News
03.01.2024
Looking for ways to improve your language teaching and collaborate with other teachers?
ECML training and consultancy event: “Action research and language pedagogy: Infusing action learning in language teaching processes”
Date and venue: 20-21 October 2023, University of Agder, Kristiansand, Norway
Local organiser: University of Agder, Department of Foreign Languages and Translation in collaboration with Sørlandsk Lærerstevne
ECML experts: Angela Gallagher-Brett (United Kingdom) and Larisa Kasumagić-Kafedžić (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
Participants: 22 teachers from lower secondary schools and upper secondary schools in the region of Agder, student teachers and teacher trainers from the university
The workshop by the Action Research for Language Teachers (ARC) team is a good starting point for developing your language teaching community. In the workshop, the ARC team offers a hands-on introduction to how to use different tools and leads participants through all the necessary steps in an action research process. Working together with other in-service and pre-service language teachers during the workshop creates an inspiring atmosphere with critical friends which leads you to develop shared ideas. As part of the workshop, participants are inspired to plan a small project for their own classroom and form a peer group with teachers with similar projects. In these peer groups you are strongly encouraged to plan a schedule for meetings to ensure progress in the projects. Before you leave the workshop, a date is set for a virtual follow-up-meeting with all the participants to present an update on each other’s projects.
To help you on your way, the ARC toolkit on the ECML website offers many tools that you can use to carry out the project. In addition, the follow-up meeting where you share the ups and downs in your projects is very fruitful and you see that small steps can make big differences for the quality of teaching languages in the classroom.
Eli-Marie Drange
Norwegian version
Ønsker du inspirasjon til å utvikle din egen språkundervisning og samarbeide med andre lærere?
En workshop om aksjonsforskning for språklærere i regi av ARC-teamet fra ECML (Det europeiske språksenteret) kan være et sted å begynne for å utvikle egen språkundervisning i samarbeid med andre lærere. I workshopen gir ARC-teamet deg en steg-for steg introduksjon til hvordan du kan bruke ulike verktøy for å utvikle et aksjonsforskningsprosjekt i klasserommet. Gjennom å samarbeide med andre lærere og lærerstudenter i løpet av workshopen, skapes det en god atmosfære der en støtter og utfordrer hverandre til å utvikle nye ideer. Som en del av programmet, blir du utfordret til å definere et lite prosjekt du kan gjennomføre i ditt eget klasserom, og etablere mindre samarbeidsgrupper med andre lærere som har lignende prosjekter. I samarbeidsgruppene blir du oppfordret til å avtale møtepunkter for å sikre en gjennomføring av de planlagte prosjektene. Ved avslutningen av workshopen, fastsettes det en dato for et virtuelt oppfølgingsmøte med alle deltakerne for å gi en oppdatering av de ulike prosjektene.
Som en støtte i prosessen videre, finnes det mange nyttige verktøy tilgjengelig fra ARC-prosjektet på ECMLs nettsider. Oppfølgingsmøtet der du kan dele erfaringene med prosjektet ditt er nyttig for å se at selv små steg er viktige i arbeidet med å forbedre kvaliteten på språkundervisningen i klasserommet.
Eli-Marie Drange
05.10.2021
Supporting Multilingual Classrooms: ECML online national training workshop (23 – 24 September, Norway)
Local organiser: Lekh Baral, Kaja Haugen, Western Norway University of Applied Sciences
ECML experts: Katja Schnitzer, Germany; Catherine Carré-Karlinger, Austria
Participants: 18 (foreign language teachers, teachers of other subjects, teacher educators, teachers of the language of schooling)
“The Supporting Multilingual Classrooms workshop was held in Bergen, Norway on 23 and 24 September 2021. The workshop was organised at the Western Norway University of Applied Sciences through the research group Analysing and Assessing Linguistic Multicompetence. The online workshop welcomed teacher educators, pre-service and in-service teachers from across Norway. ECML coordinators Katja Schnitzer and Catherine Carré-Karlinger led the participants through working with attitudes toward plurilingualism, teaching in a multilingual environment, languages as a bridge for successful education, and how to build a whole school approach.
The workshop was held in the light of the Norwegian curriculum reform in 2020, where multilingualism is explicitly valued as a resource. A number of ECML projects (e.g. Maledive, Illey, FREPA/CARAP, Marille, PlurCur) were presented and discussed in light of the Norwegian context (see e.g. Bjarnø, Nergård & Aarsæther, 2017; Krulatz, Dahl & Flognfeldt, 2018).
It was particularly impressive to see the level of engagement among the participants in working with tasks/activities following multilingual approach. This is an indicator of how adopting a multilingual approach can enhance engagement among the learners.”
Lekh Baral, Kaja Haugen, local organisers, 1 October 2021
ECML project website: Supporting multilingual classrooms – EU-ECML cooperation agreement 2020-2021 "Innovative methodologies and assessment in language learning"
25.03.2019
ECML Call for proposals 2020-2023 : promotional event in Norway (Oslo, 23 March 2019)
18.10.2018
ECML training in Norway: Plurilingualism and plurilingual education: The Framework of Reference for Pluralistic Approaches to Languages and Cultures (FREPA) (Bergen, 27-28 September 2018)
Date and venue: 27-28 September 2018, Western Norway University of Applied Sciences (HVL), Bergen
Local organisers: Sandra Halverson, Christine Möller-Omrani
Participants: 30
- Group 1: Researchers and lecturers of all academic levels, PhD students and MA students involved in teacher education
- Group 2: Student teachers of English at HVL
Hosted by the research group Analyzing Linguistic Multicompetence (ALM) at Høgskulen på Vestlandet, researchers, university lecturers, PHD students, MA students and student teachers attended workshops on plurilingualism and plurilingual education, with special reference to the Framework of Reference for Pluralistic Approaches to Languages and Cultures (FREPA).
The organisers are very grateful to the European Centre for Modern Languages (ECML) for making these workshops possible.
As the ECML states, “pluralistic approaches to languages and cultures (Language awareness, Integrated didactic approaches, Intercomprehension between related languages, Intercultural approaches) are based on activities that include several linguistic and cultural varieties. They develop a concrete concept of the multilingual and multicultural competence promoted by the Common European Framework of Reference for languages. They provide tools which allow for the design and bringing together of didactic interventions favorable to the development and continuous enrichment of this competence by learners. Dedicated to plurilingual and pluricultural dimensions of learning, FREPA complements the other instruments of the Council of Europe” (https://carap.ecml.at/Keyconcepts/tabid/2681/language/en-GB/Default.aspx).
The workshops were conducted by Michel Candelier (Université du Maine, France) and Petra DaryaiHansen (University of Copenhagen), who let participants benefit generously from their knowledge and expertise. Participants overwhelmingly agreed that the workshops were very valuable for their current and future work and professional practice.
Sandra Halverson, Christine Möller-Omrani, local organisers
15.05.2018
“A pluriliteracies approach to teaching for learning” : ECML training and consultancy events planned in Armenia, Austria, Montenegro and Norway
ECML experts: Do Coyle, Kevin Schuck, Susanne Staschen-Dielmann, Fred Taveau
Experts invited by the coordinator: Dunja Chamberlain, Letizia Cinganotto
On 4 and 5 December 2017 the Pluriliteracies team met with national representatives from Armenia, Austria, Montenegro and Norway who had applied for an ECML training and consultancy event to be held in their respective countries.
The purpose of the meeting was to introduce the Pluriliteracies Framework for Deeper Learning to the national representatives, to find ways of adapting the content and methods of our training offer to the specific needs of the target countries and to schedule dates for the trainings to be held in 2018.
The meeting also gave our team the invaluable opportunity to discuss the latest developments of our model, especially the Revised Pluriliteracies Framework for Deeper Learning which was introduced in a number of recent publications and has already found its way into CLIL teacher training curricula e.g. in Germany (Berlin) and Finland. The team also seized the opportunity to share best practice dissemination activities based on previous training experience in the ECML member states and to improve the exchange of materials by establishing a digital platform.
Oliver Meyer,
former coordinator of the ECML training and consultancy offer
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German version
„Pluriliterales Lernen im Sachfach“ : Fortbildungs- und Beratungsangebot des EFSZ in Armenien, Montenegro, Norwegen und Österreich Netzwerktreffen (Graz, Österreich, 4.-5. Dezember 2017)
EFSZ-ExpertInnen: Do Coyle, Kevin Schuck, Susanne Staschen-Dielmann, Fred Taveau
Gastexpertinnen auf Einladung des Koordinators: Dunja Chamberlain, Letizia Cinganotto
Am 4.-5. Dezember 2018 traf sich das Pluriliteracies-Team mit VertreterInnen aus Armenien, Montenegro, Norwegen und Österreich, die sich für Lehrerfortbildungen im Rahmen des Fortbildungs- und Beratungsprogramms des Europäischen Fremdsprachenzentrums (EFSZ) beworben hatten.
Der Zweck des Treffens bestand darin, die Kontaktpersonen in den Bewerberländern und deren spezifische Situationen und Erfordernisse kennenzulernen, ihnen neue Entwicklungen in Bezug auf unser Pluriliterales Lehr-/Lernmodell vorzustellen und ein Fortbildungsangebot zu entwickeln, das auf die speziellen Bedürfnisse der Lehrenden in den jeweiligen Ländern zugeschnitten ist sowie konkrete Termine für die Fortbildungen zu vereinbaren.
Das Treffen war für uns auch eine wertvolle Gelegenheit, uns persönlich über Neuentwicklungen sowie aktuelle und geplante Veröffentlichungen der Teammitglieder auszutauschen. Die Relevanz unseres Modells zeigt sich unter anderem darin, dass es mittlerweile Einzug in Lehr- und Ausbildungspläne z.B. in Deutschland (Berlin) und Finnland gefunden hat.
Ein weiteres Ergebnis des Treffens bestand darin, dass sich die Teammitglieder über die bisher durchgeführten Fortbildungen ausgetauscht und best practice-Aktivitäten zusammengestellt haben, die nun allen Teammitgliedern auf einer internen digitalen Plattform zur Verfügung stehen.
Oliver Meyer, Koordinator
des Fortbildungs- und Beratungsangebot des EFSZ
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French version: available here
05.03.2018
Setting the stage for 2018 training workshops in 9 ECML member states
On 2 March 2018 fifteen local organisers from Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Norway, Poland, Slovenia and “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia” met ECML expert teams to prepare national training events in the areas of Plurilingual education (“FREPA - Plurilingual and intercultural competences: descriptors and teaching materials”) and Online technology (“ICT-rev - Use of ICT in support of language teaching and learning”).
These events are examples of the ECML offer of Training and Consultancy for member states - bilateral support responding to specific national priorities whereby previously successful ECML project teams share their expertise with national authorities and local experts to devise and implement in-country activities, tailored to the particular context and target audience.
A big thank you to national organisers and expert teams for their support and cooperation in preparing the delivery of 8 ICT-REV and 4 FREPA training activities for professionals in language education in these nine countries.
05.05.2017
Recently published: European Language Gazette no. 36 (January-April 2017)
The European Language Gazette, the ECML's e-newsletter, provides up-to-date news about the ECML (events, projects, resources), the Language Policy Unit and other relevant sectors of the Council of Europe, as well as our partners. It focuses on national developments in the field of language education in the member states and beyond.
Read the latest issue: English - French
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Issue no. 36 – Contents
Focus on ECML programme developments – "Languages at the heart of learning" (2016-2019)
Latest project developments
"Language awareness in subject classes": participate in an online survey
"Towards a Common European Framework for Language Teachers": latest news
e-lang project in 2016: laying the foundations for a digital literacy in the language teaching and learning context
"Promoting excellence in sign language instruction (PRO-Sign2)": ECML workshop (Graz, Austria, 1-2 March 2017) – cooperation partnership with Moscow State Linguistic University
"A quality matrix for CEFR use": ECML workshop (Graz, Austria, 15-16 November 2016) – Interview with Denis Vigneron, French participant
ECML training and consultancy for member states
Network meeting of local organisers and ECML consultants (Graz, Austria, 7-8 March 2017) and upcoming national training workshops
National training workshop "Supporting multilingual classes" in Slovenia (Koper, 2-3 March 2017)
National workshops "A pluriliteracies approach to teaching for learning" in Malta (Floriana, 2-3 March 2017) and Latvia (Riga, 6-7 March 2017)
Forthcoming events
Recent ECML publication: Language skills for successful subject learning – CEFR linked descriptors for mathematics and history/civics
European Day of Languages
National developments in Armenia, Austria, Canada, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Malta, Poland, Slovenia, Switzerland
Professional Network Forum of the ECML: upcoming events
Council of Europe developments
The linguistic integration of adult migrants: some lessons from research
Council of Europe Ad hoc Committee of Experts on Roma and Traveller Issues (CAHROM) (ECML, Graz, Austria, 29-31 March 2017)
International Roma Day – 8 April
Pestalozzi programme: creating an online community of action researchers – summer school 2017
Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities: developments in Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Finland, Kosovo*, Lithuania, Moldova, Montenegro, Norway, Romania, Russian Federation, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, United Kingdom, "The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia"
Urban policies for inclusive integration and diversity advantage: join the Intercultural Cities 2017 Milestone Event (Lisbon, Portugal, 28-29 November 2017)
Cyprus Chairmanship Conference in Nicosia: "Securing Democracy through Education"
Recent publication
Editorial news from other organisations: Eurostat, Eurydice, OECD, Unesco, Mercator European Research Centre on Multilingualism and Language Learning, Babylonia
Quick links
03.11.2016
European Language Gazette : enjoy the latest issue!
The European Language Gazette, the ECML's e-newsletter, provides up-to-date news about the ECML (events, projects, resources), the Language Policy Unit and other relevant sectors of the Council of Europe, as well as our partners. It focuses on national developments in the field of language education in the member states and beyond.
Issue no. 33 (September - October 2016): available in English and in French.
03.07.2015
10 Year Anniversary Conference of the Norwegian Centre for Foreign Languages in Education (2005-2015) (Halden, Norway, 22 June 2015)
This year, the Norwegian Centre for Foreign Languages in Education celebrates its 10th Anniversary. To mark this occasion, the Centre organised a conference in Halden on 22 June 2015. As one of the guest speakers Sarah Breslin, Executive Director of the European Centre for Modern Languages of the Council of Europe, gave a presentation on the future of language education.