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| Mercator Education: call for minimum standards for education in regional or minority languages |
The European rules on the teaching of minority languages need to become much clearer according to the findings of a conference held in Ljouwert, Friesland, on Multilingualism and Language Learning, and organised by Mercator Education. The Frisian minister for education, Bertus Mulder, pleaded for clear European standards for education in minority languages as an addition to the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages.
“Good education in minority languages means that the teachers have to be well trained and that the inspectorate for education also pays attention to the teaching of minority languages'', Mulder explains. “Clear standards and guidelines might help us to move forward.''
At the end of this month Mulder will present the report 'Development of Minimum Standards for Education in Regional or Minority Languages' at the plenary meeting of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities (CLRAE) of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg. After this meeting the report will be forwarded to the Committee of Ministers of Council of Europe. If the report is accepted it will help to clarify what it takes to offer 'a substantial part' of the education in a minority language and what a state should do to meet the requirements after ratifying the charter.
At the conference in Ljouwert civil servants, scientists, politicians and language activists from 22 linguistic communities from across Europe discussed the findings in the report.
“We have been working with the Charter for ten years, and it is about time to make the articles on education more specific'', says Mulder. “Many states have ratified the article that 'a substantial part' of primary education should be given in the minority language. But what does that mean - a substantial part? And which are the problems we have to face in order to have a substantial part of our education in the minority language? When the Netherlands ratified the minister believed that the Netherlands fulfilled this demand, while many schools in Friesland only taught Frisian for one hour a week!'' One hour weekly is far from 'a substantial part' in the view of Mulder, one day a week would be better as a minimum standard. “There should be continuity in the teaching of minority languages and the language should also be used in the teaching of other subjects.''
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| Effects on the European Economy of Shortages of Foreign Language Skills in Enterprise |
Executive Summary
Key findings
• A significant amount of business is being lost to European enterprise as a result of
lack of language skills. On the basis of the sample, it is estimated that 11% of
exporting European SMEs (945,000 companies) may be losing business because of
identified communication barriers.
• Analysis of the findings from the survey identified a clear link between languages
and export success. Four elements of language management were found to be
associated with successful export performance: having a language strategy,
appointing native speakers, recruiting staff with language skills and using translators
and interpreters. There could be very significant gains across the whole EU economy
if all exporting SMEs employed these techniques.
• English is a key language for gaining access to export markets. However, the
survey results suggest that the picture is far more complex than the much-quoted
view that English is the world language. Russian is extensively used in Eastern
Europe as a lingua franca (along with German and Polish). French is used to trade in
areas of Africa and Spanish is used similarly in Latin America. Longer-term business
partnerships depend upon relationship-building and relationship-management. To
achieve this, cultural and linguistic knowledge of the target country are essential.
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| The main pedagogical principles underlying the teaching of languages to very young learners |
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
1. The present report arises from the Lot 1 tender of the European Commission (EAC 89/04, April 2005) in respect of the teaching and learning of modern languages in the case of very young children across Europe. Four main outputs were specified:
i) a review of research,
ii) a practical description of good practice;
iii) a description of the main pedagogical principles underlying the teaching
and learning of languages;
iv) an assessment of the consequences of these pedagogical principles.
2. The initiative is set against the background of the Action Plan for the
promotion of language learning and linguistic diversity (2003) and other
documentation of the European Commission which strongly recommends the
teaching of modern languages to young children. This serves not only to develop
their proficiency in languages but also to help them acquire a wider sense of
belonging, citizenship and community, and to develop a clearer understanding of
their opportunities, rights and responsibilities as mobile citizens of a multilingual
Europe.
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| Education Policy and Minorities |
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1st meeting of the Joint Working Group
Chisinau, 18-21 October 2001
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| Education Policy and Minorities |
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2nd meeting of the Joint Working Group
Strasbourg, 27-28 June 2002
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