working with multilingual students in their classrooms and schools. During the highly interactive workshop, participants reflected upon and shared their experiences, and engaged with research-based insights and practical activities. Focus areas included: multilingualism, language in all subjects, everyday language vs. academic language, language-sensitive teaching, resources for supporting multilingual classrooms.”
Rachel Bowden, local organiser, 25 June 2022
ECML project website: Supporting multilingual classrooms – EU-ECML cooperation agreement 2022 "Innovative methodologies and assessment in language learning"
15.03.2022
Ireland: One school, many languages – Creating an environment where all languages are valued – A toolkit for schools
02.03.2022
“RELANG” and “Supporting Multilingual Classrooms”: 20 workshops in 17 countries planned in 2022
In response to the call for the 2022 round of “RELANG” and “Supporting Multilingual Classrooms” national workshops, a total of 27 requests from EU and ECML member states were received.
Events will take place between mid-March and mid-December 2022 in the following countries: Albania, Armenia, Croatia, Cyprus, Estonia, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Spain and Switzerland – with slots for one-two further workshops still to be determined.
RELANG focuses on relating foreign/second language curricula, tests and examinations to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), and Supporting Multilingual Classrooms focuses on the linguistic integration of migrant learners in schools across Europe.
These activities take place within the 9th edition of the European Commission – ECML joint action on Innovative methodologies and assessment in language learning.
27.01.2022
Call for the ECML-EU joint action "Innovative methodologies and assessment in language learning" 2022 open until 16 February 2022

The European Centre for Modern Languages of the Council of Europe together with the European Commission are launching a new round of RELANG and Supporting Multilingual Classrooms workshops within the joint action on Innovative methodologies and assessment in language learning. RELANG focuses on relating foreign/second language curricula, tests and examinations to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), and Supporting Multilingual Classrooms focuses on the linguistic integration of migrant learners in schools across Europe.
The activities are scheduled to take place between mid-March and mid-December 2022, each initiative offering up to 9 national workshops during this period. In view of the ongoing pandemic, workshops will be delivered in a combination of online and face-to-face formats.
The call is open to current European Union member states and the additional member states of the ECML until 16 February 2022.
For further information, please contact Adelina Rosca (adelina.rosca@ecml.at), the ECML-EU cooperation agreement coordinator.
05.11.2021
Supporting Multilingual Classrooms: ECML online national training workshop (14 – 15 October, Austria)
Local organiser: Gabriele Isak, PH Kärnten
ECML experts: Brigitte Gerber, Switzerland; Chantal Muller, Belgium
Participants: 19 (foreign language teachers, students in the teacher training programme, policymakers)
“Supporting Multilingual Classrooms offered excellent opportunities for raising awareness for the needs of multilingual learners, for developing plurilingual competences and for promoting a positive attitude to linguistic and cultural diversity. The practical examples, plurilingual activities, digital tools and intercultural approaches showed a variety of methods and materials that can actually be used in the classroom. The two very competent ECML representatives, Brigitte Gerber and Chantal Muller, gave insight into various ECML projects and materials, they provided links to the projects and created a detailed PowerPoint presentation and a Padlet with further information and activities that participants can also use in the future.
The participants (mainly university and college of education lecturers and students) were very interested in the materials, methods and approaches and took part actively in the activities. All in all, the workshop gave the participants a whole range of ideas, materials and approaches that they can put into practice in the classroom.”
Gabriele Isak, local organiser, 28 October 2021
ECML project website: Supporting multilingual classrooms – EU-ECML cooperation agreement 2020-2021 "Innovative methodologies and assessment in language learning"
17.10.2021
Supporting Multilingual Classrooms: ECML online national training workshop (27 – 28 September, Ireland)
Local organiser: Soraya Sobrevía, Mother Tongues
ECML experts: Terry Lamb, UK; Chantal Muller, Belgium
Participants: 20 (teachers of other subjects/teacher educators, teachers of the language of schooling, policymakers/ curriculum writers, speech and language therapist, home school liaison)
“The SMC workshop in Dublin was a success! Despite it being online, it was well attended and very well received by participants because the training modules were adapted to meet the participants’ different needs. The ECML experts were very knowledgeable in the topic. There was time spent guiding us through a dedicated section on the ECML website with key resources for multilingual classrooms. Judging by the feedback we heard, everyone seemed very happy with the sessions devoted to discovering how to draw on children’s heritage languages as a rich resource for learning. We would strongly recommend hosting this workshop in your setting.”
Soraya Sobrevía, local organiser, 12 October 2021
ECML project website: Supporting multilingual classrooms – EU-ECML cooperation agreement 2020-2021 "Innovative methodologies and assessment in language learning"
17.10.2021
Valoriser les classes multilingues : Atelier national de formation et conseil du CELV (7 – 8 octobre, Bruxelles, Belgique)
Organisatrice locale : Karine Dekeukelaere, Fédération Wallonie Bruxelles
Expertes du CELV : Catherine Carré-Karlinger, Autriche; Mercè Bernaus, Espagne
Participants : 30 (enseignants de langues étrangères, enseignants de la langue de scolarisation, décideurs politiques/ rédacteurs de programmes, administrateurs scolaires)
“Nos contrées accueillent de plus en plus de populations migrantes. Les enfants qui les accompagnent ont besoin d’un accueil scolaire adapté, spécifique et de qualité pour leur donner un maximum de chance pour les accompagner dans leurs efforts d’intégration sociale et scolaire. Ce sont ces défis que les écoles et les enseignants doivent surmonter en étant bien outillés.
Les ateliers proposés par le ECML-CELV sont encadrés par des experts de grande qualité soucieux de partager leur connaissance et leur savoir-faire dans ce domaine. Les ateliers sont construits de telle sorte que la progression dans la réflexion soit garantie pour permettre à tous les participants de transférer les idées présentées à leur propre réalité scolaire. Cette activité est facilitée par la participation ciblée de plusieurs membres d’un même établissement scolaire. La présence du chef d’établissement est un atout et contribue à la mise en place d’une politique d’accueil et d’accompagnement harmonisée et commune dans l’école.
La multiplication des exemples concrets et les moments d’échanges en groupe apportent une valeur ajoutée pratique au travail effectué. En permettant aux participants de prendre le temps de réfléchir dans un contexte confortable des outils pédagogiques peuvent être construits. Ne passons pas à côté de cette offres”
Karine Dekeukelaere, organisatrice locale, 12 octobre 2021
Site web du projet du CELV : Valoriser les classes multilingues ‒ UE-CELV accord de coopération 2020-2021 « Méthodologies et évaluation innovantes dans l'apprentissage des langues »