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[Original version in English / Versió
original en anglès]
EDUC – 022
Brussels, 8 December 2003
OPINION
of the Committee of the Regions of 20 November 2003 on the
Communication from the Commission on Promoting Language
Learning and Linguistic Diversity: An Action Plan 2004-2006
COM(2003) 449 final
THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS,
Having regard to the European Commission Communication on Promoting Language
Learning and Linguistic Diversity: An Action Plan 2004-2006 (COM(2003)
449 final);
Having regard to the letter of the European Commission of 24 July 2003
to consult it on this subject, under the first paragraph of Article 265
of the Treaty establishing the European Community;
Having regard to the decision of its Bureau of 1 July 2003 to instruct
its Commission for Culture and Education to draw up an opinion on this
subject;
Having regard to the Commission Staff Working Paper: Promoting Language
Learning and Linguistic Diversity – Consultation (SEC(2002 1234);
Having regard to the report from the Commission to the Council - The Concrete
Future Objectives of Education Systems (COM(2001) 59 final) and the detailed
work programme on the follow-up of the objectives of education and training
systems in Europe;
Having regard to its opinion on the Report from the
Commission to the Council - The Concrete Future Objectives of Education
Systems (CdR 89/2001 fin)[1];
Having regarding to its opinion on the Promotion and
Protection of Regional and Minority Languages (CdR 86/2001 fin)[2];
Having regard to its opinion on the European Year of
Languages 2001 (CdR 465/99 fin)[3];
Having regard to the Resolution of the Council of Education and Youth
Affairs of 14 February 2002 on the promotion of linguistic diversity and
language learning in the framework of the implementation of the objectives
of the European Year of Languages 2001;
Having regard to its draft opinion CdR 248/2003 rev. 1 adopted on 2 October
2003 by the Commission for Culture and Education (Rapporteur: Mrs
Annette McNamara, Member of Cork County Council and the South West
Regional Authority (IE/EA);
Whereas:
1) a truly European Union of citizens and peoples starts by mutual understanding,
in a broad sense, which includes the ability to communicate with our neighbours;
2) Member States have agreed common objectives under their work on Concrete
Objectives for Education and Training Systems and have identified the
improvement of language skills as a priority;
3) knowledge of languages is a prerequisite for professional, educational,
cultural and personal mobility and a highly competitive European economy
requires a workforce with a command of a range of language skills;
4) improving and facilitating language learning requires experienced and
innovative language teacher training and new pedagogical methodology;
unanimously adopted the following opinion at its 52nd
plenary session, held on 19-20 November 2003 (meeting of 20 November).
1. The Committee of the Regions’ views
General Views
The Committee of the Regions
1. welcomes the Action Plan as an extremely
positive contribution to the promotion of language learning and linguistic
diversity and supports its objectives of (1) promoting lifelong language
learning for all citizens from an early age; (2) increasing the quality
of language teaching; and (3) creating a more language-friendly environment
within the European Union;
2. welcomes the approach the Commission
has adopted in making this Action Plan, by building on the experiences
and evaluations of the European Year of Languages in 2001 and also
by conducting an extensive process of consultation in the preparation
of the Plan;
3. considers that the objectives of the
Action Plan are ambitious, but necessary, and believes that their
realisation will require a high commitment from all, especially the
Member States;
4. accepts that this Action Plan complements
actions taken by the Member States and local and regional authorities
and will be implemented based on resources available under current
European programmes. However, the Committee feels that for such an
important objective the resources available are not sufficient;
5. considers that the terms "multilingualism"
and "multiculturalism", which are used throughout
the Action Plan should be replaced by the terms "plurilingualism"
and "pluriculturalism" as these better reflect
the objectives of the Action Plan as they describe an accumulation
of communicative competence to which all knowledge and experience
of language contributes and within which languages interrelate and
interact;
6. agrees that care should be taken to
favour the learning of a wide variety of languages and cautions against
supporting the emergence of a de facto lingua franca;
7. welcomes the recognition in the Action
Plan of the range of additional benefits associated with language
learning, which include cognitive and mother-tongue skills. However,
transferable skills that can be developed, such as communication,
presentation, reporting, analytical and problem-solving abilities,
also need to be highlighted. These skills play important roles in
developing an entrepreneurial nature, thus contributing to the Lisbon
agenda of the EU becoming "the most competitive knowledge-based
economy in the world";
8. welcomes the emphasis placed in the
Action Plan on "effective communicative ability"
as opposed to "native speaker competence", as this is a
fairer reflection of the reality of the language learning process.
However, the Committee considers that the implication in the Action
Plan that active skills are superior to passive knowledge may not
always be accurate and would prefer that the emphasis placed on "partial
competencies" in the initial Staff Working Paper be given
similar profile in the Action Plan;
9. is of the view that the Action Plan places considerable emphasis
on the acquisition of foreign languages in comparison to consideration
of those acquiring second languages. Given the increasing levels of
migration, both to and within the European Union, the Committee considers
that the acquisition of second languages in all age-groups is increasingly
important in order to ensure effective integration of migrant groups
in the host country.
Regional Disparities in Language Skills
The Committee of the Regions
10. notes that in the proposed Action
Plan the European Commission accepts that not all of the Plan’s
objectives can be achieved in all Member States and within the timeframe
set out. The Committee feels that this may widen the gap in language
skills between regions within the European Union;
11. is therefore, concerned that the Action Plan contains no proposals
to address the obvious regional disparities in language skills, as
identified by Eurobarometer in 2001 and considers that the regional
aspects of language learning and language skills should be given greater
emphasis in the Action Plan, considering the regional variations in
language learning and language skills;
12. as a result, supports the idea of
Member States conducting a language audit to help in identifying needs,
formulating language-education policies and addressing disparities
in language skills.
Action for Language Learning
Action for Language Learning
The Committee of the Regions
13. considers that the European Language
Portfolio (ELP) is a useful tool in language learning as (1) it encourages
language learners to record and value each language they speak regardless
of proficiency levels; (2) it encourages learners to record time spent
abroad learning to present a more complete profile; (3) it promotes
the development of language-learning strategies by means of checklists;
(4) it allows learners to present their work to employers and directors
of courses of study; and (5) it facilitates the tailoring of courses
to the needs and goals of the learner. The Committee therefore believes
that the ELP has the potential to transform language teaching within
the Union and that it deserves greater emphasis in the Action Plan;
14. welcomes the recommendation that Content
and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) be extended, especially to
interdisciplinary degrees at University level which include a foreign
language component, but is also aware that this may place additional
demands on learners;
15. supports the Council of Europe’s
Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEF) and considers
that this should be given greater emphasis in the Action Plan, as
it creates a framework within which national examinations and qualifications
could be placed. In this regard it welcomes the proposed working conference
to devise mechanisms to support use of the CEF in language testing
and certification;
16. believes that classes consisting of
pupils from a range of backgrounds provide a rich backdrop against
which tolerance, openness and intercultural competencies can be developed.
In order to ensure this occurs the Committee considers that teacher-training
programmes in all Member States should include an element of intercultural
studies;
17. believes that early language learning
is a firm basis for future language competency and would encourage
support for language-learning programmes aimed at primary schools,
such as The Modern Languages in Primary School Initiative
in Ireland. Such programmes should be expanded to include a greater
number of schools and languages, including the teaching of official
national languages as second languages.
Existing European Programmes
The Committee of the Regions
18. considers that the Socrates and Leonardo
da Vinci programmes contribute enormously to enhancing teacher training,
improving language skills and promoting language learning. However,
the Committee believes that there is a need to increase awareness
and simplify the application procedures of many of the language-learning
components of these programmes, as this will increase the take-up
of these language-learning measures, which have to date been under-subscribed;
19. supports increased contact between
Erasmus and "local" students and would support action by
host institutions to encourage Erasmus students to give conversation
and culture classes in local schools/community centres or at institutions
in which they are enrolled;
20. welcomes the proposal to promote the
participation of Erasmus students in language courses in less widely
used and less taught languages of the countries participating in Socrates;
21. welcomes the recognition in the Action
Plan of the role that town-twinning schemes can play, in the understanding
of other cultures and in promoting language learning at the local
level, by including multilingualism in future calls for proposals
under the Town-twinning programme.
Linguistic Diversity
The Committee of the Regions
22. accepts that language learning and
linguistic diversity are issues that can be addressed in very different
ways at different levels and recognises that local and regional authorities
have significant roles to play in this regard;
23. welcomes the encouragement in the
Action Plan for national and sub-national authorities to promote linguistic
diversity by actively encouraging the teaching and learning of the
widest possible range of languages, including regional, minority,
migrant community and sign languages;
24. notes that, while the mainstream European
education, training and culture programmes are accessible to speakers
of all languages, this may not be enough for some language categories.
The Committee considers that special attention is required to assist
the promotion of regional and minority languages, in line with the
European Charter on Regional and Minority Languages.
2. The Committee of the Regions’ recommendations
The Committee of the Regions
1. calls on the Commission to replace
the terms multilingualism and multiculturalism,
which are used throughout the Action Plan, with the terms plurilingualism
and pluriculturalism as these better reflect the objectives
of the Action Plan;
2. recommends that the Action Plan provide
for a better dissemination of information on the fact that transferable
skills are associated with language learning;
3. proposes that the Action Plan better
recognise the value of partial competencies in learning foreign languages.
Regional Disparities in Language Skills
Regional Disparities in Language Skills
The Committee of the Regions
4. calls on the Member States to act on
the recommendation of the Council of Europe to its Member States to
conduct a language audit with a view to identifying needs and formulating
appropriate language-education policies;
5. calls on the Action Plan to establish
criteria to enable Member States to conduct an audit of language skills
in order to identify regions of disadvantage, with a view to implementing
targeted measures to address such imbalances across the European Union.
Action for Language Learning
The Committee of the Regions
6. recommends that Member States, in conjunction
with local and regional authorities, further develop and increase
their use of the European Language Portfolio (ELP) at all levels,
from primary pupils to adult learners;
7. considers that if the application of
CLIL is to be extended then the necessary supports for learners, such
as small-group tuition and team teaching in schools, be provided;
8. calls on the proposed working conference
on the use of the CEF (under Action II.6.4) to establish an agreed
mechanism whereby the CEF can be consistently applied in all Member
States to help determine standards of qualifications and certification
of language courses, in order to increase the transparency of qualifications
and, as a result, the mobility of workers and students;
9. supports the teaching of national languages
and regional languages that are recognised as
official languages within the Member State, as foreign languages,
to migrant groups of all ages to ensure better integration into host
communities and would urge that the Action Plan support training,
best practice identification and dissemination in this area and other
actions to ensure that the skills required to provide such teaching
are available in all Member States;
10. calls on those responsible for teacher
training programmes in all Member States to include an element of
intercultural studies in all such programmes, and not just for language
teacher-training courses.
Existing European Programmes
The Committee of the Regions
11. calls on the European Commission to
simplify application procedures for language learning supports under
the Socrates and Leonardo da Vinci programmes and similarly calls
on the responsible national agencies to increase these programme’s
profile and generate awareness, to ensure greater take-up of the language-learning
elements of the programmes;
12. calls for examples of best practices
to be drawn-up and disseminated on how to improve the integration
and inter-linkages of students on exchange programmes and local students
and their communities;
13. calls on the Commission and national
agencies to also work closely with local and regional authorities,
as well as universities, in areas where less widely used and less
taught languages are spoken, to encourage more Erasmus students to
take courses in these languages before starting their Erasmus exchange;
14. asks that as part of the multilingual
aspect of future Town-twinning, calls for proposals that emphasis
is also placed on e-twinning of schools, to build pedagogical partnerships
between schools, foster language learning and intercultural dialogue
and promote awareness of plurilingualism and pluriculturalism within
society.
Linguistic Diversity
The Committee of the Regions
15. proposes the establishment of a multi-annual
programme for language learning and linguistic diversity, building
on the success of the European Year of Languages in 2001 and the experiences
of the Action Plan
– with an appropriate share of the available
resources reserved for the promotion of regional and minority languages
– to support actions relating to the creation of a climate
of acceptance of plurilingualism, exchange of experiences and highlighting
the benefits of language learning;
16. supports proposals currently before
the European Parliament for the establishment of a European Agency
on Linguistic Diversity and Language Learning, to monitor the implementation
of this Action Plan, to promote a plurilingual Europe and a language-friendly
environment.
Follow-Up Actions
The Committee of the Regions
17. considers that, in the absence of
a European Agency on Linguistic Diversity and Language Learning, the
proposal for a permanent high-level group of representatives to assist
in monitoring the implementation of the Action Plan is a good one.
The Committee considers that this high-level group could also act
as a forum for discussion on developments in language-learning policy
and further suggests that it be represented on this group, given the
contribution that local and regional authorities can make to the realisation
of the objectives of the Action Plan and the development of policy
in this area.
Brussels, 20 November 2003
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