Rapporteur Group on Education, Culture and Sport

(GR-C)

19 March 1998

Restricted

GR-C(98)10

THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE'S MODERN LANGUAGES POLICY:

THE COUNCIL FOR CULTURAL CO-OPERATION'S MODERN LANGUAGES PROJECTS

And

THE EUROPEAN CENTRE FOR MODERN LANGUAGES (ECML)

Background

At their 578th meeting (November 1996), the Deputies decided "to extend the trial period for the European Centre for Modern Languages until 31 December 1998" and requested "that a parallel evaluation of the activities of the European Centre for Modern Languages and of the CDCC project on "Modern Languages" (whose final conference will take place in April 1997 and whose results will be submitted to the Education Ministers in June 1997) be made during the second semester of 1997 and be submitted to them in Spring 1998" (Del/Dec(96)578/7.2).

The two evaluation reports were completed at the beginning of 1998. The Bureau of the Deputies suggested, at its meeting on 9 March, that they should first be examined by the GR-C before being submitted to the Deputies themselves, in principle for their 632^nd meeting (18-20 May 1998, A-level).

The Directorate of Education, Culture and Sport forwards to the Committee of Ministers:

- the Report on the Functions of the Modern Languages Section (CC-LANG (98)3);

- the report of the Evaluation Committee commissioned by the Governing Board of the ECML (CC-ED/Graz (98)1);

- the conclusions of the Governing Board of the ECML on the results of the evaluation of the Centre (CC-ED/Graz (98)14 final);

- the draft resolution confirming the continuation of the European Centre for Modern Languages and the appended Statute of the ECML, as approved by the Centre's Governing Board (CC-ED/Graz (98)14 final, appendix).

 

It submits the following conclusions and proposals for future activities, for the Modern Languages Section and the European Centre for Modern Languages respectively, which are fully in line with the Council of Europe's objectives in the modern languages field.

1. Modern Languages Section

1.1 Evaluation of activities

A report on the functions of the Council of Europe's Modern Languages Section has been drawn up by two independent international evaluators from outside the Organisation (document CC-LANG(98)3. In addition, a technical evaluation of the recent Project "Language Learning for European Citizenship" (1989-1996) has already been carried out as part of the Project itself and is contained in the Final Report of the Project Group. The results were submitted for approval also to an intergovernmental Conference at the end of the Project in April 1997 and to the Standing Conference of European Ministers of Education in June 1997. Both acknowledged the Project's achievements and made specific recommendations for future work.

The Report of the international experts on the Modern Languages Section recommends the continuation of its activities in the field of languages. The Report highlights the practical impact and added value of the Section's activities which have involved all the member States party to the European Cultural Convention. The influence of activities is considered "out of all proportion to the human and material resources involved". The Modern Languages Projects are seen as having developed a "shared educational awareness founded on a common perception of the objectives and organising principles underlying language teaching ... which is evident in the curriculum and course design, teaching methods and assessment procedures of most member States."

The Report notes the major role played by languages in questions of democratic cohesion and international political stability, and the fact that the Modern Languages Section is equally involved in activities which are fundamentally political. The experts conclude that "the Council of Europe cannot do without a professional competence in the fields of linguistic certification, socio-linguistic analysis of national situations, of the pedagogy of languages and cultures, and more generally, in dealing with language policies". In addressing these situations the Modern Languages Section needs to continue to maintain its credibility through regular contacts and exchanges with national decision-makers and experts as in the past.

The report stresses the need for future activities to adopt a stronger policy dimension and to work as effectively in concert with national policy-makers as previous projects have with professionals.

1.2. Future activities of the Modern Languages Section

It is recommended that the Modern Languages Section continue to fulfil its role in the field of language policy development and the maintenance of international standards. Its role is to address central policy issues relating to the promotion of plurilingualism and pluriculturalism and the protection of Europe’s linguistic diversity in all 47 member States of the CDCC.

Future activities managed by the Modern Languages Section should:

- serve as a Framework for embedding a policy of diversification of language provision in CDCC member States' education systems;

- provide expertise concerning respect for European norms and standards with regard to language policies (as contained in the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, and other relevant instruments);

- develop concepts and approaches to enhance intercultural learning for democratic citizenship;

- continue to elaborate and refine European reference instruments which provide the necessary common basis to ensure:

. quality in language learning and teaching through coherence and transparency of objectives,

. better international co-ordination of policies (including the comparability of standards and language qualifications),

. more diversified language learning.

 

2. The European Centre for Modern Languages (ECML)

In June 1997 the Governing Board of the European Centre for Modern Languages approved the choice of external evaluators to draw up the evaluation report. The evaluators submitted their final report on 6 January 1998 (document CC-ED/GRAZ(98)1). At their meeting in Graz, on 28-29 January 1998, the members of the Bureau examined the evaluation report and expressed the view that decisions on the Centre's future development should be taken on the basis of the analyses, evaluations and recommendations set out therein.

Both the evaluation report submitted by the outside evaluators and the conclusions of the Centre's Governing Board recommend the continuation of the ECML's activities. The evaluation report was also discussed by the Centre's Governing Board, which is composed of representatives of the member States and which recommended the continued existence of the ECML: "… there is a real need, and the Centre has already done important work … which has helped to achieve the goal of promoting a multilingual and multicultural Europe … in line with the Council of Europe's general objectives."

At its meeting in Strasbourg on 23-24 February 1998, the Centre's Governing Board recommended that the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe should adopt a resolution confirming the continuation of the European Centre for Modern Languages as an enlarged Partial Agreement governed by the amended Statute appended to the Resolution.

The changes relate to three main areas:

- the ECML's position and the definition of clear missions;

- organisational structure within the framework of the enlarged Partial Agreement;

- operation of the Secretariat.

The ECML's outstanding position in Europe in the field of the implementation of modern languages policies and the specific activities complementing those of the CDCC and the European Union need to be optimised to the greatest possible degree.

The ECML is practice-oriented and has the specific mission of facilitating the implementation of language policies and innovation by promoting dialogue and exchange, by training multipliers and supporting workshop-related networks and research projects. Its information and dissemination functions should be further developed.

In order for the ECML to fulfil its mission, it has to set itself strategic and operational objectives, which the outside evaluators defined as follows:

- with regard to the Centre's strategic objectives:

. to focus on the practice of the learning and teaching of modern languages;

. to promote dialogue and exchange among the various actors in the field;

. to train multipliers;

. to support programme-related networks and related research projects;

- with regard to the operational objectives for achieving the above-mentioned goals, it is the Centre's responsibility to:

. collect and disseminate examples of good practice in the field of modern language teaching and learning;

. to organise meetings (workshops, colloquies, etc) between multipliers such as teacher-trainers, textbook authors, experts in the area of curriculum development, educational standards and methods of evaluation and certification, researchers and educational policy-makers from all over Europe, specialists in new technologies;

. to focus on dissemination and follow-up activities and further develop the Centre's documentation and resources.

In the light of the experience gained during the trial period, and to ensure that the Centre realises its full potential, the evaluators suggested changes in the Centre's structural configuration, which were partly taken up by the Governing Board and are adopted below insofar as they are in keeping with Resolution (96) 36 establishing criteria for partial and enlarged agreements of the Council of Europe.

The respective roles of the Governing Board and Bureau were redefined by the Evaluation Committee, and the Governing Board has taken up most of these recommendations whose effect is to strenghten the role of the Bureau, to assign the Governing Board a more policy-oriented role and to give the Secretariat greater responsibility along with greater autonomy in its day-to-day work and greater flexibility in carrying out its tasks.

3.The respective roles of the Modern languages Section and the European Centre for Modern Languages

In view of the need to develop the necessary synergy between the Modern Languages Section and the European Centre for Modern Languages so as to avoid duplication of work, and to ensure programme coherence and best use of resources, a division of labour is proposed based on distinct but complementary functions. The Modern Languages Section should promote the development of language policies through a norm-oriented approach, while the ECML should support the implementation of policies through a practice-oriented approach.

3.1 Main Functions

The Modern Languages Section should be responsible for norm-oriented activities:

- the development and updating of European reference instruments to enhance policy decision-making and coordination with a view to more effective and more diversified language teaching and learning,

- the promotion and further development of language policy norms (e.g. European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, policy recommendations and guidelines)

The European Centre for Modern Languages should be responsible for practice-oriented activities:

- the training of key multipliers in the practice of language teaching and the provision of support to international networks of practitioners

- the collection and dissemination of good practice in innovation

 

3.2. Co-ordination and synergy

Many of the conclusions of the reports on the Modern Languages Section and the ECML could be taken into consideration insofar as they are compatible with the rules in force within the Organisation.

Where the European Centre for Modern Languages is concerned, reference may be made to paragraph 1 of Resolution (96) 36 establishing the criteria for partial and enlarged agreements of the Council of Europe, which stipulates that "all future agreements shall be founded on political priorities as defined by the Committee of Ministers", and paragraph 5, which states that "agreements shall seek the necessary synergy with other bodies … notably in order to avoid duplication … ";

Moreover, the conclusions of the reports on the Modern Languages Section and the European Centre for Modern Languages recommending the continuation of their activities, as well as those of the ECML's Governing Board calling for the Centre's continued existence, should be supported.

It seems desirable that distinct, but nevertheless complementary identities should be developed. In this connection, provision could be made for the establishment of a mechanism within the Directorate of Education, Culture and Sport to see to this clear and precise division of missions, objectives and tasks between the CDCC's Modern Languages Section, which currently covers 47 member States, and the ECML, which at present represents 24 States Parties to the Enlarged Partial Agreement.

In addition to practical cooperation measures within the Secretariat, it is recommended that:

- a small expert group, consisting of representatives of the respective steering groups, be established to make proposals for the coordination of the programme of each instance,

- cross-representation be assured at key meetings (Modern Languages Project Group/ECML Governing Board, and relevant co-ordinating or expert meetings),

- programme planning and implementation take account of possibilities for shared or complementary activities in order to link policy development and implementation in specific areas of common interest (for example, cooperation in implementing and widely disseminating the Common European Framework and European Language Portfolio being developed by the Modern Languages Section).

 

Summary of Main Functions