The third CEL/ELC Conference held at the Freie Universität Berlin (DE) on 28-30 June last year turned out to be what we had wanted it to be: one of the main events of the European Year of Languages 2001. The Conference attracted some 400 participants from across Europe. Of course, it is difficult to assess the impact of a meeting of this kind. Considerable impact could certainly be felt at the ALTE European Year of Languages Conference, held in Barcelona a week after the Berlin Conference. In October, the results and outcomes of the Berlin Conference figured prominently at a conference on “Plurilingualism and Foreign Language Education Policy in Greece”, organised by the University of Athens. The Berlin Declaration, which summarises the principal results and outcomes of the Berlin Conference, continues to command considerable interest in Europe and beyond. Both the Declaration and the document on “Universities and language policy in Europe” are available at the CEL/ELC website. I should like to invite all our members to comment on the documents, particularly on the Berlin Declaration. You can do so by using the newly created CEL/ELC electronic discussion forum accessible via our website.

One of the principal issues discussed at the Berlin Conference was that of university language policy. The idea is that each university should develop and implement its own specific language policy. Following the Berlin Conference, the vice-presidents with special responsibility for education and/or international affairs of a number of member institutions and experts from the same institutions decided to form a European University Language Policy Interest Group with a view to promoting the development and implementation of specific language policies at their institutions. At present, the following universities are represented in the Group: Handelshøjskolen i Århus (DK), Freie Universität Berlin (DE), Vrije Universiteit Brussel (BE), Université de Lausanne (CH), Université Marc Bloch (FR), and Universität Wien (AT). The Universitatea Babes-Bolyai in Cluj-Napoca (RO) is an associate member of the Group. The make-up of the Group reflects the fact that language policy is an issue that concerns the whole of an institution, rather than individual departments only. The fact that vice-presidents and experts work together in this Group means that the issue of language policy can be discussed in the context of other institutional policies such as internationalisation, the introduction and implementation of a two-cycle structure, and the promotion of e-Learning. As part of the Group’s activities, Angela Chambers (University of Limerick, IE) is going to conduct a survey among CEL/ELC member institutions in order to identify other initiatives relevant to the aims of the Group. The results of the survey will be published, as will be a framework for the development and implementation of institutional language policies currently being prepared by members of the Group. The framework will draw on both the outcomes of our Thematic Networks and on the document on European language policy mentioned above. To date, the Group has held three meetings. Four members of the Group will report on work in progress at this year’s EAIE Conference (Porto, 11-14 September 2002). A mission statement prepared by the Group is going to be published on the CEL/ELC website in the very near future.

The Bologna-Prague-Berlin Process is likely to gain momentum in the second half of this year. There are clear indications that many universities in Europe have not yet fully grasped the implications of the Process. Bologna is, of course, of direct relevance to the second Thematic Network Project in the Area of Languages (TNP2). The work plan for the Year Two of TNP2 envisaged that the three subprojects on Curriculum innovation, New learning environments – the European learning space, and Quality enhancement in language studies each would conduct a workshop, at which, on the basis of the findings of the national reports prepared in Year 1, initial recommendations are presented for discussion. The Curriculum innovation group had its workshop in Bled (SI) in early May. Next was New learning environments (Copenhagen, early June); the workshop on Quality will be held in Berlin in mid-September. The workshops were designed as testing grounds. The idea is that both university leaders and European associations should be invited to respond to the initial recommendations prepared by the sub-project scientific committees. For similar reasons, a questionnaire based on the principal recommendations drawn up by the three subproject scientific committees will be circulated among TNP2 partner organisations and committee members. Eventually, a revised version of the questionnaire will be sent to external stakeholders also. TNP2 has profited considerably from the spade work done in the pilot project “Tuning educational structures in Europe”, which has sought to apply the Bologna principles to seven representative subject areas. TNP2 is associated with the Tuning project in that “Languages” is one of Tuning’s synergy areas.

Bologna is one of the processes of direct relevance to the CEL/ELC and TNP2. Another is the EU’s Objectives Process, through which the EU is seeking to make Europe “a world-wide reference for the quality and relevance of its education and training systems and institutions”. A detailed work programme for the Process was agreed by the Member States earlier this year. Foreign languages are considered to be one of the new basic skills for the European knowledge society, and improving foreign language learning is one of the thirteen objectives of the Process. I talked about the new political dimension of foreign language learning in a speech on lifelong foreign language learning I gave at a seminar at Community level organised under the auspices of the Spanish Presidency (Valencia, 5-7 May, 2002). The text is available at the CEL/ELC website.

Both the Bologna Process and the Objectives Process will provide the political background to the fourth CEL/ELC Conference, which will be held at the Handelshøjskolen i Århus (DK) on 26-28 June 2003. The theme of the Conference is “The Role of Languages in the European Higher Education Area”. The Conference will provide a welcome opportunity for the dissemination of the final outcomes, results, and recommendations of TNP2. Detailed information about the Conference will soon be sent to members.

The Berlin December workshops are beginning to become a tradition. The fourth workshop, again generously supported by the Freie Universität Berlin (DE), was on “Integrated approaches to the use of ICT for purposes of language learning and language teaching”. Speakers included Alessandra Corda (Universiteit Leiden, NL), Philippe Delcloque (University of Manchester, UK), Brigitte Forster Vosicki (Université de Lausanne, CH), Sake Jager (Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, NL), Michelle Laufer and Robert Jayes (University of Westminster, UK), and Valère Meus (Universiteit Gent, BE). The outcomes and results, which were of direct relevance to the TNP2 sub-project on New learning environments, are to be published on the CEL/ELC website. This year’s workshop will be held on 6-7 December – again at FUB. The theme of the workshop is the use of the European Language Portfolio in higher education. An ELP model prepared by CERCLES was validated by the European Validation Committee in mid-May. Brigitte Forster Vosicki (Université de Lausanne, CH) is currently putting the finishing touches to the CEL/ELC’s own model, which will be submitted to the Council of Europe for validation later this year. The workshop will also see the launch of the DIALANG system with tests in all 14 languages. A beta version of the system – featuring tests in four languages and learner support in 14 languages – is now freely available via the DIALANG project website (www.dialang.org). Invitations to the workshop will be sent to members after the summer break.

At the Assemblée générale held at the time of the Berlin EYL2001 Conference, a number of new Board members were provisionally elected – provisionally, as the Assemblée did not reach a quorum. The results of the provisional elections were confirmed at the extraordinary Assemblée générale held in Brussels on 19 January 2002. The following Board members were re-elected or newly elected: Thomas Fraser (Université Charles-de-Gaulle – Lille III), Ana Gimeno-Sanz (Universidad Politécnica de Valencia, ES), Angeliki Kiliari (Aristoteleio Panepistimio Thessalonikis, GR), Kari Sajavaara (Jyväskylän yliopisto, FI), and Claude Truchot (Université Marc Bloch, FR). The Board in turn elected the following Executive Committee: Anne-Claude Berthoud, Vice-president (Université de Lausanne, CH), Karen M. Lauridsen, Treasurer (Handelshøjskolen i Århus, DK), Wolfgang Mackiewicz, President (Freie Universität Berlin, DE), and Piet Van de Craen (Vrije Universiteit Brussel, BE), Secretary. The newly elected Executive Committee has held three meetings, and the new Board met in Brussels on 19 January. The Board decided to make research a key issue of the CEL/ELC’s activities, alongside policy development and the preparation and launch of European co-operation and development projects. The CEL/ELC’s research initiative is being co-ordinated by Anne-Claude Berthoud, Claude Truchot, and Piet Van de Craen. It is intended to officially launch the initiative at a workshop to be conducted in Brussels in early 2003.

At the aforementioned Board meeting we discussed the question at some length as to what kind of additional services we can offer to our members. One of the things we are planning for the near future is an archive of key documents. Time and again we have noted that colleagues are unaware of new policies and initiatives at a European level relevant to the area of languages. I should be very grateful if you could let us know in what way you think the CEL/ELC could help you in your own environment. Would you like us to organise short training courses or more workshops? And if so, what themes would you be particularly interested in? Please let us know what you think is needed through the CEL/ELC discussion forum – or quite simply write me an e-mail.

Finally, some information about changes in the European team here at FUB. Sietze Looijenga resigned as TNP2 manager on 1 November 2001. He now works at the Language Centre of the Universiteit Gent, BE. His successor is Virginia Moukouli, who used to work at FUB’s international relations office. Konrad Stransky resigned as DIALANG project manager on 1 March, to return to the Technische Universität Dresden, DE. His successor is Astrid Peter. Silke Pillinger, who managed the EYL2001 Conference project, will co-ordinate piloting in the DIALANG project during the remainder of the contractual period. As was explained in a letter I sent to members earlier this year, Sandra Kosanke is now in charge of the day-to-day running of the CEL/ELC secretariat.

ELC Information Bulletin 8 - April 2002