Follow-up of the Action Plan on language learning and linguistic diversity National Report Template

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1 EUROPEAN COMMISSION Education and Culture Lifelong Learning: Education and Training policies Multilingualism policy EXP LG 5/2006 EN Annex FIN Follow-up of the Action Plan on language learning and linguistic diversity National Report Template Country Norway INTRODUCTION The Action Plan for language learning and linguistic diversity invited Member States to take actions on various issues. This document lists these points for action. It follows the same order as the chapters of the Action Plan: 1.Lifelong language learning; 2.Better language teaching; 3.Building a language-friendly environment. Chapter four invites you to outline the global national strategy on languages and, if Member States so wish, to provide information on other language initiatives which do not fit into the framework of the Action Plan and/or plans for multilingualism. Some actions recommended by the more recent Communication on Multilingualism are also included in the relevant chapters. They are shadowed in grey and are optional. Although the time allowed for these actions is shorter, Member States have the possibility to report on their initial work on them. The national report should be written by filling in this template. Each point is followed by some key questions which guide Member States in presenting their work in progress. It is not compulsory to answer each point. If some of them were not a priority at national level it should be mentioned and the point(s) skipped. Once completed, the national report should be posted on CIRCA: For more information, please post a message on the CIRCA language newsgroup ( d ) or contact Patrizia Baralli or Luca Tomasi (see contact details at the end of the document). 1. LIFE-LONG LANGUAGE LEARNING 1.1. 'Mother tongue plus two other languages : making an early start Since 1997, pupils in Norway have started learning English from 1 st or 2 nd grade. Thus, the early learning of English is well-established in the Norwegian system. Pupils may not choose another language than English at that point. All schools have to offer at least one 2 nd foreign language, e.g., French, German, or Spanish, as an elective subject starting in grade 8. Commission européenne, B-1049 Bruxelles / Europese Commissie, B-1049 Brussel - Belgium. Telephone: (32-2) Office: MADO 08/21. Telephone: direct line (32-2) Fax: (32-2) patrizia.baralli@ec.europa.eu

2 An initiative in the National Foreign Languages Strategy, a project called Early Start with a 2 nd Foreign Language was introduced by the Norwegian Directorate for Education and Training, early start meaning any time before 8 th grade. Twelve schools (grades 1-10) participate in this national project which will last until summer 2007 and which is being evaluated by external researchers. Other schools have expressed the wish to introduce similar initiatives. b) What obstacles to the implementation of this recommendation have been identified? Evaluation studies on the national early start project are expected to bring forward information about obstacles concerning teacher education, teacher competence, organisation at school level and regional level. Another obstacle clearly is a lack of awareness of the advantages and the necessity of early language learning in general, and languages other than English (LOTE) in particular. If the above mentioned project shows positive results, the national authorities may consider making early start of a 2 nd foreign language a recommendation Language learning in secondary education and training In Norway, the first foreign language taught at school is English. Pupils do not have the possibility to choose other languages as their first foreign language. However, children with other mother tongues than Norwegian are granted extra lessons in Norwegian until they are able to follow mainstream education. Starting with the school year, all pupils in grade 8 must either take a second foreign language in addition to English or do further study in Sámi, Norwegian or English. Pupils who choose an academic specialization education programme in upper secondary school must study a foreign language in addition to English. New curricula for English and other foreign languages are being implemented from the school year onwards as part of a major reform in primary and secondary education. Communication skills, language learning strategies, contrastive skills and cultural and crosscultural skills are central elements in the curricula. Information material regarding the choice of the second foreign language from grade 8 has been distributed to all parents and schools. b) What obstacles to the implementation of this recommendation have been identified? There is no choice of a first foreign language other than English for pupils in Norway. Consequently, Norway also lacks competence in teaching languages other than English to young learners. It is not included in teacher education for other languages than English. No initiatives so far Language learning in Higher Education Travel or study in target language countries is offered as a recommended option by some higher education institutions but generally not required as part of initial language teacher training. Some universities and university colleges offer courses and degrees integrating languages with other fields of study, e.g., law, European studies, marketing and public relations work, or as part of International Masters Programmes. There is a strong increase in the use of English in academic publication and professional discourses. Recent research shows that many students English proficiency is inadequate when it comes to using the language in academic or professional contexts. This includes the reading of course and curriculum related material. 2

3 b) What obstacles to the implementation of this recommendation have been identified? Initiatives need to come from local level institutions and businesses. National professional networks will play a role in promoting language learning in the said contexts Adult language learning A survey conducted among more than 1,000 business managers shows that 8% of the businesses and companies have English as their working language; in this category businesses of more than 100 employees are overrepresented. 16% of the businesses have carried out foreign language training programmes. 70% of managers expect employees to have functional English skills, 10% also expect proficiency in languages other than English. An interactive, multimedia and Internet based tool has been designed for teaching Norwegian to adult immigrants. There are also modules designed for particular industries or businesses, which offer language tuition and cultural understanding for specific industries. b) What obstacles to the implementation of this recommendation have been identified? Initiatives need to come from local businesses. No national initiatives so far Language learners with special needs Recent research shows that children with Down s syndrome can learn to function adequately in a bilingual home situation. A pilot project related to the introduction of the new national curriculum shows good results in learning a second foreign language among learners with special needs in a particular interdisciplinary setting, which is however described as resource demanding. b) What obstacles to the implementation of this recommendation have been identified? Learners with special needs may apply for exemption from foreign language teaching. There is a relatively strong tradition in Norway of teaching foreign languages (other than English) as academic subjects. Approaches to language teaching and learning tend to support this tradition. Education adapted to the needs of the individual learner is a central concern in the new curriculum, which also focuses on practical and communicative foreign language skills rather than meta-knowledge Range of languages It is inherent in the new educational reform that lower secondary schools in Norway have to offer at least one foreign language in addition to English (which is taught from 1 st grade). They may offer several language options, including non-european languages and immigrant languages. b) What obstacles to the implementation of this recommendation have been identified? The range of languages offered in Norwegian schools is limited by the fact that all students start with English in 1 st grade, without any alternative options. Other languages are usually not offered before 8 th grade. Languages most widely taught at lower secondary level are German, French and Spanish. Foreign languages are only an option, parallel to specialisation in Norwegian or English. A national project has been initiated to try out an earlier start with a 2 nd foreign language. If this project is successful, national authorities may recommend an earlier start. Longer language learning/an earlier start for students may promote foreign language learning at schools in general and lead to both more language teachers, improved competence and a wider range of languages offered. 3

4 State funding is provided for the development of teaching materials in various subjects in major immigrant languages for primary and secondary education (including adults in primary and secondary education and introductory basic courses in Norwegian for immigrants). This includes material focusing on contrastive aspects. In-service training has been offered for primary and secondary school teachers involved with multicultural education. A Language Portfolio in Norwegian has been introduced; a version for illiterate immigrants is currently being developed. The language section of the new curriculum for Norwegian as foreign language is based on the Common European Framework. Public funding of teaching is provided for levels up to B1. Various tools and information packages are provided to improve the integration of immigrants in the workplace. 2. BETTER LANGUAGE TEACHING 2.1. The language-friendly school A first step in this direction may be the introduction of the European Language Portfolio in Norwegian lower and upper secondary school through piloting. An ELP for young learners is being developed. A national centre for competence building in multicultural education has been established. Regional university colleges are offering a bachelor degree for bilingual teachers, one of the elements being the introduction of immigrant languages such as Urdu and Turkish in initial teacher training. Some schools offer bilingual primary and lower secondary education. A project involving the use of ICT in multicultural schools has shown positive effects, e.g. on writing skills. b) What obstacles to the implementation of this recommendation have been identified? Mother tongue education is traditionally kept apart from the teaching of foreign languages. Teacher education has so far not taken into account a holistic approach to the teaching of languages. Teachers are usually educated as teachers of English, or of French, or of German, with very few linking elements. An initiative has been taken on a Scandinavian basis with a view to introducing an integrated model for a holistic language teacher education. At school level: a whole school approach to learning languages, e.g. by using the European Language Portfolio in the students language learning process Language teacher training Universities and university colleges are revising study programmes with a view to improving the language proficiency of teachers in initial training. A growing number of students are choosing English as an elective in initial teacher training programmes. Significant changes in pupils choice of languages in lower and upper secondary education, especially in favour of Spanish, create challenges on a national basis and for the teacher training sector in particular. b) What obstacles to the implementation of this recommendation have been identified? Paid access to in-service training is not guaranteed. In-service training being an option and not compulsory, in-service training of teachers is strongly dependent on either the teachers own initiative or the initiative of the school owner/leader. Thus, access to in-service training and professional support varies considerably between geographical and administrative regions. c) What are the proposed initiatives to overcome these obstacles? As follow-up of the current educational reform, a national competence building initiative is providing considerable funding for 4

5 in-service training for teachers of foreign languages other than English. Partially web based models have become popular among teachers; these include module based credit carrying courses and didactic updating. National professional networks will play a role in disseminating good practice Supply of language teachers National competence building initiative which includes in-service training for teachers of 2 nd foreign languages (cf 2.2). b) What obstacles to the implementation of this recommendation have been identified? Local reporting of changing needs related to changes in pupils choice of languages may pose challenges for higher education institutions in offering relevant courses. Increased focus on regional cooperation and networking between the involved sectors Training teachers of other subjects Local projects run by teacher training institutions show good results in language assistant programmes involving CLIL methodology. Both pupils and pre-service teacher students are benefitting from the programmes. b) What obstacles to the implementation of this recommendation have been identified? CLIL is just starting to be known by teachers in the Norwegian education system. So far, mainly international schools and upper secondary schools offering an IB (International Baccalaureat) practice CLIL. A resource page on the web site of the Norwegian Centre for Foreign Languages in Education provides information about methodology and current status Testing language skills A Norwegian translation of the CEFR is currently being completed. The European Language Portfolio is being introduced in schools in Norway through local piloting. However, its direct effect on assessment is difficult to ascertain as long as school leaving exams are not linked to the Common Reference Scales. No explicit link is made between the new national curricula for English and for foreign languages and the Common European Framework. Thus, the connection between the national curriculum and the CEFR is not obvious for teachers. Providing a national guide for users is being considered. b) What obstacles to the implementation of this recommendation have been identified? Norway is still in the early stages of implementation. 5

6 3. BUILDING A LANGUAGE-FRIENDLY ENVIRONMENT 3.1. An inclusive approach to linguistic diversity Within the framework of the current educational reform separate and parallel curricula have been developed for Sàmi pupils in Sàmi areas and pupils in other areas receiving Sami education. A document of intention has been developed by the Sàmi Parliament and is to be included among the key underlying documents of the reform. b) What obstacles to the implementation of this recommendation have been identified? 3.2. Building language-friendly communities Not a priority at national level. b) What obstacles to the implementation of this recommendation have been identified? 3.3. Improving supply and take-up of language learning The EDL initiative has been followed up at a national level. b) What obstacles to the implementation of this recommendation have been identified? The Label initiative has not been followed up in 2003 through 2005 due to lack of funding. Funding for a European Label campaign has been provided in 2006, and the initiative has been re-introduced. 4. OVERALL NATIONAL LANGUAGE STRATEGY Member States are invited to describe how the Action Plan fitted into their national language policies a) How has the follow-up of the Action Plan been coordinated at national level? The Norwegian Directorate for Education and Training has been the national body responsible for the follow-up of the Action Plan in primary and secondary education. b) Has it been included in national policy initiatives? The National Foreign Languages Strategy for Primary and Secondary Education introduced in 2005 has the Action Plan as one of its underlying documents, and the Action Plan has provided guidelines and helped set the targets for the implementation of the Strategy through The Directorate is responsible for implementing the Strategy. c) Was there a coordination group / committee? No. Member States may provide information on other relevant national initiatives for languages which do not fit into the framework of the Action Plan a) Were there any language initiatives and priorities which were either planned or carried out and which did not fit into the framework of the Action Plan? No. 6

7 Member States are invited to establish national plans to give structure, coherence and direction to actions to promote multilingualism, including increasing the use and presence of a variety of languages in daily life 1 a) What initial steps have been taken on this issue? Cf. 4b) above regarding the National Foreign Languages Strategy. b) What obstacles to the implementation of this recommendation have been identified? 1 These plans should be based upon Integrated Guideline N 23 and form part of the national plans that Member States are producing in the context of the Lisbon Action Plan for growth and jobs. ( 7

the contribution of the European Centre for Modern Languages Frank Heyworth

PLURILINGUAL EDUCATION IN THE CLASSROOM the contribution of the European Centre for Modern Languages Frank Heyworth 126 126 145 Introduction In this article I will try to explain a number of different