Home > Revue internationale d'éducation Sèvres > n° 47 > Abstracts

Foreign languages at school : a challenge for Europe
n° 47, April 2008

Introduction
Towards a European policy for language teaching?
Roger Pilhion

Multilingualism in Europe
Leonard Orban
The first European Commissioner for Multilingualism sets out the European Commission drive towards cultural and linguistic diversity. Europe, which was grounded in respect for linguistic diversity, has set some ambitious objectives in the area of multilingual policy: opening up Europe and Europeans to each other. Training competent teachers, adopting appropriate programmes in the field of languages and maintaining an ambitious approach to language teaching turned out to be essential conditions for the success of the policy that originated in 1989 with the Lingua programme and which is given a new and powerful impetus today, with the creation of a specific portfolio.

Towards a European approach to training language teachers?
Michael Kelly
The author draws conclusions from the study he coordinated on the training of language teachers in Europe. He puts forward ideas that would enable teachers’ profiles to be adapted, through their training, to the demands of their work in educational systems in which objectives, in terms of language teaching, are undergoing a complete transformation. Implementing the study's recommendations involves a renewal effort based on principles of diversity and cooperation.

The introduction of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages in Europe
A reality that is differentiated in its aims and in its methods
Francis Goullier
Since it was launched in 2001, the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) has achieved rapid success both in EC institutions and organisations and in the various educational systems involved. The scale of Common Reference Levels of proficiency is very often used to frame the various stages of learning and/or to facilitate transparency in language assessment. However, this reference to the CEFR conceals differences in objectives and in implementation methods. Moreover adopting the CEFR does not mean that all its aspects are utilized either. While the importance of the notion of proficiency is usually fully understood, the same cannot be said of plurilingualism. That contextualisation of the use of the CEFR is certainly in accordance with its purpose. Nevertheless it potentially raises the question of its sustainability as a European reference and of the need to promote the values of the Council of Europe through plurilingualism.

An initial appraisal of the introduction of the CEFR
The Portuguese example
Cristina Avelino
The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) is the text that lays the basis for a new policy in the field of language teaching/learning in numerous countries. In Portugal in a context of reform of the educational system during the 1990s, the CEFR was introduced in order to reorganize existing modern languages programmes and to develop new ones for new educational curricula. Each team of authors, generally from professional associations, worked independently and interpreted the options presented by the CEFR in different ways. As such the official texts produced present many convergences but also some divergences, which does not facilitate a concerted construction of plurilingual and pluricultural proficiency.

Early language teaching in Finland 
Ursula Viita-Leskelä
Having broadly described the main features of the organisation of the Finnish educational system, the author considers that of language teaching in a country which has two official languages (Finnish and Swedish) and which has compulsory teaching of a first foreign language from the third year of primary school, plus compulsory teaching of the second official language and, optionally, the teaching of a second foreign language. The methodology resorted to for early language teaching, the assessment of pupils and the training of teachers are each successively described and analysed and are viewed in the light of the results observed at the end of the school curriculum. This article deals with early language teaching in a country which has opted not to begin teaching children in school until the quite late age of seven years and which attracts the attention of specialists because of its good school results compared to other countries.

Bilingual schools in Bulgaria:  the experience of a pioneering country
Veselina Ganeva
The author studies bilingual teaching in Bulgaria within its historic dimension. Institutions clearly aiming at excellence were set up in the 1950s and were known at the time as “language high-schools”. They offered extensive foreign language tuition during the last four years of secondary school education, following a year of intensive linguistic training. After the fall of communism, the system was maintained and diversified. The article describes the current structure of teaching in these language specialist high-schools but also in mainstream high-schools or vocational schools with specialist departments. Issues such as choice of languages, syllabus, manuals and teacher training are also covered. The author gives a positive appraisal of this type of teaching which the national Programme for the development of secondary teaching seeks to extend during the years 2006 to 2015.

Introduction of foreign certification in Germany
The example of DELF for schools
Henny Rönneper
Introduced in the Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia in 1998, DELF for schools, the diploma in French language studies, has developed quickly: in 2008, 16,000 pupils from 804 institutions sat the DELF examinations. The article reveals the keen interest raised among students by the introduction of a foreign qualification in North Rhine-Westphalia and the enthusiasm it has generated. The author draws positive conclusions from that experiment, which is the product of a broad partnership between France and the educational authorities of the German Federal State for the joint organisation of this qualification and of teacher training. Nonetheless the author also points out that the choice of qualification level by students may raise other problems.

Promoting Internet support in language teaching in France
Catherine Clément
In France, language teaching has undergone intense evolutions since 2000.  A plan for language teaching renewal laying emphasis on “improving communication abilities, particularly oral communication”, and “preparation for European and international mobility" has been implemented since 2005.  The article describes the measures taken by the Ministry of Education as concerns on-line support. These measures came to sustain two major innovations – the introduction of compulsory modern language teaching jn primary schools and the development of foreign language teaching in high-schools with “European or Oriental-language sections" – and they led to the creation of two websites, Primlangues and Emilangues, offering resources for language teaching in seven different languages.

A European measure of linguistic competences
The first survey young Europeans’ attainment in foreign languages
Anders Hingel, Marguerite Kuzma
The European Commission is launching a project which should enable the introduction of a survey on young Europeans’ attainment in foreign languages. This project is currently the only one of its kind in the world, and it should cover all twenty-seven member states of the European Union, as well as the countries seeking to become members (Croatia and Turkey) and members of the European Economic Area (Iceland, Lichtenstein and Norway), i.e. a total of thirty-two countries. The five most common languages taught as a first or second foreign language will be involved: English, French, German, Spanish and Italian. The member states will determine themselves which languages shall be subject to testing.

Bibliography
Bernadette Plumelle