Eurydice Network Key Data on Teaching Languages at School in Europe 2012 (Eurydice) Daniela Kocanova Education systems and policies in 33 European countries Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) Rome 29 November 2012
Addressed topics Starting age of foreign language teaching Number of foreign languages learnt Diversity of foreign languages learnt Taught time devoted to foreign language learning Expected minimum level of attainment Initial teacher education
Foreign language teaching starting earlier Compulsory starting age of foreign language teaching Being phased in <8 years 10 years Source: Eurydice 8 - <10 years
EU-27 BE fr BE de BE nl BG CZ DK DE EE IE EL ES FR IT CY LV LT LU HU MT NL AT PL PT RO SI SK FI SE UK IS LI NO HR TR EU 2005 EU 2010 More pupils learn languages Trends in the percentage of all pupils attending primary education (ISCED 1) who learn at least one foreign language, 2004/05, 2009/10 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 % 78% 67% : : : : 2005 2010 Source: EACEA; Eurydice; Eurostat Key Data on Teaching Languages at School in Europe 2012 Edition Data: Eurostat, UOE
BE fr BE de BE nl BG CZ DK DE EE IE EL ES FR IT CY LV LT LU HU MT NL AT PL PT RO SI SK FI SE UK IS LI NO HR TR EU 2005 EU 2010 More pupils learn English Trends in the percentage of all pupils attending primary education (ISCED 1) who learn English, 2004/05, 2009/10 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 % 73% 61% : - : - : : Source: EACEA; Eurydice; Eurostat Key Data on Teaching Languages at School in Europe 2012 Edition Data: Eurostat, UOE
BE fr BE de BE nl BG CZ DK DE DE DE EE IE EL ES FR IT CY LV LT LU HU MT MT NL AT AT PL PT RO SI SK FI SE UK IS LI LI LI NO HR TR Taught time quite low Minimum time allocated to foreign languages as a compulsory subject, as a proportion of total taught time in primary and general secondary education, 2010/11 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 % X Primary education Secondary education X No compulsory foreign languages Compulsory subject with flexible time allocation Source: EACEA; Eurydice; Eurostat Key Data on Teaching Languages at School in Europe 2012 Edition Data: EURYDICE
At secondary level more students learn 2 foreign languages BE fr BE de BE nl BG CZ DK DE EE IE EL ES FR IT CY LV LT LU HU MT NL AT PL PT RO SI SK FI SE UK IS LI NO HR TR EU 2005 EU 2010 Percentage of all students attending lower secondary education (ISCED 2) who learn 2 or more language(s), 2004/05, 2009/10 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 47% 61% : : : : Source: EACEA; Eurydice; Eurostat Key Data on Teaching Languages at School in Europe 2012 Edition Data: Eurostat, UOE
6 dominating languages At secondary level English: clearly the most learnt foreign language across Europe French and German: the most popular foreign languages after English in most European countries Depending on the countries, Spanish, Russian and Italian: learnt by a substantial percentage of students Languages learnt by students in Europe are almost exclusively English, French, German, Spanish, Italian and Russian.
Expected attainment levels: A2 or B1 Expected attainment levels for the FIRST LEARNT FOREIGN LANGUAGE (End of compulsory general education or lower secondary education), 2010/11 Source: EACEA; Eurydice; Eurostat Key Data on Teaching Languages at School in Europe 2012 Edition Data: EURYDICE
Initial education of foreign language teachers Minimum duration and level of initial teacher education of specialist or semi-specialist foreign language teachers in lower secondary education, 2010/11 UK ( 1 ) = UK-ENG/WLS/NIR Bachelor s level Master s level Teacher education abroad Source: EACEA; Eurydice; Eurostat Key Data on Teaching Languages at School in Europe 2012 Edition Data: Eurydice.
Period spent abroad: Few recommendations Existence of recommendations on the content of initial teacher education and the period spent in the target language country, 2010/11 Recommendations exist on the content of initial teacher education for prospective foreign language teachers Recommendations include a period to be spent in the target language country No recommendations Teacher education takes place abroad Source: Eurydice.
Requirements for prospective CLIL teachers Qualifications required to work in schools using the CLIL model in primary and/or general secondary education, 2010/11 Normal qualifications of a fully qualified teacher only Normal qualifications + additional qualifications No type A CLIL provision Source: EACEA; Eurydice; Eurostat Key Data on Teaching Languages at School in Europe 2012 Edition Data: Eurydice.
Key messages Earlier start of foreign language teaching in most countries; Since 2005, the percentage of pupils in primary education learning at least one foreign language has substantially increased in many countries; this goes hand in hand with the increasing prevalence of the English language; Taught time devoted to foreign language learning quite low at primary level; Percentage of students learning 2 languages is increasing at secondary level; Languages learnt by students are mostly English, French, German, Spanish, Italian and Russian. At the end of compulsory education, the expected minimum level of attainment for the first learnt foreign language is A2 or B1 in most countries. Only a few countries recommend that future language teachers spend a period of training in the target language country.
Many other issues addressed by Key data on Teaching Languages at School in Europe 2012 Edition Class size Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) Use of ICT And more http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/education/eurydice/ documents/key_data_series/143en.pdf