UNESCO’s recent publication Languages matter: Global guidance on multilingual education underlines how vital multilingualism is in building inclusive and effective education systems worldwide - and Europe features prominently!

Key European highlights from the report:

• References Council of Europe instruments such as the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages and the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities.
• Spotlights practical Council of Europe resources supporting plurilingual education.

ECML’s impact in practice:

• Finland is showcased for using the ECML’s “Roadmap for schools to support the language(s) of schooling”.
• The ECML’s and EC’s joint initiative on “Supporting multilingual classrooms” is highlighted for its training and capacity-building across Europe, aligned with the 2022 Council of Europe Recommendation on plurilingual and intercultural education.
• This ECML resource also features among recommended tools for inclusive teaching approaches.

Multilingualism isn’t just an asset - it’s essential for quality education and social cohesion. And the Council of Europe and its ECML play a key role in advancing this European/global agenda!

References:

Unesco (2025), Languages matter: global guidance on multilingual education, pp. 36, 50, 67, 78, 80, 84, 95, 96, 97, https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000392477.

Unesco (2025), Les langues comptent : orientations mondiales pour l’éducation multilingue, pp. 38, 52, 69, 80, 82, 86, 98, 99, 100,  https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000392809.

On June 26-27, 2025, the Agency organised its annual end-of-school-year seminar for LVA teacher trainers. For the second year in a row, a group of trainers participated in a workshop by the European Centre for Modern Languages (ECML), led by experts Katri Kuukka (Finland) and Nermina Wikström (Sweden). The workshop continued the topic introduced in 2024, focusing on language as a key transversal skill in the learning process. This year, particular attention was given to the ECML-developed ROADMAP for schools to support the language(s) of schooling.

The ROADMAP helps schools assess their needs using an electronic self-assessment tool. It emphasises the importance of involving the entire school community—from the principal to the technical staff. By surveying all stakeholders—school administration, teachers, students, parents, and support staff—the school can gain a well-rounded overview of its strengths and areas for improvement in the field of language awareness.

Over two days, teams from six schools used the ROADMAP to analyse the situation in Latvian schools by stepping into the perspectives of different stakeholder roles.

Participating schools:

• Ventspils Secondary School No. 6
• Liepaja Rainis Secondary School
• Riga State Classical Gymnasium
• Daugavpils Secondary School of Sciences
• Salaspils Primary School
• Riga Secondary School No. 72

We encourage other schools to explore this valuable resource, which also includes a good practices database!

Indra Lapinska, Head of the Department of Language Development, Latvian Language Agency (LLA)

• Information on LLA webpage
• ECML Training and consultancy activity “A roadmap for schools to support the language(s) of schooling“

Latvian version
 

Soli pa solim uz visas skolas kopienas iesaisti mācību valodas stiprināšanai.
Eiropas Moderno valodu centra ceļvedis skolām
Tālākizglītotāju seminārs, 2025. gada 26.–27. jūnijs, Jūrmala

Text

2025. gada 26.–27. jūnijā aģentūra rīkoja ikgadējo mācību gada noslēguma semināru LVA tālākizglītotājiem, kurā daļa tālākizglītotāju jau otro gadu piedalījās Eiropas Moderno valodu centra (ECML) darbnīcā, ko vadīja ekspertes Katri Kūka (Somija) un Nermina Vikstrēma (Zviedrija). Tā turpināja 2024. gadā iesākto tēmu par valodu kā svarīgu caurviju prasmi mācību procesā, šoreiz uzmanību veltot ECML izstrādātajam ceļvedim skolām mācību valodas (-u) stiprināšanai. Ceļvedis palīdz skolai novērtēt savas vajadzības, izmantojot elektronisku pašnovērtēšanas anketu. Tas uzsver visas skolas iesaistes nozīmi – no direktora līdz tehniskajam personālam. Veicot visu ieinteresēto pušu – skolas adminstrācijas, skolotāju, skolēnu, vecāku un skolas atbalsta personāla – aptauju, skola var iegūt daudzpusīgu pārskatu par tās stiprajām pusēm, kā arī vēl pilnveidojamajiem aspektiem valodas jomā.

Divu dienu laikā sešu Latvijas skolu komandas, izmantojot ceļvedi, analizēja Latvijas skolu situāciju, iejūtoties dažādu lomu perspektīvās.

Dalībskolas

• Ventspils 6. vidusskola
• Liepājas Raiņa vidusskola
• Rīgas Valsts klasiskā ģimnāzija
• Daugavpils Zinātņu vidusskola
• Salaspils pamatskola
• Rīgas 72. vidusskola

Aicinām arī citas skolas iepazīties ar šo vērtīgo resursu, kurā pieejama arī labās prakses piemēru datubāze!

Indra Lapinska, Latviešu valodas aģentūras Valodas attistibas daļas vadītāja

• INFORMĀCIJA LVA TĪMEKĻVIETNĒ

Training workshop “Lebensweltliche Mehrsprachigkeit und Schule. Unterrichtsmaterialien für den Fremdsprachenunterricht im Berliner Kontext”
ECML training and consultancy event in Germany
Date: 24-25 June 2025
Venue: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany
Local organisers: HU Berlin : Daniel Reimann, Christian Koch
ECML experts: Michel Candelier, Anna Schröder-Sura
Participants: 30+ participants – foreign language teachers (secondary level), romance language students
 

Anna Schröder-Sura and Michel Candelier moderated  a workshop on the Framework of Reference for Pluralistic Approaches (FREPA) on 24 and 25 June 2025, at  the Humboldt University of Berlin. The aim of the workshop was to offer a foundation for designing new Berlin-based reference frameworks focused on plurilingual competence. Thirty participants, mostly foreign language teachers in Berlin secondary schools, were introduced to the FREPA  tools. Two new elements stood out in this workshop: the systematic integration of learners’ entire linguistic repertoires – particularly languages of migration – in work using pluralistic approaches, and the use of the new FREPA database, which provides numerous examples of materials in this area. The workshop was further enriched through presentations from the organisers, Daniel Reimann and Christian Koch (both teacher-researchers in the didactics of Romance languages and literature at Humboldt University of Berlin), on the linguistic situation in Berlin and resources related to heritage languages. In  addition, Lasse Birger Bohn (teacher-researcher in Romance language didactics at the University of Siegen) contributed with a talk on the use of FREPA descriptors in the design of teaching materials.

Participants’ feedback reflected the valuable contribution the workshop made to the development of linguistically responsive teaching, the establishment of internal school curricula, and the networking between Berlin schools and Humboldt University.

Authors: Christian Koch, Daniel Reimann

• More information about the training and consultancy offer of the ECML for member states:
  Plurilingual and intercultural education: teacher and learner competences"

Deutsche Version

Fortbildung zum Thema „Lebensweltliche Mehrsprachigkeit und Schule. Unterrichtsmaterialien für den Fremdsprachenunterricht im Berliner Kontext“
EFSZ-Fortbildungs- und Beratungsveranstaltung in Deutschland
Datum: 24.-25. Juni 2025
Ort: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Deutschland
Organisation vor Ort: HU Berlin: Daniel Reimann, Christian Koch
EFSZ-Expert:innen: Michel Candelier, Anna Schröder-Sura
Teilnehmende: über 30 Teilnehmende – Fremdsprachenlehrkräfte (Sekundarstufe), Studierende der Romanistik

Lebensweltliche Mehrsprachigkeit im REPA

Anna Schröder-Sura und Michel Candelier haben am 24. und 25. Juni 2025 an der Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin einen Workshop zum Referenzrahmen für plurale Ansätze durchgeführt. Der Workshop sollte als Angebot zur Gestaltung der neuen Berliner Rahmenstandards zur plurilingualen Kompetenz dienen. Insgesamt 30 Teilnehmende, von denen der Großteil als Fremdsprachenlehrkräfte an Berliner Sekundarschulen tätig ist, konnten dabei aus erster Hand Einblicke in die Instrumente des REPA erhalten. Zwei neue Aspekte prägten den Workshop: die konsequente Einbindung des gesamten Sprachenrepertoires der Lernenden – insbesondere der Sprachen der Migration – in die Arbeit mit den pluralen Ansätzen und die Arbeit mit der neuen REPA-Datenbank, die hierfür vielfältige Materialbeispiele liefert. Abgerundet wurde der Workshop durch Einführungen der Organisatoren Daniel Reimann und Christian Koch (beide Didaktik der Romanischen Sprachen und Literaturen der HU Berlin) zur sprachlichen Situation in Berlin und zu Ressourcen zu Herkunftssprachen sowie durch einen Beitrag von Lasse Birger Bohn (Didaktik der romanischen Sprachen an der Universität Siegen) zur Nutzung von REPA-Deskriptoren in der Materialgestaltung.

Den Rückmeldungen der Teilnehmenden zufolge konnte der Workshop einen wertvollen Beitrag zur sprachsensiblen Unterrichtsgestaltung, zur Entwicklung schulinterner Fachcurricula sowie zur Vernetzung zwischen Berliner Schulen und der Humboldt-Universität leisten.

Autoren: Christian Koch, Daniel Reimann

Local organiser: Denisa Ďuranová, National Institute of Education and Youth

ECML experts: Terry Lamb (United Kingdom), Mercè Bernaus (Spain)

Participants: teacher educators, policymakers, curriculum writers, school administrators/leaders, state school inspector

The workshop Supporting Multilingual Classrooms was held in Bratislava on 29 and 30 May 2025, organized by the National Institute of Education and Youth in the Slovak Republic (hereinafter NIVaM) and European Centre for Modern Languages of the Council of Europe (ECML). The workshop is carried out within the framework of the  Innovative Methodologies and Assessment in Language Learning  cooperation agreement between the ECML and European Commission.

The event was facilitated by the ECML experts –Terry Lamb, University of Westminster  and Mercedes Bernaus, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, who provided participants with a wealth of practical knowledge and strategies for working in linguistically diverse classrooms.

During the introductory part, the facilitators focused on valuing attitudes towards diversity, analysing the language environment of the school and re-evaluating traditional approaches. At the same time, there was a discussion on supporting teacher self-confidence and ways to involve students’ language repertoire in teaching. One of the participants reflected: “I strongly identify with the concept of individual language repertoire, which is an integral part of our identity. As it has been said – if we ignore the languages of the learners, we ignore the children themselves. The workshop offered a range of inspiring, holistic and practical advice and strategies.”

The programme also included group work focusing on project proposals to be implemented by the participants in their practice. Each group presented their proposals and received valuable feedback. The participants appreciated the practical nature of the workshop: “Many useful activities were presented, I left with a positive feeling,” said one of the participants. Another added: “It was very useful to receive examples of materials and projects that help raise awareness among teachers, pupils and parents about the importance of respecting learner’s language needs.”

An important workshop objective was also to provide a space for networking and further collaboration between the participants from various organisations.

From February - December 2025, Supporting Multilingual Classrooms  is organising national workshops in cooperation with national institutions in six countries: Armenia, Cyprus, Croatia, Portugal, Slovak Republic, and Spain. For the Slovak Republic, this was the fifth time this initiative has been carried out. The Slovak Republic has demonstrated a particularly innovative approach, organising the first joint international initiative between two countries in 2023, which has become an example of good practice. This year’s workshop debuted a specially designed module for teacher educators, adapted to the Slovak context.

Denisa Ďuranová, local organiser, 25 June 2025

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

Language acquisition is the most relevant aspect of school-based learning. It is the task of every school with diverse language backgrounds to get the most  from their educational setting for their students. Not only the individual teachers' efforts but also a systemic, well-planned whole-school strategy is necessary. During the event, school-teams (head teacher and one or two teachers) from the provinces of Oberösterreich, Salzburg and Burgenland with the help of professional support reflected on the possibilities to further develop their schools. They were introduced to the data-based school development tool, Roadmap. They planned the next steps and could network with each other and also with school consultants from their region.
 

Selin Öndül, team member of the ECML Training and consultancy activity “A roadmap for schools to support the language(s) of schooling“
 

• Roadmap - Self-assessment tool: available in English, Finnish, French, German and Swedish

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