Study visit group report...Education Ministry of Education Board of Education Ms. Berit KERMES Ms. Rabia AKÇAY, Mr. Osman YAĞMUR Primary, secondary and vocational education some

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Study visit group report

Group No 123

Title of the visit Foreign Language as a Means and Motivator Topic Language teaching and learning

City, country Jelgava – Latvia Type of visit Mixed Dates of visit 14.03.2011 – 18.03.2011

Group reporter Osman YAĞMUR, Sandrine LACASSAGNE

I FINDINGS

1. One of the objectives of the study visits programme is to exchange examples of good practice among hosts and participants. Cedefop will select well-described projects/programmes/initiatives and disseminate them to former participants and a wider public, including potential partners for future projects. Therefore it is important that you identify and describe all aspects that, in your view, make these projects/programmes/initiatives successful and worth exploring.

We have learnt how the education system in Latvia works and about the importance of foreign languages in Latvia. The people in Latvia are eager to learn languages in order to improve their economical situation and to have more chances to find a job either in Latvia or abroad. We also learnt and discussed the education systems of the different participating countries. The ministry of Latvian education is planning to start a European certification based on CEFR from September 2011 to introduce the second language from the first grade in order to foster English language proficiency. We also learnt about the existence of the European programme called PICCOLINGO to support the introduction of English language teaching at kindergarten level aimed at involving parents. During the presentation of the Latvian University of Agriculture we became aware that there are some problems with the Erasmus exchange programme because, according to the Latvian law, everything should be taught in Latvian, that is why Erasmus students cannot study together with Latvian students, but they have specially arranged lessons in English and so they can’t attend courses with the other students but they must follow courses in English on their own. Another drawback we noticed is that they can only get six Latvian credits (9 European credits) for optional university programmes in total (i.e. two lessons per week in one term) and in case of demand for extra credits for language learning they have to pay for it. We noticed the fact that there is a centralized exam for English at the end of form 9 and at the end of form 12.

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Describe each of the good practices you learnt about during the visit (both from the hosts and from one another) indicating the following:

title of the project/programme/initiative

Country name of the institution that implements it (if possible, provide a

website)

contact person (if possible) who presented the

programme to the group

whom the project/

programme/ initiative addresses

what features of the project/programme/initiative make it

an example of good practice

Piccolingo

(Campaign of the European Union)

WITAJ (i.e. WELCOME)

Latvia

Germany (Brandenburg +

Saxony)

Ministry of Education and Science State Education Centre

http://piccolingo.europa.eu/de/across-

europe/supporters/state-education-centre-ministry-education-and-science-latvia

Domowina − Bund Lausitzer Sorben e.V. http://www.witaj-sprachzentrum.de

Ms. Rita Kursite

Ms. Berit KERMES (Ministry of Education)

Kindergarten achievement,

raising awareness among parents

Kindergarten achievement

regarding minority language of Sorbian

Introduction of early foreign language

learning

Introduction of the Sorbian minority language to small children by

immersion, state training of teachers for this purpose

since 1998

Comenius projects

Italy

I.S.GUALA

www.istitutoguala.it

Ms. Danıela BLENGIO

Secondary education

8 countries’ joint project about

environment

English for Specific Purposes

(ESP)

Latvia

Faculty of Social

Sciences of Jelgava www.llu.lv

Ms. Larissa Turusheva

university students

The programme for EXTERNAL RELATIONS UNIT MANAGER

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CLIL

Germany

(Brandenburg)

Turkey

Ministry of Education Youth and Sports of

Brandenburg http://bildungsserver.

berlin-brandenburg.de/bilingualer_unterricht.html

Arbeitsstelle für sorbische (wendische) Bildungsentwicklung

Cottbus http://www.schulaemter.brandenburg.de/sixcms/detail.php/lbm1

.c.374018.de

The Council of Higher Education

Ministry of Education

Board of Education

Ms. Berit KERMES

Ms. Rabia AKÇAY, Mr. Osman YAĞMUR

Primary,

secondary and vocational education

some universities such as METU

primary, secondary and

vocational schools

On schools’ own initiatives depending

on available teachers, classes or modules taught in one target language per school (English, Polish, Sorbian,

French), 30 schools involved,

Preserving the language of the Sorbian regional minority (offer of one more not native language than in other

schools),

development of text books and teaching materials, of curricula,

performance of teacher training and in-service training

all the lessons are studied only in English

some subjects of other lessons are studied in English language

development of text books and teaching materials, of curricula,

performance of teacher training and in-service training

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ESP dictionary

ESP Teaching

Latvia

Croatia

Latvia University of Agriculture, Food Technology faculty

www.llu.lv

University Centre for Professional studies

Assoc. Prof. Anita

Blija

Ms. Jasmina ROGULJ

Secondary and vocational education,

university students

Professional University Education

Lexicon for hotels and catering

business in English/Latvian

Implementation of compulsory General Business English courses and ESP

courses. Even second foreign languages are offered as compulsory or elective

courses depending on the study programme

Agreements among the European countries for Practical Training

Latvia

Liepaja State

Technical School and Jelgava Crafts School

www.javs.lv

Ms. Edite Bisere (headmistress)

vocational education

Job training abroad in Italy or Spain

Municipality Centre for Lifelong

learning

Latvia

Jelgava Regional Adult Education Centre (PIC) http://www.jrpic.lv/

Ms. Skaidrīte Bukbārde

(Vice director of PIC)

Adult education and lifelong learning

different projects for unemployed, pre-

school children, families, people without school leaving certificate

e. g. foreign language courses matching the demands, CLIL introduction to

teachers

Erasmus Comenius Leonardo

France

Groupe IGS LYON

Ms. Sandrine LACASSAGNE

Secondary and vocational education,

postsecondary students

Developing and improving mobility across the EU through partnerships.

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Erasmus

Spain

Turkey

SCV Juan Comenius,

VALENCİA www.comenius.es

The Council of Higher Education

Ms. Maria Luisa

PELLICER

Secondary and vocational education

Universities

Developing and improving mobility across the EU through partnerships.

Cooperative learning methods

Developing and improving mobility across the EU through partnerships.

Cooperative learning methods ( 5 Turkish students are at Jelagava Agriculture University at the present)

Drama techniques in language learning

Latvia

Turkey

Liepaja State

Technical School

Yakutiye Erzurum Lisesi

Osman YAĞMUR

Vocational education

Secondary School

Using drama techniques in language teaching to increase motivation

Using drama techniques in language teaching to increase motivation

“Fremdsprachenassistenten (FSA)”

Foreign language assistants (students’ exchange aimed at improving language proficiency on both sides, based on cultural agreements with other countries)

Germany

Educational Exchange

Service/ Pädagogischer

Austauschdienst Bonn (PAD)

http://www.kmk-pad.org/programme/a

usl-fsa.html

Ms. Berit KERMES

mainly secondary

education

improvement of foreign language

proficiency and increase of motivation for language learning

(English, French, Spanish) students from different countries (e. g. Italy, France, Spain, UK, USA, Canada, Ireland, Russia, China ...) who speak German at a sufficient level come to Germany for up to 9 months to support

foreign language teaching in their mother tongue (12 hours per week,

grant of 800 € per month)

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Germany

(Brandenburg)

http://bildungsserver.

berlin-brandenburg.de/fremdsprachenassistenten.ht

ml

improvement of foreign language

proficiency and increase of motivation for language learning (Polish) for Polish students to teach at

Brandenburg schools

* You can describe as many good practices as you find necessary. You can add rows to the table.

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2. The study visits programme aims to promote and support policy development and cooperation in lifelong learning. That is why it is important to know what you learnt about such policies and their implementation during your visit. You are invited to describe your findings concerning the following:

2.1 APPROACHES TAKEN BY PARTICIPATING COUNTRIES (BOTH HOST AND PARTICIPANTS’) REGARDING THE THEME OF THE VISIT. ARE THERE ANY SIMILAR APPROACHES/MEASURES IN PARTICIPATING COUNTRIES? WHAT ASPECTS ARE SIMILAR AND WHY? WHAT ASPECTS ARE DIFFERENT AND WHY?

• We noticed that in all the represented countries foreign languages are

considered as a motivator and a means of success for professional life. • We all agree that it is necessary to make students aware that a high

level of foreign language proficiency (especially English) is needed for their future careers. Moreover, teachers should constantly work on enhancing their students’ motivation.

• The use of the communicative approach in modern language teaching and learning in all countries represented.

• Bilingual classes are only offered in Germany in primary, lower and upper secondary education in state and private schools. In kindergartens of both types parents have to pay for foreign language classes for their children. Besides that, in some German states teacher training for CLIL teachers is an optional element of state teacher training after graduation from university (e. g. Baden-Württemberg, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Hessen, Hamburg). It is offered in France and Italy as well from preschool level but only in private schools. We have been told that there are bilingual classes in Latvia, too, for example in Riga.

• In all participating countries there is an effort to introduce CLIL both in secondary and university education, but it is difficult to find teachers who are fluent enough to teach their subject in English.

2.2 CHALLENGES FACED BY PARTICIPATING COUNTRIES (INCLUDING HOST) IN THEIR EFFORTS TO IMPLEMENT POLICIES RELATED TO THE THEME OF THE VISIT. WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES? ARE THEY COMMON CHALLENGES? IF SO, WHY? IF NOT, WHY NOT?

Problems we have been faced with in foreign language policy making - primarily due to limited financial resources

• not enough capable foreign language teachers • restricted in-service training abroad • use of native speakers throughout the whole school year/ every year • slow promotion of CLIL (teacher training, development of learning

and teaching materials) Regarding the host country there was one problem concerning languages: People having a degree in English left their job at school to go into businesses after the independence. The main reason is about salary. The other problem concerns the cost of teaching materials.

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Things we can do: • The first challenge would be establishing team work between

participating countries and the host country. • The second challenge would be developing a Comenius partnership

(bilateral or multilateral) between the participating countries. • To provide teaching materials as web materials between

participating countries.

2.3 NAME AND DESCRIBE EFFECTIVE AND INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS YOU HAVE IDENTIFIED THAT PARTICIPATING COUNTRIES (BOTH HOST AND PARTICIPANTS) APPLY TO ADDRESS THE CHALLENGES MENTIONED IN QUESTION 2.2. PLEASE MENTION SPECIFIC COUNTRY EXAMPLES.

As already described in the table above (under I.1) there are several examples of good practice from the participating countries:

• use of native speakers at schools through students exchange (FSA in Germany)

• improvement of foreign language proficiency by participation in European programmes (Erasmus in France, Spain, Latvia/ Leonardo in Latvia/ Comenius in Italy and Germany)

• preservation of minority languages from early childhood by immersion (WITAJ for Sorbs in Brandenburg + Saxony, DIWAN for Bretons in France, Catalans and Basks in Spain)

• offer of bilingual lessons on an optional basis by schools according to available teachers and flexibility in own production of learning and teaching materials

• providing of pupils who are members of minorities with language lessons in their native language (minority schools in Latvia – Russian, Polish, Ukrainian, Belorussian)

• development of missing teaching material (dictionary for students of HOTEL AND CATERING BUSINESS at Jelgava university)

• new programme of teacher in-service training abroad for English language teachers in Brandenburg (in cooperation with the Northern Irish education partners)

They could also be implemented through cross-curricular terminology and also through a network between participating countries. This network aims at mobility in practical training. 2.4 ASSESSMENT OF THE TRANSFERABILITY OF POLICIES AND PRACTICES. COULD ANY

EXAMPLES OF GOOD PRACTICE PRESENTED IN THIS REPORT BE APPLIED AND

TRANSFERRED TO OTHER COUNTRIES? IF SO, WHY? IF NOT, WHY NOT? One of the good practices that could be applied and transferred to other countries could be an adult continuing education department. It will allow job seekers to study foreign languages in order to have more possibilities to find a job and to make them competitive on the market. They will get professional qualification. This system can also fight against social exclusion concerning disabled people, minorities and senior people. This system can

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provide a special programme for families or for teachers concerning foreign languages. Another good practice is the PICCOLINGO project which promotes early language learning from pre-school stage. Last but not least there are “minority schools” which provide pupils with language lessons in their native language that is not Latvian (Russian, Polish, Ukrainian, Belorussian). The only disadvantage of these schools is that they offer only one foreign language up to the end of the ninth school year. Participants agreed on the importance of media in foreign language learning. We notice that not all countries are conducting the same policy. In some countries TV programmes or radio stations are conducted in original version and/or subtitled. When students are asked in which way they could improve the use of language, they insist on this fact. In some countries, teachers should have more opportunities to acquire and use language skills and should have to be more specifically trained regarding content and language integrated learning. More measures should be implemented to prepare teachers in languages in general as they have to teach a language plus another subject (their subjects in a foreign language).

3. Creating networks of experts, building partnerships for future projects is another important objective of the study visit programme.

We can create a mailing group and continue to exchange ideas and experiences. As we are the representatives of our countries and cities we can help each other to find project partners according to the characteristics of the schools. We have already talked about being partners for the projects in the future. These projects will serve us a lot as the title of our study visit is language as a means and motivator. It is important to find a way to increase the students’ motivation in foreign language learning. Another challenge in language learning is how to use foreign language as a tool for presenting the content. There are already some good practices in the participants’ countries. So we can introduce schools and institutions who have been working successfully in foreign language projects (students’ and teachers’ exchange, immersion, CLIL, teacher training, production of teaching materials, foreign language assistants) with those who are interested in starting similar projects in our countries.

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TO SUM UPTO SUM UPTO SUM UPTO SUM UP

THANK YOU!THANK YOU!THANK YOU!THANK YOU!

4. What is the most interesting/useful information that the group believes should be communicated to others? To whom, do you think, this information will be of most interest?

We were shown how motivated people are to achieve their goals under very bad economic conditions. Teachers use every possibility to improve their teaching conditions and results (programmes, projects). They organize placements and exchanges for their pupils to increase their motivation in language learning. They produce their own teaching materials for foreign language teaching as students cannot afford to buy the very expensive text books. University teachers are very creative by establishing study programmes which include CLIL lessons though the only language of instruction at universities according to the Latvian education law is Latvian. Students have a high level of foreign language proficiency. There is a special situation in Latvia of two language communities –the Latvian and the Russian-. They are living together peacefully in the same country. Due to the change of governments the official language has been changed some times. It had been Russian between 1945 and 1991 and had only then become Latvian again. The fact that Latvia has a very small population (of only 2.3 million) forces people of all ages to learn at least one foreign language to communicate with people from other cultural communities who are visiting the country. As there isn’t nearly any industry anymore the country lives from agriculture and tourism. The unemployment rate is at 18 %. The confidence of this small cultural community in themselves and their future is admirable.