MULTILINGUALISM POLICY Helsinki 1st September 2005

Languages in EU 25 Member States 450,000,000 citizens over 80 languages over 60 regional or minority languages in 138 different language communities

Key Data  Around 50%of european citizens say they can speak a foreign language :from less than 30% in Hungary to near 100% in Luxemburg(Eurobarometer 2005.EU 25)  E,F,G,Sp and Ru represent 95% of all languages learnt at School in Europe.  Around 90% of pupils in upper secondary education learn E,regardless of whether or not this is compulsory(13 countries)

Strategy and Policy  Action Plan ( )  Education and Training 2010  Communication on Multilingualism(oct 2005)  European indicator of language competence( )

Promoting Language Learning and Linguistic Diversity: an Action Plan

Key messages Learning a lingua franca alone is not enough Mother tongue + two other languages for every citizen Lifelong language learning Meaningful communicative competence (not necessarily native speaker level) Promote linguistic diversity

Higher Education  Each university to have a coherent language policy and take action to promote its national or regional language.  All students - of all subjects - to study abroad in a foreign language and gain a language qualification as part of degree.

Languages in action  Socrates Lingua 1, 2  Awareness raising  New learning tools  Socrates Comenius  Teacher training courses and grants  Language assistantships  Language exchanges  Socrates Erasmus, Socrates Grundtvig

Languages in action  Leonardo da Vinci language measures  European Language Label  Funding of EBLUL, Mercator  Over € 30,000,000 p.a.

European Languages Label … for innovative projects in language teaching and learning  Pinpoints and rewards interesting local initiatives  Disseminates good practice: the Label database

European Indicator of Language Competence Barcelona Council(2002)+Communication from the Commission(August 2005) measure skills at end of compulsory education 5 languages:D,E,ESP,F,I reading, listening, speaking, writing calibrate to Common European Scales of Reference(6 levels) Timing:pilot tests in 2007

Framework for progress:  New integrated action programme in the field of Lifelong Learning( )  To promote language learning and linguistic diversity is one of the specific objectives of the Programme(second FL mentionned)  Actions:projects(materials,courses),networks

Conclusions  Multilingualism is a core value in Europe:it is what makes Europe unique and contributes to its richness;  Learning languages provides people with many benefits:career possibilities,deeper understanding of one’s own and others’ cultures.  Learning languages can be accessible.