Plurilingual and intercultural approaches
A didactic tool for integrated plurilingual and intercultural education

Date and venue: 11 April 2024, Grenoble-Alpes University, France
Local organisation: Academic Steering Committee for Modern Languages and Academic School for Continuing Education
ECML experts: Béatrice Leonforte (Switzerland) and Michel Candelier (France)
Participants: 120 - supervisory staff and trainers from primary and secondary schools

In the presence of ECML experts (Michel Candelier and Béatrice Leonforte) and academics from the Lidilem laboratory at Grenoble Alpes University, a seminar on pluralistic approaches to languages and cultures was attended by 120 managers and trainers from the Grenoble education authority. This seminar, which took a resolutely cross-curricular approach, enabled primary and secondary school teachers to become aware of the work already underway in the field of pluralistic approaches to languages, as well as benefiting from high-level scientific contributions, discovering numerous examples of activities and acquiring new resources.

This workshop, organised with the strong support of the ECML, consolidated what already exists and opened up fruitful avenues of work for the future – in particular by outlining prospects for work in nursery schools, CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning) classes, mathematics, vocational training or as part of bilanguage continuity classes (classes of 6ème pupils who have benefited from the teaching of two modern languages at primary level). The participants appreciated this time for taking a step back, exchanging ideas and reflecting, which gave them the desire to go further in developing the plurilingual and pluricultural skills promoted by the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.

Frédéric Bablon, Diana-Lee Simon, Jean-Christophe Larbaud

• FREPA: A framework of reference for pluralistic approaches to languages and cultures
• More information about the training and consultancy offer of the ECML for member states: “Plurilingual and intercultural approaches – A didactic tool for integrated plurilingual and intercultural education”

“Inspiring innovation in language education: changing contexts, evolving competences” – Join the livestream!

The conference represents the culmination of the four years of work of the ECML’s “Inspiring innovation in language education: changing contexts, evolving competences”  programme, involving, among others, 9projects, 1think tank, 12offers of training and consultancy (TaC) and a series of initiatives developed with the support of the European Commission.

The conference is aimed at all language education professionals and in particular at ECML stakeholders, policy makers and persons with a professional focus on the practice of language education (curriculum development, teacher education, material design…).

The programme involves plenary presentations, speeches, a round table, a series of smaller workshops for the presentation and discussion of programme outputs and outcomes as well as envisaged links to activities in the 2024-2027 programme.

The workshops on the second day of the conference will be organised thematically:

• Language teacher and learner competences,
• Transversal dimension of language education / Competences for life and work,
• Plurilingual and intercultural education,
• Languages of schooling; language in subjects.

Within each given theme there will be a focus on the completed project resources and related TaC activities from the current programme. Presenters will focus on the inspiring and innovative aspects of their TaC activity/new resources and will consider how the different approaches and materials presented in their thematic session complement one other.

This will also be an excellent opportunity to get a preview of the new ECML programme “Language education at the heart of democracy” (2024-2027).

In order to ensure access to a wider audience, the event will be streamed in both working languages (English and French) and the recordings made available on the ECML website.

Conference web page: English – French

Conference programme: English – French

Join the live streaming here – no registration required: English – French

#ECMLCELVconf2023

The European Centre for Modern Languages is launching a series of 48 national training and consultancy workshops . The workshops which are hosted in member states offer a wide range of European expertise in language education and are adapted to the concrete needs and specific contexts within individual countries. This year represents the highest ever number of events organised according to this format by the ECML and reflects the increasing popularity of the Centre’s training and consultancy activities.

25 of the events will take place within the framework of the “Innovative methodologies and assessment in language learning” cooperation action between the ECML and the European Commission. These activities, covering member states of the ECML and the European Union, focus on Relating language curricula, tests and examinations to the Common European Framework of Reference (RELANG), Supporting Multilingual Classrooms and Use of ICT in support of language teaching and learning

The other 23 events targeting the member states of the ECML focus on the following areas: Action research communities, CLIL and beyond – pluriliteracies, Language for work, Language of schooling in subject learning, Plurilingual and intercultural approaches (CARAP/FREPA), The ROADMAP – a self-assessment tool to foster school development, Setting up learning environments where modern languages flourish.

The events combine professional input from the ECML and expertise in the member state to initiate quality developments – the workshops can assist in change processes in language education at local, regional and national levels. The first of the events, a RELANG workshop, will take place at the Lithuanian National Agency for Education in Vilnius on 7-9 March.

The ECML offers its member states European expertise in language education adapted to the concrete needs and specific contexts within individual countries.

On 26 January 2023, seven training and consultancy (TaC) teams exchanged their experience in the field of:

• Action research communities,
• CLIL and beyond – pluriliteracies,
• Language for work,
• Language of schooling in subject learning,
• Plurilingual and intercultural approaches (CARAP/FREPA),
• The ROADMAP - a self-assessment tool to foster school development,
• Setting up learning environments where modern languages flourish (online presentation),

focusing on highlights, challenges and learning opportunities, and conclusions for 2023 activities.

The network meeting with the local organisers from Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Luxembourg, Malta, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Norway, Serbia, Slovak Republic and Slovenia took place on 27 January. The participants got an overview of the TaC offers and their benefits from previous experience, national contexts and needs, and the ECML support provided. Individual meetings took place for local organisers with the TaC teams to discuss the organisation and arrangements of their national events planned this year.

In 2023 the ECML will conduct 23 training events in 17 member states:

In addition, up to 25 workshops will be organised in ECML and EU member states through the Centre’s cooperation action with the European Commission – these will be announced shortly.

• More information on the ECML training and consultancy offer

Photo gallery

Venue: INSPE of Reims, France
Local organisers: Frédéric Bablon and Magali Censier, Rectorat de l'Académie de Reims, France
ECML experts: Béatrice Leonforte (Switzerland), Anna Schröder-Sura (Germany), Michel Candelier (France)
Participants: 110 Inspectors, technical advisors, primary and secondary school teachers, educational advisors, trainers

From 29 November to 1 December 2021, an academic seminar was held on pluralistic approaches to languages. This seminar is a continuation of and complementary to a previous one dedicated to the awakening to languages, in 2019.

The large-scale event was organised  jointly by the European Centre for Modern Languages in Graz (Austria) and the academic authorities (Ia-Dasen de l'Aube, IA-IPR de langues vivantes, DAREIC) with the support of the Grand Est Region, and benefitted  from the national FPEU label (French Presidency of the European Union).

International experts in pluralistic approaches to languages were invited to present their research findings.

The speakers were :

• Michel Candelier, professor emeritus at the University of Le Mans, coordinator of several European projects including the EVLANG project (Awakening to languages in primary schools) and the CARAP/FREPA project (Framework of reference for pluralistic approaches to languages and cultures) developed at the ECML (Council of Europe, Graz, Austria), where he is a prominent collaborator;
• Béatrice Leonforte, trainer at the Haute Ecole Pédagogique of Locarno and scientific advisor to the Working Group for compulsory school programmes in the canton of Ticino (Switzerland), specialist in plurilingualism, in particular for language awareness in primary school and integrated didactics at secondary level;
• Anna Schröder-Sura, teacher and trainer in the didactics of Romance languages, specialist in the didactics of plurilingualism at the University of Rostock (Germany) and working with the ECML in particular on the elaboration and dissemination of CARAP;
• Anne-Marie Voise, trainer in language teaching at the INSPEs of Versailles, Dijon and Créteil and teacher-researcher at the UPEC;
• Véronique Lemoine-Bresson, teacher-researcher at the University of Lorraine, at the ATILF laboratory (CNRS) in the language didactics and sociolinguistics team; she also teaches in the Masters MEEF programme at the INSPE in Lorraine.

A seminar in two parts:

The first half-day was reserved for managers from the academy, inspectors and educational advisors from various disciplines. The action carried out by the Academy of Reims on language awareness and integrated language teaching (1st and 2nd level) was presented, followed by keynotes by Michel Candelier (From languages as learning objects to “language” as a vector for disciplinary learning. Building synergies) and Anna Schröder-Sura (Teacher competences for the use of pluralistic approaches: an overview of an ongoing project at the ECML, Council of Europe. A general discussion on the principles of synergy, their implementation, foreseeable obstacles, objectives, teaching skills.

After the welcome speech by the director of INSPE Reims, the second day was an opportunity for Olivier Brandouy, rector of the academy, in his talk on “the importance of the language dimension for all educational processes, “to affirm his conviction that “the response to the challenges of language can only be global, involving everyone, whether a language specialist or not, in a coordinated manner”, and to reaffirm his “commitment to reinforce the essential position given to the development of language at nursery school”, to “continue the action intended to develop the linguistic awareness of our pupils to prepare them in a more sustainable way for the learning of modern foreign languages” and to understand the importance of developing and cultivating  intercultural competence among our pupils”. Finally, he recalled the innovative work accomplished over the last four years in the field of languages within the academy.

The invited experts and 17 academic facilitators (IEN 1er degré, CPD langues, secondary school teachers and school teachers) then offered the large audience an in-depth discussion and workshops on practical application and feedback on experiments which demonstrated and promoted  the research actions already in operation within the academy.

These concrete approaches illustrating “what exists” aroused great interest. Many of those present said that they were keen to promote and use them in their professional practice and to disseminate them within their respective schools.

The day ended with a plenary lecture by Béatrice Leonforte who presented the different aspects of the implementation of pluralistic approaches (integrated in the school curriculum) in the canton of Ticino.

This seminar was therefore rich in theoretical insights, and provided exchanges opening up new perspectives for consideration – which have already prove effective in the academy - of the pluralistic approach to languages and the beginning of a more transversal and global reflection on French as an academic language.

Thank you to our partners, the European Centre for Modern Languages of the Council of Europe, the Inspé de Reims and the Région Grand Est!

Frédéric Bablon, Michel Candelier, Magali Censier, Yvan Jacquemin

• FREPA: A framework of reference for pluralistic approaches to languages and cultures
• More information about the training and consultancy offer of the ECML for member states “Plurilingual and intercultural approaches - A didactic tool for integrated plurilingual and intercultural education”