Date the event: 26-27 November 2025
Venue: Zagreb, Croatia
Local organisers: Danijela Ille, senior advisor for EFL, and Izabela Potnar Mijić, senior advisor for English and German as foreign languages, Croatia 
ECML experts: Barbara Sawicka (Poland) and Magdalini Liontou (Finland)
Participants: 29 senior advisors for English and German as foreign languages, regional leaders (secondary schools), teachers in secondary schools where mediation is an element of assessment
 

Teaching mediation is an important part of the foreign language curriculum in the Republic of Croatia. Languages which are taught as the first foreign language in grammar schools (and some vocational schools) have language mediation as an element of assessment. Therefore, it is important for teachers to feel confident in teaching mediation. They should also be able to select and apply a range of activities, methods, and forms of work in order to ensure that assessment results are as valid and meaningful as possible. The Training and consultancy event entitled “The CEFR Companion Volume: Mediation and other key concepts” offers a wide range of examples and incentives that teachers can immediately apply in practice. It also provides a platform for exchanging ideas and supporting teachers in teaching mediation. After this professional training, teachers gained confidence in conducting mediation activities in the classroom and learned about different applicable types of monitoring and evaluation.
 

Izabela Potnar Mijić, Education and teacher training agency

• ECML training and consultancy offer for member states “The CEFR Companion Volume: Mediation and other key concepts”

Croatian version

ZEROJ

Jezično posredovanje i drugi ključni koncepti

Poučavanje medijacije važan je dio kurikuluma za strane jezike u Republici Hrvatskoj. Jezici koje se poučavaju kao prvi strani jezik u gimnazijama i ponekim strukovnim školama imaju jezično posredovanje kao element ocjenjivanja. Zato je važno da nastavnici steknu sigurnost u poučavanju medijacije, mogu odabrati i primijeniti različite aktivnosti, metode i oblike rada kako bi rezultati vrednovanja bili što relevantniji. Stručno usavršavanje pod nazivom The CEFR Companion Volume: Mediation and other key concepts (ZEROJ Jezično posredovanje i drugi ključni koncepti nudi široki spektar primjera i poticaja koje nastavnici mogu odmah primijeniti u praksi, ali i platformu na kojoj se mogu izmjenjivati ideje i pružiti podrška nastavnicima u poučavanju medijacije. Nakon ovoga stručnog usavršavanja nastavnici su stekli sigurnost u provođenju aktivnosti medijacije u učionici i upoznali različite primjenjive vrste praćenja i vrednovanja.
 

Izabela Potnar Mijić, Education and teacher training agency

Date of the event: 16-17 September 2025
Venue: Tallinn, Estonia
Local organiser: Kati Bakradze-Pank, Tallinn Co-Educational School
ECML experts: Christian Ollivier (France) and Elke Höfler (Austria)
Participants: 25 German language teachers, German language teacher educators, policy makers, experts from the Education and Youth Board, representatives of foreign language teachers’ and German language teachers´ associations

In September 2025, language educators and policy makers from across Estonia gathered in Tallinn for the ECML workshop Fostering Digital Citizenship through Language Education. The two-day event brought together German language teachers, teacher educators, policy makers, and representatives of language teachers’ associations to explore how digital citizenship can be meaningfully embedded in language education.

The workshop demonstrated that digital citizenship is not an add-on or a purely technological issue, but a core pedagogical responsibility of language teachers. Through practical tasks, authentic examples, and reflective discussions, participants learned how to guide learners to become critical, responsible, and autonomous users of digital resources – both in everyday classroom work and in assessment contexts.

Led by ECML experts Christian Ollivier and Elke Höfler, the workshop offered a strong balance of theory and practice, encouraging active participation and professional dialogue. For Estonia, it was a particularly valuable milestone, as this was the first ECML training event delivered in German. Participants left inspired, confident, and eager to implement what they had learned – sharing materials, piloting activities, and strengthening professional networks. This event clearly shows how ECML training and consultancy activities can make a lasting impact. We warmly encourage other institutions and countries to take advantage of this unique ECML offer.

Kati Bakradze-Pank, Tallinn Co-Educational School

• More information about the ECML training and consultancy offer for member states “Fostering digital citizenship through language education”

In Estonian

Digikodakondsuse edendamine keeleõppe kaudu – Euroopa Nüüdiskeelte keskuse eksperdid Eestis

2025.aasta septembris kogunesid keeleõpetajad ja poliitikakujundajad üle Eesti Tallinnas toimunud ECMLi koolitusele “Digikodakondsuse edendamine keeleõppe kaudu”. Kahepäevane sündmus tõi kokku saksa keele õpetajad, õpetajakoolitajad, poliitikakujundajad ning keeleõpetajate ühenduste esindajad, et uurida, kuidas digikodakondsust saab sisukalt lõimida keeleõppesse.

Töötuba näitas, et digikodakondsus ei ole lisateema ega pelgalt tehnoloogiline küsimus, vaid keeleõpetajate pedagoogilise vastutuse keskne osa. Praktiliste ülesannete, autentsete näidete ja reflekteerivate arutelude kaudu õppisid osalejad, kuidas suunata õppijaid kujunema kriitilisteks, vastutustundlikeks ja iseseisvateks digivahendite kasutajateks nii igapäevases klassitöös kui ka hindamiskontekstides.

ECMLi ekspertide Christian Ollivieri ja Elke Höfleri, Euroopa Nüüdiskeelte Keskusest, eestvedamisel pakkus töötuba tasakaalustatud kombinatsiooni teooriast ja praktikast ning soodustas aktiivset osalemist ja professionaalset dialoogi. Eesti jaoks oli tegemist eriti väärtusliku verstapostiga, kuna see oli esimene ECMLi koolitus, mis toimus saksa keeles Eestis.

Osalejad lahkusid innustunult ja enesekindlalt ning valmis rakendama õpitut oma töös, jagades materjale, katsetades tegevusi ja tugevdades professionaalseid võrgustikke. See sündmus näitab selgelt, kuidas ECMLi koolitus- ja nõustamistegevused võivad avaldada pikaajalist mõju. Julgustame soojalt ka teisi asutusi ja riike seda ainulaadset ECMLi võimalust kasutama.
 

What exactly is mediation? Do we fully understand the notions of plurilingualism, pluriculturalism and action-orientation as presented in the CEFRCV? To what extent have we already integrated these concepts into our teaching practice? What are the next steps we can take? 

These are some of the questions that were addressed in a two-day ECML Training and consultancy event which was part of the national network meeting of language teachers at upper secondary vocational colleges. 

This network meeting takes place every year and this year it was organised by CEBS and the Private University of Education, Diocese of Linz. Together with the two ECML experts, Silvia Melo-Pfeifer and Julia Consuelo Zabala Delgado, we discussed concepts, explored existing materials and developed our own classroom activities. The ideas focused on at the event were not completely new to the participants, as they had been discussed in previous professional development seminars. Therefore, the in-depth insights that this event provided were even more valuable.

Gaining a deeper understanding is absolutely essential since mediation, as well as plurilingual and pluricultural approaches, is anchored in the current curricula and will be even more prominent in the new curricula which are currently being developed. The two experts provided knowledge and material that will be adapted and used by the participants, not only for their own teaching, but also for teacher development activities. The MedVITBox training definitely strengthened the professional competence of everyone who took part.

Belinda Steinhuber and Ute Atzlesberger, Centre for Vocational Languages of the Federal Ministry of Education of Austria

• ECML training and consultancy offer for member states “The CEFR Companion Volume: Mediation and other key concepts”

German version: 

Neue Konzepte verstehen – den Weg für weitere Innovationen ebnen 

Was genau ist Mediation? Haben wir die im CEFRCV vorgestellten Begriffe Mehrsprachigkeit, Multikulturalität und Handlungsorientierung in ihrem vollen Umfang verstanden? Inwieweit haben wir diese Konzepte bereits in unsere Unterrichtspraxis integriert? Welche nächsten Schritte können wir setzen? Dies sind einige der Fragen, die bei einem zweitägigen „Training and consultancy event“ des EFSZ behandelt wurden, das im Rahmen des jährlichen nationalen Netzwerktreffens von Sprachlehrkräften an berufsbildenden Schulen der Sekundarstufe II stattfand.

Das Netzwerktreffen wurde von CEBS und der Privaten Pädagogischen Hochschule der Diözese Linz organisiert. Zusammen mit den beiden EFSZ-Expertinnen Silvia Melo-Pfeifer und Julia Consuelo Zabala Delgado diskutierten wir Konzepte, untersuchten vorhandene Materialien und entwickelten eigene Unterrichtsaktivitäten. Die Themen, auf die sich die Veranstaltung konzentrierte, waren für die Teilnehmerinnen und Teilnehmer nicht völlig neu, da sie bereits in anderen Fortbildungsseminaren behandelt worden waren. Umso wertvoller waren daher die vertiefenden Einblicke, die diese Veranstaltung bot. 

Ein tieferes Verständnis ist absolut notwendig, da Mediation sowie mehrsprachige und multikulturelle Ansätze in den aktuellen Lehrplänen verankert sind und in den neuen Lehrplänen, die derzeit entwickelt werden, noch mehr Gewicht erhalten werden. Die beiden Expertinnen stellten Wissen und Materialien zur Verfügung, die von den Teilnehmerinnen und Teilnehmern nicht nur für ihren eigenen Unterricht, sondern auch für Lehrerfortbildungen angepasst und genutzt werden können. Die MedVITBox-Schulung hat die fachliche Kompetenz aller Teilnehmenden definitiv ganz wesentlich gestärkt.

Belinda Steinhuber und Ute Atzlesberger, Center für berufsbezogene Sprachen des österreichischen Bundesministeriums für Bildung
 

On September 5-6, 2025, the Bureau for Education Services of Montenegro hosted the TaC Workshop “Fostering digital citizenship through language learning” in Podgorica. This two-day event brought together language teachers, education advisors, and institutional representatives from across Montenegro, fostering a vibrant environment for professional exchange.

The workshop was grounded in the ECML programme 2024–2027: Language education at the heart of democracy. Through interactive sessions, participants explored digital citizenship as a key component of language education, beginning with the concept of the digital citizen as a socially engaged individual guided by values, rights, and responsibilities.

A highlight of the training was the integration of real-world tasks (RWT) and reflective tasks into classroom practice. Participants examined ECML project examples and discussed how to adapt them to their own linguistic, cultural, and technological contexts. The use of digital tools in task design was also emphasised, encouraging educators to enhance engagement and learning outcomes.

Facilitated by ECML experts Teija Natri and Julie Van de Vyver, the workshop was praised for its collaborative and practical approach. Participants left inspired, equipped with new strategies and resources to promote democratic values and digital literacy through language learning.

Nataša Perić, local organiser

• More information about the ECML training and consultancy offer for member states “Fostering digital citizenship through language education”: www.ecml.at/en/Training-Consultancy/Fostering-digital-citizenship-through-language-education

Montenegrin version:

Radionica Evropskog centra za moderne jezike o digitalnom građanstvu kroz učenje jezika održana u Podgorici

Dana 5. i 6. septembra 2025. godine, Zavod za školstvo Crne Gore organizovao je radionicu pod nazivom „Jačanje digitalnog građanstva kroz učenje jezika“, koja je održana u Podgorici. Tokom dvodnevnog događaja okupili su se nastavnici stranih jezika iz cijele Crne Gore i predstavnici obrazovnih institucija, stvarajući dinamično okruženje za profesionalnu razmjenu.

Radionica je bila zasnovana na programu ECML-a za period 2024–2027: „Jezičko obrazovanje u srcu demokratije“. Kroz interaktivne sesije, učesnici su istraživali digitalno građanstvo kao ključnu komponentu jezičkog obrazovanja, počevši od koncepta digitalnog građanina kao društveno angažovanog pojedinca vođenog vrijednostima, pravima i odgovornostima.

Jedan od najznačajnijih segmenata obuke bila je integracija zadataka iz stvarnog života (RWT) i reflektivnih zadataka u nastavni proces. Učesnici su analizirali primjere ECML projekata i razmatrali načine njihove prilagodbe sopstvenom jezičkom, kulturnom i tehnološkom kontekstu. Poseban akcenat stavljen je na upotrebu digitalnih alata u osmišljavanju zadataka, čime se podstiče veće angažovanje učenika i unapređenje obrazovnih rezultata.

Radionicu su vodile ekspertkinje ECML-a Teija Natri i Julie Van de Vyver, a učesnici su je ocijenili kao izuzetno saradničku i praktičnu. Otišli su motivisani, obogaćeni novim strategijama i resursima za promociju demokratskih vrijednosti i digitalne pismenosti kroz učenje jezika.

Nataša Perić, lokalna organizatorka
 

ECML-EC training workshop for Belgium

Local organiser: Fauve Van den Berghe, Department of Education & Training (Flemish Government)

ECML experts: José Noijons (the Netherlands), Gabor Szabo (Hungary)

Participants: 29 teachers and teacher trainers

During the RELANG training workshop on 20-21 November 2025, participants learned how to link descriptors for different skills to the levels of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). The workshop also covered how to create valid tasks for receptive and productive skills for different CEFR levels. The workshop may be useful for teachers, language coordinators, educational supervisors, teacher trainers, test developers, etc.

More information about RELANG can be found here, along with a number of interesting ECML materials. Subscribe to the ECML's European Language Gazette for fascinating facts and activities related to language teaching.

Fauve Van den Berghe, local coordinator, 16 December 2025

ECML project website: RELANG, ECML-EC cooperation agreement 2025 "Innovative methodologies and assessment in language learning"

Local organiser: Lília Maria Vicente, Ministry of Education, Directorate-General for School Administration

ECML experts: Catherine Carré-Karlinger (Austria), Katja Schnitzer (Switzerland)

Participants: 27 school leaders, teachers of the language of schooling, researchers

The Supporting Multilingual Classrooms training workshop, which aims to help member states ensure access to quality education for migrant learners and bridge the attainment gap between these learners and non-migrant pupils, was organised on 13-14 November 2025 in Lisbon by the Portuguese Directorate-General for School Administration of the Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation. This entity is responsible for the school principals’ Continuing Professional Development, (CPD) on the theme of "Inclusive approaches in language education” within the module on "Developing language-aware schools".  

School principals and other educational actors from school clusters that show a diversified cultural and linguistic reality were invited, in order to provide them with moments of sharing and reflection on their contexts and practices, and, above all, to show that multilingualism and cultural diversity are added values in the life of schools, contributing to promote inclusion.

In fact, the responsibility that falls to school principals to manage school clusters that incorporate pupils from many different nationalities requires the development of strategies that ensure that all members of their community have opportunities to develop awareness of the value of multilingualism for all and integrate these opportunities into their practices, which does not always seem easy. It is therefore very important to give school principals the opportunity to share their reality with others and to get to know new ways of addressing their problems in a more effective and rewarding way and to give them access to other strategies and approaches that enable them to meet the challenges posed by these new educational contexts.

Lília Maria Vicente, local organiser, 19 December 2025

ECML project website: Supporting multilingual classrooms, ECML-EC cooperation agreement 2025 "Innovative methodologies and assessment in language learning"