Commission staff working document - Accompanying document to the communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions - Multilingualism: an asset for Europe and a shared commitment - An inventory of community actions in the field of multilingualism and results of the online public consultation 	 {COM(2008) 566 final} {SEC(2008) 2444} {SEC(2008) 2445}
Date: 2008-09-18
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: European Union, competitiveness, economic and social cohesion, economic development, globalisation, impact study, language teaching, multilingualism

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COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 18.9.2008 
SEC(2008) 2443 

COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT 
Accompanying document to the  

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN 
PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL 
COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS 

Multilingualism: an asset for Europe  
and a shared commitment 

AN INVENTORY OF COMMUNITY ACTIONS IN THE FIELD OF 
MULTILINGUALISM AND RESULTS OF THE ONLINE PUBLIC 
CONSULTATION 

{COM(2008) 566 final} 
{SEC(2008) 2444} 
{SEC(2008) 2445} 

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TABLE OF CONTENTS 

1. 

2. 

2.1. 

Introduction: A new approach...................................................................................... 4 

The contribution of EU programmes and policies to multilingualism......................... 4 

The follow-up of the 2005 communication "A new framework strategy for 
multilingualism" ........................................................................................................... 4 

2.2. 

Education and training ................................................................................................. 5 

2.2.1.  Common European tools............................................................................................ 11 

2.3. 

2.4. 

2.5. 

2.6. 

2.7. 

2.8. 

2.9. 

Culture........................................................................................................................ 11 

The Youth in Action Programme............................................................................... 13 

Active European citizenship ...................................................................................... 13 

Information society .................................................................................................... 14 

Research ..................................................................................................................... 16 

Media and the audiovisual sector............................................................................... 17 

Employment, social affairs and equal opportunities .................................................. 18 

2.10. 

Single market policy .................................................................................................. 19 

2.11. 

Enterprise policy ........................................................................................................ 20 

2.12. 

External relations and development policy ................................................................ 21 

2.13. 

Justice, freedom and security ..................................................................................... 22 

2.14.  Communication.......................................................................................................... 24 

2.15.  Health and consumer protection................................................................................. 25 

2.16. 

Translation ................................................................................................................. 26 

2.17. 

Interpretation .............................................................................................................. 27 

3. 

3.1. 

3.2. 

3.3. 

3.4. 

Studies on multingualism and the teaching of languages .......................................... 29 

The Intercultural Competences Developed in Compulsory Foreign Languages 
Education in the European Union (LACE) ................................................................ 29 

Report on the diversity of language teaching offered in the European Union........... 30 

Effects on the European Economy of Shortages of Foreign Language Skills in 
Enterprise (ELAN) ..................................................................................................... 30 

The main pedagogical principles underlying the teaching of languages to very young 
learners ....................................................................................................................... 32 

3.5. 

European profile for language teacher education....................................................... 33 

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3.6. 

4. 

4.1. 

4.2. 

4.3. 

5. 

Study on Dubbing and Subtitling Needs and Practices in the European Audiovisual 
Industry ...................................................................................................................... 35 

External reports .......................................................................................................... 36 

Report of the High Level Group on Multilingualism................................................. 36 

Report of the ‘Group of Intellectuals’........................................................................ 36 

Report of the Business Forum.................................................................................... 37 

Results of the online consultation .............................................................................. 39 

ANNEX.................................................................................................................................... 42 

1.1. Follow-up to the 2005 Communication on multilingualism ............................................. 42 

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1. 

INTRODUCTION: A NEW APPROACH 

This staff working paper accompanies the communication ‘Multilingualism: an asset 
for Europe and a shared commitment’. The strategies adopted in that communication 
go beyond the ‘mother tongue plus two’ recommendations of the Barcelona Council 
in  that  they  extend  the  scope  of  multilingualism  policy  to  new  areas  such  as  the 
internal market, enterprise and employment. 

While the communication sets out the new policy approach on multilingualism, the 
Commission  staff  working  paper  creates  a  framework  by  mapping  action  currently 
taken  in  this  field  by  the  various  Commission  departments,  paying  particular 
attention  to  cross-cutting  aspects  of  multilingualism  in  the  Commission,  among 
stakeholder groups and among the general public. The paper also serves as a basis for 
further work in line with the new policy approach set out in the communication. 

The  policy  messages  in  the  communication  rely  on  the  findings  of  a  number  of 
studies  conducted  in  this  field  during  the  preparation  phase,  which  are  reviewed  in 
Part 3 of this paper. 

In  drafting  the  communication,  the  Commission  also  consulted  widely  with  policy 
makers,  stakeholders  and,  most  importantly,  citizens.  An  online  consultation  held 
between  15  September  and  15  November  2007,  inviting  organisations  and 
individuals  to  give  their  views  and  expectations  concerning  language  policy, 
attracted 2 419 replies, which the Commission took into consideration (see page 40). 
A summary of those replies concludes this document. The Annex sets out the follow-
up to the first communication on multilingualism in 2005 in a synoptic table. 

2. 

2.1. 

THE CONTRIBUTION OF EU PROGRAMMES AND POLICIES TO MULTILINGUALISM 

The  follow-up  of  the  2005  communication  "A  new  framework  strategy  for 
multilingualism" 

The  communication  "A  new  framework  strategy  for  multilingualism"  was  the  first 
step  towards  promoting  multilingualism  in  a  wider  context.  It  reaffirmed  the 
Commission’s commitment to multilingualism in the European Union and set out a 
number of specific actions for the Commission and for Member States. 

Commission actions focused mainly on the following policies and sectors: education 
and  training,  translation,  interpretation,  and  research  and  information  technologies. 
Actions concerning education and training ranged from supporting language teaching 
and  learning  through  Community  programmes,  making  studies  available  (e.g.  on 
language  certification,  early  language  learning,  and  the  impact  of  shortages  of 
language  skills  on  the  European  economy)  and  developing  the  European  language 
including  publishing  a 
indicator.  On 
multilingual  database  (IATE),  reinforcing  initial  training  for  translators  and 
interpreters  and  launching  a  Languages  portal  on  Europa.  Digital  libraries  and 
projects  developing  language  technologies were  the  main  actions  carried  out  in  the 
field of research and information technologies. More detailed information is given in 
the relevant chapters of this paper. A complete overview of the actions set out, their 

interpretation,  actions 

translation  and 

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state of implementation and main output is given in the Annex. An internal network 
of  Commission  departments  was  set  up  and  recently  upgraded  into  an  Interservice 
Group.  It  provided  information  for  this  paper,  laying  the  foundations  for 
mainstreaming multilingualism across a wider range of European policies. 

Member  States  were  invited  to  send  in  information  as  part  of  the  follow-up  to  the 
‘Action  plan  promoting  language  learning  and  linguistic  diversity,  2004-2006’.  In 
2006-2007, 19 Member States sent in detailed reports on the implementation of the 
Action  Plan,  and  17  provided  additional  information  on  the  2005  communication.1 
Most  of  the  actions  recommended  by  the  2005  communication  repeated  and  built 
upon recommendations in the Action Plan. The Report on the implementation of the 
Action  Plan2  highlighted  positive  results  (for  instance  the  introduction  of  early 
language learning, and a more consistent approach to language teaching and learning 
and  to  teacher  training)  and  areas  for  further  cooperation  (languages  in  vocational 
training and in adult education, groups at disadvantage, and further diversification of 
languages taught).  

Establishing national plans for multilingualism was a new recommendation made in 
the 2005 communication. The Commission promoted a first exchange of practice in 
this  field  through  the  Working  Group  on  Languages,  bringing  together  Member 
States’  representatives,  in  2006.3  The  two  last  actions  recommended  by  the  2005 
communication — setting up a High Level Group on Multilingualism and holding a 
ministerial  conference  on  multilingualism  —  paved  the  way  for  the  current 
communication, to which this paper is attached. 

2.2. 

Education and training 

Languages as part of education and training policy 

‘Improving  foreign  language  learning’  is  one  of  the  specific  objectives  of  the 
Education  and  Training  2010  work  programme  and  part  of  the  broader  strategic 
objective  of  ‘opening  up  education  and  training  systems  to  the  wider  world’.  The 
ability  of  all  European  citizens  to  understand  and  use  a  wide  range  of  foreign 
languages is central to the Union’s effort to develop a more dynamic and competitive 
knowledge-based  economy,  to  increase  the  number  and  to  improve  the  quality  of 
jobs  available,  and  to  ensure  that  European  companies  are  able  to  compete 
advantageously  in  global  market.  In  addition,  language  learning  promotes  mutual 
understanding  and  greater  tolerance  of  other  cultures,  and  has  relevance  for  two  of 
the  other  objectives:  developing  skills  for  the  knowledge  society  and  supporting 
active citizenship, equal opportunities and social cohesion. 

This objective was further elaborated by the working group on languages, set up to 
make  recommendations  and  exchange  good  practice  and  ideas  on  how  to  improve 
foreign  language  learning.  It  includes  members  appointed  by  Member  States  and 
representatives  from  the  Council  of  Europe  and  Eurydice.  Having  mapped  out 
developments  in  Member  States  the  group  concluded  that  ‘if  there  is  a  growing 

1 
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http://ec.europa.eu/education/languages/archive/policy/report_en.html. 
(COM(2007) 554 final/2. 
See  especially 
http://ec.europa.eu/education/languages/archive/policy/report_en.html.  

the 

independent  report  by  Prof  Beacco  at:aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa 

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awareness  amongst  the  general  public  of the  importance  of  language  learning,  the 
perceived value of linguistic diversity in Europe is perhaps less well established. The 
scene is clearly dominated by the steady increase of English as a second language at 
European  and  international  level,  while  pupils,  students,  their  families  and  even 
policy makers and authorities responsible for the educational systems do not always 
seem to fully appreciate the importance of teaching and learning additional foreign 
languages. The dimension of linguistic diversity should therefore always accompany 
all efforts aimed at stepping up language teaching and learning’.4 

The  joint  interim  report  approved  in  the  Spring  of  2004  recognised  the  social  and 
economic  value  of  linguistic  skills,  underlining  that  Member  States  should,  in 
particular,  ‘develop  coherent  language  policies,  including  relevant  teacher  training. 
Young  people,  their  families,  as  well  as  private  and  public  bodies,  should  also  be 
made  more  aware  of  the  advantages  of  learning  several  languages  and  preserving 
linguistic diversity.’5 

Each  of  the  Union’s  enlargements  also  extended  to  languages,  bringing  new 
languages  and  the  challenges  of  managing  them.  To  cope  with  the  unprecedented 
scope of the latest enlargement of the European Union the Action Plan 2004-2006 for 
language  learning  and  linguistic  diversity  was  published.  It  provided  the  first 
comprehensive policy approach to language teaching and learning across Europe. It 
highlighted  the  importance  of  languages  in  a  wider  and  more  diversified  area  of 
European  development  and  progress,  where  the  growing  internal  mobility  and  ever 
more  intense  exchanges  within  the  region  and  with  the  outside  world  have  made 
foreign languages a key competence for every citizen. 

In  2005,  a  framework  strategy  on  multilingualism  was  published  to  mark  the 
inclusion  of  multilingualism  in  the  education  and  culture  portfolio.  Another 
breakthrough  in  relation  to  languages  came  when  communication  in  foreign 
languages was included in the Recommendation6 on Key Competences for Lifelong 
Learning,  as  one  of  the  eight  key  competences  ‘which  all  individuals  need  for 
personal  fulfilment  and  development,  active  citizenship,  social  inclusion  and 
employment’.  

Through the working group on languages, in 2007, Member States reported on their 
progress  in  implementing  the  priorities  of  the  Action  Plan  2004-2006.  The  reports 
show encouraging results on language learning in our education systems. However, 
they also indicate that more work needs to be done in relation to language learning in 
adult education, in vocational training and in higher education. 

4 

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Implementation  of  the  Education  and  Training  2010  work  programmeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa 
http://ec.europa.eu/education/policies/2010/doc/lang2004.pdf 
Implementation  of  the  Education  and  Training  2010  work  programmeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa 
http://ec.europa.eu/education/policies/2010/doc/lang2004.pdf 
Recommendation  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  18  December  2006  on  key 
competences for lifelong learning that was published in the Official Journal of the European Union on 
30 December 2006/L394.  
(http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/site/en/oj/2006/l_394/l_39420061230en00100018.pdf) 

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Statistics 

In the absence of statistics on language learning, Eurydice collects quantitative and 
qualitative data on language learning through its antennae in the Member States. The 
first  issue  of  the  bi-annual  study  ‘Key  data  on  teaching  languages  at  school  in 
Europe’, published in January 2005 by the Eurydice European Unit, contains 37 sets 
of  data  concerning  the  context,  organisation,  participation  in,  teachers  for  and 
pedagogical  processes  of  language  learning  in  Member  States.  The  data  collected 
refer  to  the  academic  years  2001/2002  and  2002/2003.  They  are  based  on  the 
measures included in the official study programmes of the participating countries and 
therefore describe the intentions of the competent authorities, rather than the reality 
of  foreign  language  teaching.  These  data  are  currently  being  updated  and  will  be 
available later this year (www.eurydice.org). 

In addition, the European Commission’s survey and analysis service, Eurobarometer, 
has  carried  out  two  research  projects  into  the  language  skills  of  European  citizens 
and their attitudes towards languages, in 2001 and 2006. 

http://ec.europa.eu/education/languages/languages-of-europe/doc137_en.htm  

European Indicator on Language Competence 

•  The  political  decision  to  develop  a  language  indicator  was  taken  in  2002  at  the 
Barcelona  European  Summit.  The  Council  underlined  that  speaking  foreign 
languages  is  a  basic  skill  which  needs  to  be  improved  by  teaching  at  least  two 
foreign languages from a very early age.  

•  The  European  Language  Indicator  will  show  us  the  general  level  of  foreign 
language knowledge of the pupils in the Member States and let us see how close 
we are to achieving our objective of making Europe’s citizens multilingual. This 
will  provide  invaluable  strategic  information  to  policy  makers,  teachers  and 
learners  in  all  Member  States  wishing  to  improve  the  teaching  and  learning  of 
foreign  languages,  thereby  increasing  the  mobility  of  Europeans,  and  with  it  the 
competitiveness  of  the  European  Union.  The  framework  was  set  out  in  the 
Commission  communication  adopted  on  13  April  2007,7  which  proposes  the 
following main topics for inclusion in the first round of the survey:  

Language  skills  to  be  tested:  reading  comprehension,  listening  comprehension  and 
writing.  The  Commission  will  take  the  initiative  to  develop  instruments  to  cover  a 
fourth skill, speaking, in subsequent surveys.  

Languages  to  be  tested:  the  official  EU  languages  most  taught  as  first  and  second 
languages  in  the  European  Union,  namely  English,  French,  German,  Spanish  and 
Italian. The framework for testing will be made available for all countries that wish 
to  carry  out  tests  other  than  in  these  five  languages  as  national  options.  The 
Commission will take the initiative to ensure that the next round of the survey covers 
all of the official European languages taught in the European Union. 

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Communication from the Commission to the Council Framework for the European survey on language 
competences, 
http://ec.europa.eu/education/languages/eu-language-
policy/doc124_en.htm. 

COM(2007)184 

final: 

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The framework of reference: the survey will be based on an instrument measuring a 
continuum of increasing levels of competences from level A1 (basic user) to level B2 
(independent user), in line with the scales of the Common European Framework of 
Reference for Languages. 

Contextual  data  to  be  collected:  a  questionnaire  for  students,  teachers,  school 
principles and governments will be developed, to gather contextual information that 
will facilitate an analysis of possible factors affecting pupils’ language competencies.  

Population  to  be  tested  in  the  survey:  pupils  enrolled  in  the  final  year  of  lower 
secondary education (ISCED8 2), (or the second year of upper secondary education 
—  ISCED  3  —  if  a  second  foreign  language  is  not  taught  in  lower  secondary 
education) who are taught the language being tested.  

Testing  instruments:  both  computer-based  tests,  using  open  source  software,  and 
paper  and  pencil  tests  should  be  made  available  to  countries  participating  in  the 
survey. The testing instrument should permit adaptive testing. 

The Commission’s timetable for conducting the survey is as follows: 

2008:  Develop  and  conduct  the  pilot  tests,  obtain  advice  on  setting  up  national 
coordination structures in participating countries. 

2009: Publish interim report on the pilot phase in the first quarter, then develop the 
full sets of tests. 

2010: Hold field trials in February to March and then fine-tune the survey. 

2011:  Conduct  main  survey  in  February-March  followed  by  processing  and 
evaluation. 

2012:  Present  initial  results  and  complete  a  detailed  analysis  of  the  findings  of  the 
survey. 

The Lifelong Learning Programme (2007-2013) and languages 

The Lifelong Learning Programme (LLP) integrates the various European education 
and training initiatives under a single umbrella. With a budget of nearly €7 billion for 
the period 2007 to 2013, it replaced the former education, vocational training and e-
Learning  programmes,  which  ended  in  2006.  The  LLP  consists  of  four  sub-
programmes,  each  one  addressing  a  specific  education  sector:  Comenius  (for 
schools),  Erasmus  (for  higher  education),  Leonardo  da  Vinci  (for  vocational 
education  and  training)  and  Grundtvig  (for  adult  education).  A  cross-cutting 
programme complements these four sub-programmes to ensure that they achieve the 
best results. This cross-cutting programme is composed of four key activities (KAs) 
focusing  on: 
information  and 
communication  technologies,  and  (d)  effective  dissemination  and  exploitation  of 
project  results.  Finally,  the  Jean  Monnet  programme  stimulates  teaching,  reflection 

(a)  policy  cooperation,  (b) 

languages, 

(c) 

8 

The International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) designed by UNESCO. 

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and  debate  on  the  European  integration  process  at  higher  education  institutions 
worldwide. 

One  of  the  specific  objectives  of  the  Lifelong  Learning  Programme  is  to  promote 
language  learning  and  linguistic  diversity.  This  means  proposals  for  language 
projects,  networks  and  other  language-oriented  activities  (for  instance  linked  to 
mobility  of  students,  teachers  and  workers)  can  be  submitted  for  European  co-
funding  under  the  different  parts  of  the  Programme  (the  sub-programmes  or  the 
cross-cutting programme). All languages are eligible under this Programme. 

Specific  contributions  from  the  different  LLP  sub-programmes  to  the  promotion  of 
multilingualism  

Comenius 

All the Comenius actions promote the learning of foreign languages by school pupils 
and  school  staff  through  class  exchanges,  assistantships  for  future  teachers  and  in-
service  teacher  training. Both  Comenius  multilateral  projects  and  Comenius 
networks  contribute  to  the  development  of  language  learning  in  schools. Comenius 
also contributes to better preparing teachers to teach heterogeneous classes (of pupils 
from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds, as well as with different levels of 
ability / disability, different special needs etc.). 

eTwinning  is  an  initiative  to  encourage  all  schools  in  Europe  to  form  collaborative 
partnerships  using  different  types  of  communication  technology.  It  began  in  January  2005 
under  the  eLearning  Programme  and  is  now  an  integrated  part  of  Comenius.  At  European 
level,  it  has  a  Central  Support  Service  coordinated  by  the  European  Schoolnet.,  which 
manages  the  European  eTwinning  portal.  .The  portal,  accessible  in  23  languages,  provides 
ideas, suggestions, ready made kits and contacts and is updated on a daily basis. 

http://www.etwinning.net/ww/en/pub/etwinning/index2006.htm 

Erasmus 

Erasmus  supports  different  language-oriented  initiatives  in  higher  education,  in 
particular  multilateral  projects,  networks  and  the  Erasmus  Intensive  Language 
Courses (EILC). 

The EILC are specialised courses in the less widely used and less taught languages, 
held in the countries where these languages are spoken. They give Erasmus students 
visiting  these  countries  for  studies  and  placements  the  opportunity  to  study  the 
language concerned for up to six  weeks (with  a  minimum  of  60  teaching  hours)  in 
preparation for their stay. Participation in EILC has risen annually, to 4 700 students 
in 2006/2007 with over 270 courses provided in the 23 participating countries. 

Leonardo 

Linguistic  preparation  is  an  essential  part  of  Leonardo  mobility  periods  and  all 
projects  must,  where  appropriate, include  linguistic  and  cultural  preparation.  Under 
the LLP, a flat-rate amount of up to €500 pe r participant can be paid for linguistic, 
cultural  and  pedagogical  preparation.  Vocationally-Oriented  Language  Leaning 

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(VOLL)  and  Content  and  Language  Integrated  Learning  (CLIL)  are  cross-cutting 
priorities for all Leonardo projects.  

Grundtvig 

All Grundtvig actions promote the learning of foreign languages for adults. Both in-
service  training  for  teachers  and  other  staff  in  adult  education  and  the  mobility 
components of the Grundtvig learning partnerships contribute to the development of 
language  learning  and  the  practising  of  languages  with  native  speakers  and 
others. Grants  for  language  preparation  for  individuals  are  awarded  in  cases  where 
language  training  is  needed  for  (a)  partner(s)  in  a  learning  partnership.  Language 
learning  is  also  an  important  aspect  of  the  Grundtvig  multilateral  projects  and 
networks,  which  require  communication  through  foreign  languages. The  new 
Grundtvig actions under development will also promote the learning of / training in 
foreign languages for adults. 

The Key Activities (LLP cross-cutting programme) 

Every  Key  Activity  can  support  language-oriented  projects  and  other  linguistic 
activities in their specialised areas.  

The Key Activity ‘Languages’ (KAL) has a budget of roughly €12 million per year. 
It  supports  the  following  activities:  multilateral  projects  aimed,  inter  alia,  at  the 
promotion  of  language  awareness,  access  to  language  learning  resources  and 
developing  new  language  learning  materials;  networks  in  the  field  of  language 
learning  and  linguistic  diversity;  and  other  initiatives  in  line  with  the  objectives  of 
the  key  activity  including  dissemination  and  exploitation  conferences,  information 
campaigns and studies on language issues. 

The first LLP call for proposals (2007) 

–  22  multilateral  projects,  3  networks  and  1  accompanying  measures  project  were 

selected under the Key Activity ‘Languages’ totalling €9 817 651.  

–  Still  in  the  field  of  languages,  8  Comenius  multilateral  projects,  4  Grundtvig 
multilateral  projects,  2  Leonardo  multilateral  projects,  1  Erasmus  Virtual 
Campuses  project,  1  Erasmus  Network,  1  KA  ‘Information  and  Communication 
Technologies’  project  and  1  KA  ‘Dissemination  and  exploitation  of  results’ 
project were selected under the other LLP centralised sub-programmes. The total 
budget for these 18 projects was €5 604 410.  

–  An  estimated  €35  million  more  were  spent  on  LLP  decentralised  actions 
(managed by the National Agencies of the Programme) linked to languages.  

More 
http://ec.europa.eu/education/programmes/llp/index_en.html.  

information 

the  LLP 

available 

on 

is 

at:aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa 

http://ec.europa.eu/education/programmes/llp/comenius/index_en.html. 

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2.2.1.  Common European tools 

Europass 

The  single  Community  framework  for  transparent  qualifications  and  competencies 
—  Europass,  established  in  2006,  is  designed  to  encourage  mobility  and  lifelong 
learning among students, and to clarify the qualifications of the holder for employers. 
The  European  Language  Portfolio  developed  by  the  Council  of  Europe  is 
incorporated into Europass, as is Europass mobility.  

The  most  important  practical  contribution  to  promoting  language  skills  comes 
through  the  Europass  portal  (http://europass.cedefop.europa.eu),  developed  and  run 
by  Cedefop  and  available  in  26  languages  (EU+EEA+CC).  In  particular,  it offers 
citizens  the  opportunity  to  complete  their  Europass  CV  and  Europass  Language 
Passport online, with the help of guidelines and a tutorial. The CV includes a section 
which  summarises  language  skills.  The  passport,  a  component  of  the  European 
Language  Portfolio,  specifically  allows  citizens  to  describe  their  language  skills  in 
detail.  Both  documents  use 
the  common  European  frame  of reference  for 
languages developed by the Council of Europe as a standard tool for self-assessment. 

Since February 2005, 85 000 eLanguage passports have been generated online, while 
more than 270 000 blank templates have been downloaded to be completed offline. 
The Europass CV is of course more widespread; so far around 3 million CVs have 
been  generated  online  and  about  3.4  million  blank  CV  templates  have  been 
downloaded to be completed offline. 

In the first three years since the introduction of Europass, the common framework for 
languages has therefore been used in about seven million Europass documents. 

2.3. 

Culture 

the  fundamental  principles  of  EC  cultural  policies.  Hence, 

Contributing to the flowering of the cultures of the Member States, respecting their 
national  and  regional  diversity,  and  bringing  their  common  cultural  heritage  to  the 
fore  are 
the 
interconnection with multilingualism is an essential condition of cultural policies and 
a  powerful  illustration  of  the  cross-cutting  dimension  of  the  two  areas.  On  this 
premise,  a  consistent  effort  is  being  made  in  order  to  ensure  that  the  promotion  of 
is  given  due 
culture  and  cultural  diversity, 
consideration in all regulatory and financial decisions or proposals presented by the 
Commission. 

linguistic  diversity, 

including 

European Agenda for Culture 

The  Commission  communication  A  European  agenda  for  culture  in  a  globalising 
world (May 2007) triggered a wider reflection on the role of culture as a key element 
of  the  European  integration  process,  based  on  common  values  and  a  common 
heritage  —  a  process  which  builds  on  cultural  diversity  and  multilingualism,  while 
also taking into account the cross-cutting role of culture in EU policies and actions.  

Multilingualism and the promotion of languages are addressed directly in the priority 
promoting  access  to  culture,  but  also  indirectly  in  the  priorities  improving  the 

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conditions for the mobility of artists and other professionals in the cultural field and 
promoting  and  implementing  the  UNESCO  Convention  on  the  protection  and 
promotion  of 
the  diversity  of  cultural  expressions.  Their  promotion  and 
implementation by the Commission and Member States addresses the protection and 
promotion of linguistic diversity as part of cultural diversity.  

Under the general priority access to culture, the Member States and the Commission 
are  to  continue  work  to  digitise  and  preserve  cultural  material  and  to  make  it 
accessible online, with a view to setting up a common European digital library. The 
European digital library would function as a common multilingual access point to the 
collections of libraries, archives and museums in Europe, thereby making the most of 
digital cultural heritage and cultural material of different types. 

Another line of action linked with multilingualism is the work on synergies between 
culture  and  education  to  be  pursued  by  a  new  working  group  of  Member  States’ 
experts. This will cover formal, non-formal and informal education, including arts in 
education,  and  the  development  of  projects  to  implement  ‘cultural  awareness  and 
expression’,  defined  as  a  key  competence  for  European  citizens  alongside 
communication  in  foreign  languages  and  social  and  civic  competencies.  The  work 
will  be  channelled  into  the  implementation  of  the  European  Agenda  for  culture 
through  exchange  of  best  practice  and  peer  communication,  proposals  for 
cooperation  initiatives  and  policy  recommendations,  and  is  inherently  linked  to  the 
objectives of the European Year of Creativity and Innovation 2009. 

European Year of Iintercultural Dialogue 2008 and follow-up  

One  of  the  key  themes  addressed in  the  European  Year  of  Intercultural  Dialogue 
2008 is the issue of multilingualism since, in Europe, the knowledge of languages is 
essential to meeting and engaging in dialogue with others. The Council Conclusions 
on intercultural competencies adopted on 21-22 May 2008 include foreign languages 
intercultural 
skills  among 
competencies.  The  document  addresses  both active  promotion  of  language  learning 
(education policy) and support for translation to facilitate access to artistic expression 
in different languages (cultural policy). The Council calls for the development of a 
sustainable  and  cross-sectoral  approach  to  intercultural  dialogue,  incorporating  and 
supporting initiatives in the culture, education, youth and audiovisual fields. 

the  key  competencies  for 

the  development  of 

More information is available at: http://ec.europa.eu/culture/index_en.htm. 

The Culture programme 

The  European  Commission  encourages  and  supports  cultural  activities  under  the 
Culture  programme  (running  from  2007  to  2013).  Based  on  Article  151  of  the  EC 
Treaty, the programme aims to enhance the cultural space shared by Europeans and 
based on common cultural values, through the development of cooperation between 
creators, players and institutions. Over the years this programme, although small in 
size,  has  made  an  important  contribution  to  supporting  cultural  cooperation  in 
Europe. The programme also provides support for the translation of works of fiction 

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from  one  European  language  into  another.9  Community  support  for  literary 
translation is aimed at enhancing knowledge of the literature and literary heritage of 
other  European  countries  by  promoting  the  movement  of  literary  works  between 
countries, through subsidies to publishers. 

From 2000 to 2006, Culture 2000 funded the translation of 2 149 fiction and human 
science titles. Under the new Culture Programme (2007-2013), only works of fiction 
are eligible, irrespective of literary genre — novels, tales, short stories, plays, poetry 
and  comics.  The  works  must  have  been  published  already,  and  they  must  not  have 
been  previously  translated  into  the  target  language.  Under  the  2007  Call  for 
proposals, the programme funded the translation of 258 works of fiction. 

More information is available at: http://ec.europa.eu/culture/index_en.htm. 

2.4. 

The Youth in Action Programme 

The  Youth  in  Action  Programme  aims  to  inspire  a  sense  of  active  citizenship  and 
tolerance  among  young  Europeans  and  to  involve  them  in  shaping  the  Union’s 
future.  It  promotes  multilingualism  by  bringing  young  people  of  different 
nationalities and different languages together and by giving them the opportunity to 
participate in activities outside their country of residence.  

Although  Youth  in  Action  is  not  a  linguistic  programme,  the  non-formal  education 
and  youth  projects  that  it  mainly  supports  are  based  on  trans-national  partnerships, 
which give young people a wonderful opportunity to become acquainted with other 
languages and cultures.  

The  use  of  different  languages  is  not  compulsory,  but  is  strongly  encouraged. 
Linguistic diversity is encouraged within the wider framework of promoting cultural 
diversity and inter-cultural dialogue, which is a priority of the Programme. 

More  specifically,  the  European  Voluntary  Service  component  of  the  Programme 
(Action  2)  promotes  the  learning  of  foreign  languages  in  a  highly  practical  way: 
young  people  may  do  voluntary  work  in  another  country  for  up  to  one  year. 
Promoters  have  to  ensure  that  volunteers  receive  adequate  linguistic  training  when 
they arrive in the country.  

More 
http://ec.europa.eu/youth/index_en.htm. 

information 

on 

youth 

policy 

is 

available 

at: 

More information on the Youth in Action Programme is available at:aaaaaaaaaaaaa 
http://ec.europa.eu/youth/youth-in-action-programme/doc74_en.htm 

2.5. 

Active European citizenship 

‘Europe for citizens’, the current programme to promote active European citizenship 
their 
and  civic  participation,  encourages 
organisations  from  different  countries  in  debates  and  projects  with  a  European 

the  participation  of  citizens  and 

9 

The  languages  eligible  are  the  official  languages  of  the  eligible  countries  (as  defined  by  their 
Constitution or basic laws) plus Latin and ancient Greek. 

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13 

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dimension.  The  ‘Europe  for  citizens’  programme  helps  promote  linguistic  diversity 
as it brings together European citizens of different nationalities who speak different 
languages and gives them the opportunity to participate in common activities.  

Promotion  of  cultural  and  linguistic  diversity  is  a  feature  of  the  Programme  across 
the board, and promoters are strongly encouraged to take it into consideration when 
planning  and  implementing  their  projects.  This  is  clearly  stated  in  the  Programme 
Guide  provided  to  potential  applicants,  and  applies  to  most  actions  for  the  whole 
programme  period  (2007-2013).  Participation  in  projects  supported  by  the  ‘Europe 
for citizens’ programme should indeed raise awareness of the richness of the cultural 
and linguistic environment in Europe. It should also promote mutual understanding 
and tolerance, thereby contributing to the development of a respectful, dynamic and 
multifaceted European identity.  

All projects supported under this programme therefore directly or indirectly promote 
linguistic diversity. For example, almost all town twinning projects have to deal with 
the issue of languages in order to enable the partners to communicate. Some projects 
take  a  very  active  approach  by  including  training  in  the  language  of  the  twinned 
towns  in  their  programme  or  in  the  preparation.  There  are  also  good  examples  of 
participation  in  this  kind  of  project  significantly  raising  participants’  motivation  to 
learn a language as part their normal education.  

More information is available at: http://ec.europa.eu/citizenship/index_fr.html. 

2.6. 

Information society 

In  view  of  the  expanding  online  economy  and  the  ever-increasing  information 
available  in  the  widest  array  of  languages,  information  and  communication 
technologies  (ICT)  need  to  be  language-aware  and  promote  content  creation  in 
multiple  languages,  while  at  the  same  time  providing  the  means  to  bridge  the 
language barriers. This overall goal is supported by i2010 — the policy framework 
for the information society and media — one of the objectives of which is to create a 
Single  European  Information  Space  by  ensuring  seamless  access  to  ICT-based 
services and improving conditions for the development of rich, multilingual content. 

EU  programmes  on  the  information  society  and  media  address  specific  barriers  to 
understanding  and  promote  the  adoption  of  language  technologies  —  automatic 
solutions  that  bridge  the  online  language  barrier  so  that  information  is  not  only 
available on the computer screen or mobile phone, but is available in a language and 
format that the user understands. Language technology can already translate content 
automatically  and  classify,  filter  and  present  information  based  on  automated 
analysis of the content.  

Research 

EU  financial  support  for  research  is  given  through  multi-annual  framework 
programmes. The current seventh framework programme runs from 2007 to 2013. 

The EU supports substantial research efforts to make online content more accessible 
across  languages.  Machine  translation,  self-learning  systems,  speech  recognition, 
information retrieval and semantic web development are examples of research areas 

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which invest large amounts of resources to make machines understand and translate 
human  languages.  The  basic  research  challenges  involve  the  representation  of 
knowledge and models of language inspired by the way humans acquire, remember 
and  apply  knowledge.  Another  important  field  of  research  involves  developing 
algorithms  and  statistical  models  that  can  derive  linguistic  knowledge  (i.e.  ‘learn’ 
language) automatically from large samples of texts and speech recordings.  

Research  in  language  technology  has  wide  application:  the  car  that  understands  a 
driver’s  spoken  commands,  simultaneous  automatic  interpretation  of  lectures,  or 
guiding  visitors  through  museums  in  multiple  languages  are  just  some  examples  of 
the application areas addressed by past and current research projects. 

Access to multilingual content and ICT services 

Research  is  not  the  only  tool  for  supporting  and  promoting  a  multilingual 
information  society.  The  technology  developed  by  researchers  needs  to  be  put  to 
productive  use  in  the  market  and  in  the  public  sector,  so  that  it  ultimately  serves 
Europe’s multilingual citizens. These technologies need to cater for specific business 
models and public service workflows as well as being suited to people’s patterns of 
use and preferences, so that online content and services can be efficiently delivered 
multilingually. This will help to create a single market for online content. 

One  of  the  objectives  of  the  eContent  (2001-2004)  and  eContentplus  (2004-2008) 
programmes was to improve the usability and accessibility of digital content and ICT 
services in a multilingual and multicultural environment. The lessons learnt in these 
two  programmes  will  be  taken  into  account in  shaping  future  action  under  the  ICT 
policy  support  programme,  part  of  the  Competitiveness  and  Innovation  Programme 
(CIP).  

More information: 

http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/activities/ict_psp/index_en.htm 

http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/activities/econtentplus/index_en.htm 

http://ec.europa.eu/avpolicy/other_actions/content_online/index_en.htm 

Digital libraries  

The Digital Libraries initiative aims at making online access to Europe’s cultural and 
scientific  heritage  easier  and  more  attractive.  It  builds  on  Europe’s  rich  heritage, 
combining multicultural and multilingual environments with technological advances. 
A  major  milestone  is  the  creation  of  Europeana,  the  European  Digital  Library,  a 
common  multilingual  access  point  to  cultural  collections  from  all  Member  States. 
The prototype of Europeana will be launched in November 2008 and will give access 
to over two million digital items through a multilingual interface. By 2010, at least 
six million digitised items will be available.  

The Publications  Office  is currently digitalizing  all  EU  publications and  the  results 
will be accessible from the EU-Bookshop internet website. 

More information: 

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15 

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http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/activities/digital_libraries/doc/culture_counci
l/council_conclusions_nov_2006/en.pdf 

http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/activities/digital_libraries/doc/recommendati
on/recommendation/en.pdf 

http://www.Europeana.eu 

Re-use of public sector language resources 

Language  resources  are  valuable  ‘raw  material’  for  developing  machine  translation 
systems and other cross-lingual applications, but also for basic research on language 
models and theories. The linguistic services of the European institutions create large 
amounts  of  language  resources,  such  as  translation  memories  and  documents 
translated in many languages. These resources are one important example of public 
sector information that has a high potential value outside the public body that created 
the information. The Commission promotes the re-use of these huge resources held 
by the public sector for added-value information products and services. One concrete 
example that can be cited is the DGT-TM language resource that has enjoyed wide 
popularity since its release. DGT-TM is a public release of the translation memories 
collected by DG Translation. These machine-readable databases consist of roughly a 
million sentences translated in 22 European languages. This collection represents the 
‘collective memory’ of years of work of EU translators and can be downloaded free 
of charge at http://langtech.jrc.it/DGT-TM.html. 

The re-use of public sector information is mostly promoted through legislation that is 
binding upon Member States and European institutions. The main instruments are the 
Directive 2003/98/EC (on the re-use of public sector information) and Commission 
Decision  2006/291/EC  (on  the  re-use  of  Commission  information).  The  latter 
decision also concerns language resources created by the European institutions, such 
as DGT-TM. 

The  Publications  Office  makes  available  upon  request  a  corpus  of  some  2  million 
Official Journal documents in all languages. 

2.7. 

Research 

Under  the  6th  Framework  Programme  (6FP),  research  was  initiated  on  the  topic 
“Linguistic diversity in a European  knowledge-based society”.  The  objective  of  this 
topic is to examine the role and implication of linguistic diversity in European cultures, 
specifically in view of the efforts to create a European knowledge-based society which 
respects cultural diversities and cross-cultural understanding.  

Two projects, each with a budget of €5M,  were retained for funding in 2006:  

the  main  objectives  of  which  are: 

1.  A  Network  of  Excellence,  “Languages  in  a  Network  of  European  Excellence  – 
to  de-fragment  research  on 
LINEE”, 
multilingualism  by  advocating  a  multidisciplinary  approach  to  the  question  of 
linguistic  diversity;  to  innovate  by  setting  up  research  platforms  that  are  both 
theoretical  and  methodological;  to  promote  the  added  value  of  European  linguistic 
diversity,  both  at  the  level  of  the  general  public  and  at  the  level  of  policy-makers. 
Duration: 48 months, budget €5M, 9 partners ( http://www.linee.info).  

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2.  An  Integrated  Project,  “Languages  Dynamics  and  Management  of  Diversity  – 
DYLAN”, the main objectives of which are: to study the concrete consequences of 
the  increase  in  European  linguistic  diversity  following  the  enlargement  process;  to 
show that this increase in European linguistic diversity can be an asset rather than a 
drawback  in  the  development  of  a  knowledge-based  society  (different  modes  of 
thought  and  action,  linked  to  different  languages,  can  contribute  to  the  process  of 
creation,  transmission  and  application  of  knowledge).  Duration:  60  months,  budget 
€5M, 20 partners ( http://www. dylan-project.orgdylan-project.org).  

As part of the 7th Framework Programme (FP7), under Topic 8 of the “Cooperation” 
Programme  (Socio-economic  sciences  and  the  humanities  –  Budget  €607M),   which 
aims  to  analyse  and  understand  the  current  major  societal  trends,  several  research 
topics  will  tackle  questions  linked  to  multilingualism,  either  directly  or  indirectly. 
For  instance,  research  on  cultural  interaction,  differences  in  traditions  in  European 
societies and cultures, multiculturalism, parallel societies and coexistence of cultural 
identities, participation and citizenship in Europe, history and identities (origins and 
development), cultural heritage and the role of language in European identity will be 
fostered.  

2.8.  Media and the audiovisual sector 

Multilingualism is also promoted in the context of film heritage. In the Recommendation of 
the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 November 2005 on film heritage and the 
competitiveness  of  related  industrial  activities10,  Member  States  are  recommended  to 
encourage and support film heritage institutions to release archival material with subtitles in 
as many European Union languages as possible (point 22.b of the Recommendation). 

The subtitled films and TV programmes could be an attractive and widely accessible means of 
learning new languages and improving already acquired linguistic skills. MEDIA 2007 is the 
EU support programme for the European audiovisual industry. Its aims are: 

•  to  strengthen  the  competitiveness  of  the  European  film,  TV  and  new  media 

industries; 

•  to increase international circulation of European audiovisual works; 

•  to preserve and enhance European cultural diversity. 

The programme is divided into five action lines: 

•  training of professionals  

•  development of production projects and companies  

•  distribution of cinematographic works and audiovisual programmes  

•  promotion of cinematographic works and audiovisual programmes, including the 

support for film festivals  

10 

Recommendation 2005/865/CE, OJ L 323, of 9/12/2005 P. 0057 - 0061 

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•  horizontal actions/pilot projects.  

In  order  to  increase  the  circulation  of  European  audiovisual  works  outside  their  domestic 
markets,  MEDIA  2007  supports  subtitling  and/or  dubbing  of  works  through  the  distribution 
and the promotion action lines. 

Through the eContent and the fifth Research Framework Programme, the European 
Commission has supported the development of automated tools to improve the cost-
effectiveness  and  accuracy  of  subtitling,  such  as  a  system  providing  automatic 
transcription of subtitles from speech to text, and automatic (or assisted) translation 
of subtitles from one language to another. 

More information: 

http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/media/index_en.htm 

http://www.etitle.co.uk/about.php 

http://sifnos.ilsp.gr/musa 

2.9. 

Employment, social affairs and equal opportunities 

The main task of the European Social Fund (ESF) is to support growth and jobs and 
thereby strengthen economic and social cohesion. 

Supporting  language  learning  is  an  important  factor  in  maintaining  and  reinforcing 
people’s skills, facilitating human capital mobility and increasing competitiveness.  

Operational programmes supported by the ESF are designed by Member States and 
approved by the Commission. It is up to Member States to decide on project content. 
Several  operational  programmes  have  tackled  the  issue  of  language  training  and 
multilingualism,  mainly  as  a  way  of  increasing  access  to  employment,  improving 
adaptability and facilitating the social and labour integration. 

For the period 2007 to 2013, the ESF is expected to invest some €11 billion a year 
across all Member States in improving people’s skills and job prospects. Language 
training is one of the many ways to achieve this objective — particularly as language 
training can increase aptitude for vocational training and labour market integration. 
Thus,  although  ‘language  training’  is  not  specifically  mentioned  in  the  priority 
‘enhancing access to employment’, or the sub-priority ‘increasing the participation of 
migrants in employment’ it can, in fact, be supported under any of the priorities of 
the ESF. 

For  the  period  2000-2006,  around  EUR  12  billion  was  allocated  to  the  development  of  life 
long learning, including language learning. To give some examples, in Greece, a 2000-2006 
ESF initiative ‘Greek language for immigrants’, was part of a wider policy to encourage the 
social  and  economic  integration  of  this  community.  This  project  involved  almost  15  000 
mobile and migrant workers throughout 2 years:  

http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/esf/docs/el4_1_en.pdf 

Helping mobile and migrant workers to learn the Greek language is one of the most important 

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first  steps  towards  finding  work  and  combating  social  exclusion,”  says  Dimitris  Psallidas, 
project coordinator within the Ministry of Employment & Social Protection. “This initiative is 
vital if mobile and migrant workers are to settle and integrate into Greek society.” 

In France, the EQUAL initiative FAAR responds to asylum seeker's need for legal advice, in 
combination  with  French  language  courses.  This  need  becomes  even  more  obvious  when 
knowing that in France, asylum seekers rarely receive translation or interpretation services in 
their relations with the administration. Administrative procedures, documents and interviews 
are mostly in French and it is up to the asylum seekers to ensure that they understand. Besides 
dealing  with  the  asylum  process,  asylum  seekers  also  have  to  cope  in  their  everyday 
existence.  

http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/equal/practical-examples/asyl-07-fr-
faar_en.cfm 

2.10. 

Single market policy 

Multilingualism policy is of direct relevance for further development and good functioning of 
the EU's Single Market for two reasons.  

Firstly,  the  more  languages  European  citizens can  speak,  the  easier  they  can  move  between 
Member  States  to  work,  live,  study  or  provide  services,  and  therefore,  the  more  they  can 
benefit from the opportunities offered by the Single Market.  

Secondly, linguistic diversity being a source of benefit and richness, it can nevertheless create 
barriers  for  the  functioning  of  the  Single  Market,  i.e.  for  workers'  mobility,  cross-border 
activities of companies and for effective administrative cooperation between Member States, 
for those who do not have sufficient knowledge of languages. To overcome those barriers, it 
is necessary to make more effective use of new technologies, such as automatic translations or 
automated data exchange systems, to provide linguistic support.  

For instance, the Internal Market Information System (IMI)11 based on automatic translation 
is being developed in order to support the administrative cooperation obligations of thousands 
of Member State authorities across the EU under various pieces of EU legislation. The first 
phase of the IMI is based on pre-translated information in all 23 official EU languages and a 
facility  for  automatic  translation  of  additional  information  in  the  language  pairs  available. 
Both allow Member State Competent Authorities to send and answer information requests in 
their  own  language  and  therefore  facilitate  the  communication  between  them.  The  system 
currently  supports  information  exchange  -  as  required  in  the  Professional  Qualifications 
Directive - in relation  to 4 regulated professions (doctors,  pharmacists, physiotherapists and 
accountants). DG MARKT is further developing the system to allow information exchanges 
in relation to more professions and to support the administrative cooperation requirements of 
the Services Directive. It is intended that IMI can be used in the future to support any area of 
Internal Market legislation which requires administrative cooperation between Member State 
authorities.  

11 

EN 

The  system  was  opened  for  Authority  registration  in  early  November  2007,  and  for  information 
exchange  –  on  22  February  2008. 
link: 
IMI  website 
http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/imi-net/index_en.html 

is  available  on 

following 

the 

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SOLVIT12,  an  on-line  problem  solving  network  between  EU  Member  States,  ensures 
multilingual assistance to ensure that problems caused by the misapplication of Single Market 
law  by  public  authorities  can  be  effectively  solved  without  legal  proceedings.  A  public 
website  in  25  languages  explains  what  SOLVIT  is  and  how  it  works  to  citizens  and 
businesses. Complaints can also be submitted in all of these 25 languages by an on-line form 
or other means. 

Furthermore, in some policy areas, tools have been put in place to make information available 
in  different  languages  to  businesses  to  increase  transparency  and  therefore,  to  ensure  non-
discrimination  and  greater  competition  in  their  cross-border  activities.  For  instance,  in  the 
area  of  public  procurement,  notices  advertising  public  procurement  opportunities  are 
published  in  the  Official  Journal  of  the  EU  (OJEU)/electronic  publication  board  'Tenders 
European  Daily'  (TED)  based  on  structured  online  standard  forms,  large  parts  of  which  are 
standardised  and  can be automatically translated into and/or read immediately in all official 
language  versions13.  Furthermore,  the  Common  Procurement  Vocabulary  (CPV)  is  used  to 
make it easier for businesses to identify public contracts of interest to them. The CPV is an 
alpha-numeric nomenclature by which buyers describe their intended purchase of goods and 
services. In contrast to other classifications available in the market, it exists in all official EU 
languages  14.  Access  to  the  standards  forms,  the  Common  Procurement  Vocabulary  and 
general  public  procurement  information  is  made  available  in  all  EU  languages  through  the 
SIMAP website15. 

As regards provision of services, the Services Directive16 obliges Member States to 
establish "Points of Single Contact" and suggests that those be encouraged to work in 
different Community languages.  

Lastly,  as  regards  patents,  automatic  translation  is  used  by  the  European  Patent 
Office  (EPO)  for  the  purposes  of  its  patent  granting  procedure  and  for  the 
dissemination  of  patent  information17,  and  the  use  of  this  system  is  currently 
considered also in the context of the discussions on the Community patent. 

2.11.  Enterprise policy 

While language learning is not a specific aim of enterprise policy, language barriers 
can be an obstacle to entrepreneurship.  

The  new  pilot  project  ‘ERASMUS  for  young  entrepreneurs’  aims  to  facilitate 
training,  networking  and  exchanges  of  experience  among  young  entrepreneurs  by 
means  of  traineeships  in  small  and  medium-sized  enterprises  (SMEs)  in  another 
country.  

12 
13 

14 
15 
16 

17 

http://ec.europa.eu/solvit/site/about/index_en.htm 
The  automatic  translation  functionality  is  expected  to  be  further  improved  with  the  adoption  of  an 
exclusively electronic 'new generation of standard forms' in the near future.  
http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/publicprocurement/e-procurement_en.htm#cpv 
www.simap.europa.eu 
Directive  2006/123/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  12  December  2006  on 
services in the internal market, OJ L 376, 27.12.2006, p. 36. 
Automatic  translations  are  currently  available  for  English,  German,  Spanish,  Japanese,  Korean  and 
Chinese documents. The development of the system is in progress and further languages will be added 
to it in the near future. 

EN 

20 

   EN 

 
                                                 
Participating  young  entrepreneurs  must  prove  that  they  have  sufficient  linguistic 
skills before going abroad to work with another entrepreneur. They are offered pre-
departure  induction  covering  information  on  the  mobility  scheme,  inter-cultural 
learning  and  relevant  EU  level  information  (on  the  internal  market,  European  law 
issues  etc.).  Depending  on  the  needs  and  the  nature  /  specific  needs  of  the 
relationship with the host entrepreneur, young entrepreneurs may also participate in 
language courses (either before or during their stay abroad). 

the  pilot  project,  see:aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa 
For  more 
http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/entrepreneurship/support_measures/erasmus/index.htm 

information  on 

Technical Regulations Information System — TRIS database 

The public information website TRIS provides economic operators with information 
on  and  access  to  draft  technical  regulations  concerning  products  and  information 
system  services,  in  all  EU  languages,  before  they  are  adopted  in  national  law  by 
Member  States  (with  the  exception of  texts  above 50  pages, which are available in 
DE/EN/FR).  This  enables  operators  to  participate  in  discussions  on  the  draft 
legislation notified and to anticipate legislative changes, for example by adapting the 
products/information society services that they sell or provide in the Member States 
concerned in good time. 

TRIS: http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/tris/ 

2.12.  External relations and development policy 

Languages play an important role in cooperation and public diplomacy activities.  

For  instance,  EU  development  policy  seeks  to  improve  the  quality  of  university 
education  in  developing  countries  by  funding  students  from  developing  countries 
studying  at  European  universities  and  helping  developing  countries  build  the 
capacity to train and retain qualified university staff. Two of the most important EU 
programmes  in  this  respect  are  Erasmus  Mundus  and  Mwalimu  Julius  Nyerere. 
Students with a university degree may be sent abroad to a training in the language of 
their choice (EN, FR, ES or PT).  

http://ec.europa.eu/development/policies/9interventionareas/humandev/humandeved
uc5_en.cfm 

For  EuropeAid,  multilingualism  is  very  important.  Within  the  framework  of  its 
mission  to  implement  external  aid  programmes  and  projects  with  developing 
countries, the Office has daily work contacts with aid workers both in Europe and in 
the partner countries. The Office is, consequently, for numerous European citizens, a 
“showcase”  of  Europe  in  an  area  considered  as  exemplary  in  terms  of  Community 
action.  It  is  also  a  “showcase”  of  Europe  for  numerous  players  in  the  field  outside 
Europe. The appraisal of those involved in cooperation in the field is crucial for the 
image of the Commission and directly affects the political credibility of its activity. 
The  Office  must  therefore  be  very  sensitive  to  the  question  of  multilingualism, 
insofar as language is a major component of everyone’s culture and identity, respect 
for  which  is  deemed  as  the  most  elementary  form  of  respect  due  to  citizens,  both 
inside and outside of Europe.  

EN 

21 

   EN 

 
One of the major objectives in this respect is to focus actions on the appropriation of 
their cultural identity by the groups targeted by the projects/programmes, in order to 
preserve  cultural  diversity  as  a  condition  for  dialogue,  and  therefore  conflict 
prevention,  and  in  turn  development.  Language  is  an  essential  component  of  this 
policy  and  it  goes  without  saying  that  linguistic  diversity  constitutes  and  will 
constitute in the future an objective in its own right of cooperation and development 
actions with the EuropeAid partners.  

Examples  of  programmes  and  actions  managed  by  EuropeAid  Co-operation  Office 
and EC Delegations include:  

“Transcultura”,  financed  under  the  pilot  budget  line  Culture  (2004),  focuses  on 
developing  a  worldwide  observatory  on  the  cultural  content  and  meaning  of  words 
and vocabulary in all languages and between civilisations.  

“Apoyo al sector educativo en Guatemala (PROASE)” (1998-2005), is a programme 
to support the education sector. One of its objectives is to improve the quality of the 
Guatemalan education system, in particular through the development of intercultural 
bilingual education, while taking account of related issues. Through the reduction of 
illiteracy  and  the  improvement  of  the  education  system,  one  finds  recognition  and 
revalorisation  of  indigenous  languages  and  cultures  which  are  the  subject  of  an 
overall reform of the Guatemalan education system.  

“Formación Profesional Tecnológica y Pedagógica en Perú – FORTE-PE” is an older 
project undertaken in Peru in 1995. It included a component, “PROEBI”, consisting 
in  offering  bilingual  training  in  Amazonia,  adapted  to  the  culture  and  needs  of 
indigenous people in order to improve their basic education and their integration.  

2.13. 

Justice, freedom and security 

Multilingualism contributes to better understanding between European citizens and, 
in particular, to improving their awareness of their rights, and facilitates their access 
to  reliable  information.  In  line  with  this,  art.  21  of  the  EC  treaty  provides  all  the 
citizens of the Union with the right to write to any of the institutions or bodies in one 
of the official languages, and to receive an answer in the same language. 

Under the financial instruments in the field of integration of non-EU nationals (INTI, 
Integration Fund, European Refugee Fund), the Commission supports actions which, 
inter  alia,  address  language  training  for  migrants  and  refugees.  Under  the  new 
External  Border  Fund  and  the  European  Refugee  Fund,  border  guards  and  staff 
dealing  with  processing  asylum  claims  and  interviews  can  also  be  given  extra 
language training. 

One of the aims of the policy reflected in the Programme ‘Fundamental Rights and 
Citizenship’ is to foster interfaith and multicultural dialogue in the European Union. 
Multilingualism  should  play  a  significant  role  in  this,  especially  as  the  goal  is  to 
promote exchange of views and experience and to involve Member States as much as 
possible in proposing common projects.  

Criminal Justice Programme 

EN 

22 

   EN 

 
The  Criminal  Justice  Programme  aims  inter  alia  to  promoting  judicial  cooperation 
based on mutual recognition and mutual confidence, promoting the compatibility in 
rules  applicable  in  the  Member  States  as  may  be  necessary  to  improve  judicial 
cooperation and to improve exchange of information. For 2008, the Commission has 
proposed a budget for this programme of €29.8 million. 

In  order  to  raise  mutual  confidence  between  the  authorities  of  the  Member  States, 
judicial training (of legal practitioners, i.e. judges, prosecutors, defence lawyers, etc.) 
is one of the priority areas promoted by this programme (by means of action grants 
covering  70  %  of  the  total  eligible  costs  of  the  projects).  Judicial  training  aims  at 
improving  familiarity  with  EU  legal  instruments  and  policies,  improving  language 
skills  of  legal  practitioners  and  developing  familiarity  with  the  legal  and  judicial 
systems  of  other  Member  States.  The  language  training  covers  the  development  of 
common  training  modules,  the  use  of  modern  technologies  and  training  on 
interpretation and translation.  

Furthermore,  the  JPEN  programme  has  entrusted  the  European  Judicial  Training 
Network (EJTN) to execute a specific exchange programme which allows financing 
the  organisation  of  internships  or  secondment  of  judges  and  prosecutors  from  one 
Member State to the courts or prosecution offices of another. The Programme should 
also  contribute  to  improving  language  skills.  Therefore,  language  training  with  a 
view  to  preparing  the  exchanges  themselves  may  be  included,  as  well  as  the 
development of on-line training and the drafting of a glossary of legal terminology. 

Civil Justice Programme 

The  Civil  Justice  Programme  aims  inter  alia  to  promoting  judicial  cooperation  based  on 
mutual recognition and mutual confidence, promoting the elimination of obstacles to the good 
functionning of cross-border civil proceedings in the member States and to improve exchange 
of information and networking between legal, judicial and administrative authorities and the 
legal  professions,  including  by  way  of  support  of  judicial  trainning.  For  2008,  the 
Commission has proposed a budget for this programme of €14.3 million. 

In  order  to  raise  mutual  confidence  between  the  authorities  of  the  Member  States,  judicial 
training is one of the priority areas promoted by this programme (by means of action grants 
covering 80 % of the total eligible costs of the projects). Judicial training aims at improving 
exchange of information and networking between legal, judicial and administrative authorities 
and the legal professions. The language training is also a key issue to ensure the better mutual 
understanding among such authorities and professionals. European Judicial Network in civil 
and commercial matters 

The  European  Judicial  Network  aims  to  reinforce  judicial  cooperation  in  civil 
matters.  The  two  basic  objectives  of  the  Network  are  improving  effective  judicial 
cooperation  between  the  Members  States  in  civil  and  commercial  matters  and 
assuring effective access to justice for persons engaging in cross-border litigation.  

The  Network  was  formed  with  the  aim  of  making  matters  easier  for  those  who 
become  involved  in  cross-border  disputes,  that  is  disputes  with  links  to  more  than 
one  country,  by  providing  help  with  practical  matters.  The  Network  therefore 
facilitates appropriate contacts  between  the  authorities  of  the  Member  States,  holds 
periodic meetings of contact points and members of the Network and draws up and 

EN 

23 

   EN 

 
updates information on judicial cooperation in civil and commercial matters and the 
legal systems of the Member States.  

The Network has developed an Internet-based system containing information on EU 
and  national  law.  The  information  is  available  in  all  EU  official  languages  (except 
Irish).  Therefore,  multilingualism  is  extremely  helpful  here  in  facilitating  and 
ensuring effective access to justice for citizens and enterprises.  

Judicial Atlas in Civil Matters 

be 

can 

which 

The  European  Judicial  Atlas  in  Civil  Matters  is  a  very  practical  tool  created  by  the 
Commission 
at 
.  Through  this  tool,  any  legal 
http://europa.eu.int/comm/justice_home/judicialatlascivil 
professional  or  citizen  can  accede,  in  one  of  the  European  Union  official  languages  (except 
Irish),  to  the  designations,  addresses  and  territorial  jurisdiction  of  all  the  European  Union 
courts.  Furthermore,  the  corresponding  procedures  are  facilitated  as  far  as  possible  by 
enabling  the  user  to  fill  in  on  line  the  various  forms  that  exist  for  the  application  of  the 
different legal instruments. Therefore, multilingualism is extremely helpful here in facilitating 
and ensuring effective access to justice and better cooperation between judicial authorities. 

online 

found 

e-Justice  

As the demands on judicial systems increase across Europe and transnational demand 
grows  steadily,  because  of  enhanced  mobility  of  economic  operators  and  citizens, 
traditional  systems  are  failing  to  provide  an  adequate  response  to  new  needs. 
Transnational justice presents peculiar features and poses particular challenges which 
require  adequate  and  innovative  solutions.  Among  the  main  drawbacks  of 
transnational justice are language barriers.  

e-Justice  represents  an  initial  response  to  the  threefold  need  to  improve  access  to 
justice,  cooperation  between  legal  authorities  and  the  effectiveness  of  the  judicial 
system itself. In the framework of the Communication on e-Justice, multilingualism 
represents a major challenge to the development of a genuine European judicial area. 
Judicial proceedings take place almost exclusively in the national language, and the 
use of foreign languages is admitted only marginally. The Commission is therefore 
proposing actions targeting translation and interpretation in judicial settings. 

Moreover, the creation of a European e-Justice portal for the public and enterprises 
will  serve  as  the  face  of  the  European  area  of  justice  vis-à-vis  citizens,  facilitating 
access  to  information  and  direct  access  to  certain  European  procedures.  In  this 
respect multilingualism should play a significant role, facilitating access by citizens 
and  enterprises  to  justice  in  Europe  and  leading  to  more  effective  judicial 
cooperation. 

2.14.  Communication 

The Commission considers that citizens have the right to be informed on European 
policies  in  the  language  that  they  understand.  This  has  been  formally  stated  in  its 
action plan for communication.  

In concrete terms, the Commission meets the need to address citizens in a language 
which is appropriate for them in the following way:  

EN 

24 

   EN 

 
•  At national and local level, the Commission Representations address the public 
in  their  own  national  language  (s).  Therefore  several  information  messages  and 
products  relating  to  the  EU  are  translated  and  adapted  to  the  different  national 
contexts  by  the  "field  offices"  of  DGT  in  the  Representations.  The  Commission 
Representations  also  work  with  the  European  Parliament  Information  Offices  in 
order  to  provide  meeting  and  debating  opportunities,  national  or  transnational, 
between  citizens  and  institutions  in  order  to  develop  a  European  public  sphere 
within  which  multilinguism  plays  a  key  role:  projects  supported  by  the  "Debate 
Europe"  initiative  or  the  "European  Public  Spaces"  currently  in  preparation  are 
concrete examples. Moreover, the information relays spread across the European 
Union,  such  as  "Europe  Direct",  also  address  the  public  in  its  own  national 
language (s). In some cases (such as boundary or touristic regions) they will also 
offer information in other languages.  

•  Information  campaigns  on  a  specific  topic  incorporate  the  dimension  of 
multilingualism  from  the  design  phase,  since  the  number  of  languages  used 
depends on the needs of the audience targeted and the regions covered.  

•  The  EuropeDirect  call  centre,  accessible  via  a  free  number,  answers  telephone 

calls and e-mails in the 23 official languages.  

•  The written publications for the general public are also written in the 23 official 
languages.  In  an  ad  hoc  way,  some  publications  targeted  at  a  specialised  public 
can be published only in a limited number of language versions.  

On  the  Europa  website  the  pages  of  general  interest targeted  at  the  general  public 
are  essentially  multilingual,  i.e.  published  in  all  the  official  languages.  For  the 
specialised pages (targeted at professionals), the choice of languages depends on the 
targeted audience. For pages with fleeting contents, the speed of on-line publication 
is essential and the number of language versions has to be limited. In any case, with 
the aim of maximising the number of visitors, the Commission endeavours to achieve 
the right balance between the number of languages used, the quantity of information 
published,  and  the  resources  needed  for  the  translation  and  administration  of  the 
sites.  

Within  the  framework  of  its  support  to  the  dissemination  of  information  on  the 
European  Union,  the  Commission  has  a  contract  with  the  Euronews  television 
network, which is by nature multilingual, and with a network of different language 
radios which share their productions after dubbing (Euradio network).  

2.15.  Health and consumer protection 

Public  health  is  a  key  issue  for  all  European  citizens,  and  many  Commission 
activities  have  a  highly  visible  impact  in  this  area.  In  May  2006,  the  Commission 
launched the EU’s public health portal on europa.eu. It is intended as an easy access 
‘one-stop shop’ for Europeans wanting to find out what is happening across a broad 
spectrum  of  health  issues  in  their  own  country  and  across  Europe.  It  is  also  a  key 
means  for  the  Commission  to  show  citizens  in  their  own  language  what  the  EU  is 
doing for them, and the means it uses to deploy them. It is, crucially, a gateway to all 
EU information on public health. In addition, Member States and other organisations 
provide information for the portal.  

EN 

25 

   EN 

 
http://ec.europa.eu/health-eu/index_en.htm 

2.16.  Translation 

The EU is a major employer of translators and an important player in the European 
translation  market.  Therefore,  it  has  ensure  an  adequate  supply  of  highly-qualified 
translators to meet its requirements and those of the wider translation market. This is 
why  it  follows  the  developments  in  translation  training  in  Europe  closely  and 
contributes  to  them.  The  Commission  has  built  contacts  with  many  European 
universities via the Visiting Translator Scheme (VTS), where DGT staff participate 
in teaching while improving their own skills in the local language.  

Initiatives to promote the profession of translator 

The  ‘European  Master’s  in  Translation’  (EMT)  is  a  project  that  encourages 
European universities to establish a common curriculum for translator training.  

The EMT aims to:  

–  encourage universities to develop post-graduate courses in translation and provide 

them with a model curriculum of a Master’s degree in translation; 

–  develop the labour market for translators in the new Member States;  

–  make DGT standards visible to the academic world across the European Union; 

–  promote multilingualism by strengthening the Commission’s ties with universities 
involved  in  translation  research  and  teaching,  and  train  professional  translators, 
enhancing standards where necessary. 

Following the second EMT conference, which took place in March 2008, universities 
across  the  EU  are  being  encouraged  to  join  the  EMT  network  and  actively 
participate. An open call will be made in the second half of 2008. 

The  initiative  Juvenes  Translatores  is  a  translation  contest  for  pupils  of  European 
schools  intended  to  disseminate  understanding  of  the  translation  profession  and,  in 
addition, to familiarise students with European language policy.  

The contest, announced in the 2005 Communication on multilingualism, took place 
in 2007 as a contribution to the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Treaties. It 
was held simultaneously in all Member States on 14 November 2007. Just under 300 
schools  from  all  over  the  EU  entered  the  contest.  The  winner  in  each  country  was 
invited to Brussels and received an award  from  Commissioner Orban on  10 March 
2008. The contest will be held again on 27 November 2008. 

Communicating on multilingualism 

The themes of the Commission’s languages portal are linguistic diversity, language 
learning, language teaching, translation, interpretation and language technology. All 
contents are published in 23 languages. 

http://europa.eu/languages/ 

EN 

26 

   EN 

 
The  Commission  is  active  in  terminology  work  and,  together  with  other  European 
institutions, has created the terminology database IATE (Interactive Terminology for 
Europe),  which  is  accessible  on  the  Internet  to  European  institutions’  staff  and  to 
external  users  all  over  the  world,  including  the  public  at  large.  In  this  way,  the 
Commission is contributing to the work of translators and all other users interested in 
terminology work, as well as all those using EU-related expressions in their work. 

http://iate.europa.eu 

Field  Offices  located  in  21  Commission  Representations,  provide  a  network  for 
multilingualism in the Member States and act as an interface with national language 
communities,  institutions  and  researchers  dealing  with  multilingualism.  The 
members of staff visit universities, give lectures and are prime interlocutors for the 
‘language’ community in the Member State. 

2.17. 

Interpretation 

The  interpreting  service  of  the  Commission  and  the  Interpreting  Directorate  of  the 
European  Parliament  were  instrumental  in  creating  the  European  Master’s  in 
Conference  Interpreting  (EMCI).  This  programme  is  designed  for  students  with 
European and non-European languages. Its aim is to equip young graduates with the 
professional  skills  and  knowledge  required  for  conference  interpreting.  It  seeks  to 
meet the demand for highly-qualified conference interpreters, particularly in the area 
of the less widely-used and less-taught languages and in view of the expansion of the 
Union and of its increasing dialogue with its non-European partners. The curriculum 
was  developed  in  consultation  with  the  EU  institutions  and  continuation  of  this 
cooperation is an integral part of the Commission’s assistance programme. 

http://www.emcinterpreting.org/ 

The  Commission  awards  student  grants  to  post-graduate  students  in  interpretation. 
Since  1998  about  1 185  young  people  have  benefited  from  this  scheme.  A 
considerable  number  of  them  completed  their  studies  successfully  and  work  as 
interpreters for the EU institutions. 

Student  grants  are  awarded  to  nationals  of  an  EU  Member  State,  or  one  of  the 
candidate  countries  (Croatia,  fYROM  and  Turkey),  who  already  hold  a  university 
degree  or  equivalent  qualification,  or  are  in  the  final  year  of  a  course  leading  to  a 
university degree or equivalent qualification. To obtain a grant, students must have 
applied or intend to apply for a full post-graduate course in conference interpreting at 
a recognised university or university-level institution. 

http://scic.ec.europa.eu/europa/jcms/c_6344/bourse-d-etudes 

The  Commission  and  the  European  Parliament  jointly  provide  grants  to  co-finance 
actions  which  bring  an  additional  European  dimension  to  a  course,  e.g.  teaching 
unusual  language  combinations,  funding  cross-border  cooperation  projects  and 
running  post-graduate  conference  interpreting  courses  —  17  action  grants  were 
awarded in 2007-2008. 

The main objectives of these actions are: 

EN 

27 

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•  promoting  quality  and  linguistic  diversity  in  the  teaching  of  interpreting  in  the 
official  languages  of  the  EU,  including  the  less  widely  used  languages,  the 
languages  of  the  candidate  countries  (Croatia,  fYROM  and  Turkey)  and  the 
languages of non-EU countries, where justified by current or future needs;  

•  promoting the establishment of post-graduate centres of excellence;  

•  encouraging cooperation among universities from different countries;  

•  supporting innovative pilot projects. 

Cooperation programmes exist with China, Vietnam and Macao. Each year, groups 
of  trainees  come  to  Brussels  to  be  trained  by  the  interpreting  service  of  the 
Commission. The aim of the traineeships is to teach trainees the basic techniques of 
conference  interpreting  —  consecutive  and  simultaneous  —  as  practised  in  the  EU 
institutions.  Trainees  also  learn  about  EU  culture  and  institutions,  through  lectures 
and  visits  to  Member  States.  As  regards  China,  after  completing  their  training, 
former trainees may be called upon to work at meetings (in China) between the EU 
and China. 

A  programme  of  cooperation  with  Russia  has  recently  been  revived.  This  year,  an 
English  interpreter  is  visiting  both  St.  Petersburg  (Herzen  State  University)  and 
Moscow  State  Linguistic  University,  on  pedagogical  assistance  missions.  The  two 
universities  are  in  the  process  of  setting  up  Master’s  courses,  on  the  model  of  the 
EMCI. 

The  Commission  started  cooperation  with  the  African  Union  in  2007  in  the 
framework of the Joint EU-Africa Strategy. Discussions are ongoing on the best way 
to give assistance in the field of interpretation and conference organisation. 

The  Commission  also  provides  pedagogical  assistance  to  some  universities  in  the 
candidate  countries:  to  the  interpreter  training  course  at  the  University  of  Zagreb 
(Croatia),  and  to  the  course  in  Skopje  (fYROM)  that  was  launched  in  2007. 
Regarding  Turkey,  Bogaziçi  University  (Istanbul)  and  Bilkent  University  (Ankara) 
have benefited from DG SCIC’s teaching assistance.  

DG Interpretation convened a Reflection Forum on Multilingualism and Interpreter Training, 
composed of 7 experts of various nationalities. The Reflection Forum was set up taking into 
consideration point III.6 of the Commission's Communication A new framework strategy for 
multilingualism  (COM(2005)  596  final):  “…Interpreters  also  help  the  institutions  of 
multilingual societies to function. They support immigrant communities in courts, hospitals, 
police and immigration services. Properly trained, interpreters thus contribute to safeguarding 
human and democratic rights.” 

The  main  purpose  of  the  Reflection  Forum  is  to  provide  independent,  operational 
recommendations  concerning  the  wider  scope  of  interpreter  training  –  development  of 
competence  descriptions,  guidelines,  materials,  tools,  level  of  training,  core  curricula,  best 
practices, ethics, code of conduct, and any other related aspects, paying particular attention to 
Legal Interpreting. These reflections can also contribute to widening training options that may 
ultimately also benefit the European Institutions. 

EN 

28 

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The work of the Reflection Forum will take into consideration DG Interpretation's expertise in 
conference interpreter training, as well as other activities, in particular those already carried 
out in the field of justice, freedom and security in the past few years. The work of the Forum 
is expected to be finalized at the end of 2008 or early 2009. 

3. 

3.1. 

STUDIES ON MULTINGUALISM AND THE TEACHING OF LANGUAGES 

The  Intercultural  Competences  Developed  in  Compulsory  Foreign  Languages 
Education in the European Union (LACE) 

This study identified and assessed the nature, scope and extent of intercultural skills 
currently taught in compulsory foreign language education in the European Union. 

The  study  concludes  that  foreign  language  classes  provide  appropriate  settings  for 
developing intercultural competence. They already fulfil this purpose on quite a wide 
scale,  though  the  range  of  intercultural  competence  prescribed  for  development  by 
the curriculum is often limited. At EU level, research should continue. It should be 
expanded to other levels of education and should raise awareness of the nature of and 
need for intercultural competence development. Support for intercultural competence 
development  in  foreign-language  learning  should  be  available  within  the  European 
Commission’s  Lifelong  Learning  Programme.  As  a  prerequisite  to  improving 
intercultural  competence  development  at  national  level,  the  study  recommends 
increased  teacher  mobility,  teacher  and  school  exchanges,  partnerships  and  visits, 
and  increased  understanding  of  intercultural  competence  development  among 
teachers  and  administrators.  The  study  also  considers  it  important  to  allocate  more 
funding  and  give  more  time  to  intercultural  competence  development  in  foreign 
language  and  other  classes.  Greater  attention  to  intercultural  competence  in  initial 
foreign-language  teacher  education  and  in  professional  development  courses  is 
recommended, as is a clear specification in foreign language curricula of objectives 
on intercultural competence development, attainment levels and assessment. Finally, 
development of suitable approaches, methodologies, teaching and learning resources 
is necessary.  

The  work,  completed  in  2007,  was  carried  out  by  a  team  of  20  experts  and 
researchers  from  12  European  countries  (Belgium,  Denmark,  Finland,  France, 
Germany,  Greece,  Hungary,  Italy,  Poland,  Slovenia,  United  Kingdom  and 
Netherlands).  The  point  of  departure  was  a  review  of  national  curricula  in  the  12 
countries to examine the development of intercultural competence, the main teaching 
methods they recommend, and how this matches with practice in the classroom. The 
study  was  confined  to  foreign  language  teaching  at  ISCED  levels  1  and  2,  i.e. 
primary and lower secondary education. After the curricula were examined, an online 
survey  of  213  foreign  language  teachers  was  held  and  telephone  interviews 
conducted  with  78  of  them  (34  teaching  in  primary  and  54  in  lower  secondary 
education). These interviews provided detailed information about the practices they 
most commonly used in the classroom.  

Full study and summary can be downloaded from:  

http://ec.europa.eu/education/policies/lang/key/studies_en.html 

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3.2. 

Report on the diversity of language teaching offered in the European Union  

In order to evaluate developments in language teaching in the various Member States 
at  primary,  lower  secondary  and  upper  secondary  level,  the  report  addressed  a 
number  of  questions,  including  which  languages  are  being  taught  in  EU  Member 
States, at what stage and in which order they are introduced. It also looks at emerging 
trends. 

Many  countries  pay  little  attention  to  the  study  of  languages  other  than  English  at 
primary  school level, though  some are  making  the effort to increase the number of 
languages  taught.  Similar  findings  emerge  at  lower  and  upper  secondary  school 
levels,  but  every  Member  State  has  its  own  priorities.  One  way  of  increasing  the 
teaching  of  languages  is  to  introduce  the  learning  of  several  languages  in  the  same 
school  year.  Certain  countries  which  have  several  official  languages  (like  Belgium 
and Luxembourg) do this. Others prefer to offer language studies as a specialisation. 
In  very  few  Member  States  do  significant  numbers  of  pupils  learn  languages  other 
than those most commonly taught (English, French, German and Spanish), and these 
tend  to  be  cases  in  which  the  languages  of:  neighbouring  states  (such  as  Italian  in 
Malta),  national  minorities  (Hungarian  in  the  Czech  Republic)  or  former  powers 
(such as Russian in Bulgaria or Danish in Iceland) are offered. 

This  report  shows  that  there  is  support  for  linguistic  diversity  but  it  also  mentions 
competition  between  languages  and  between  subjects  for  time  in  the  curriculum  as 
well as competition between schools for pupils. The main motivating factor behind 
expanding the study of languages is often prestige: the value of a language for social 
mobility. The most efficient way to teach languages is to introduce a greater number 
of  compulsory  languages,  and/or  to  introduce  languages  at  an  earlier  age.  Policies 
should  try  to  avoid  placing  languages  in  competition,  perhaps  by  offering  them 
successively  so  that  the  gain  in  one  language  can  be  exploited  for  another.  There 
must  be  a  change  away  from  teaching  languages  as  autonomous  subjects.  Use  of 
language in a social context emphasises the role of all subjects in language teaching, 
and the role of language in every subject. 

The indicators used in the report are the proportion of pupils learning languages and 
the number of languages taught. The data used to establish whether or not a county 
had  increased  the  number  of  languages  taught  or  the  number  of  pupils  learning 
languages  come  from  Eurostat  sources.  A  collection  of  examples  of  good  practice 
and recommendations for further development complete the report. 

The full study and summary can be downloaded from:  

http://ec.europa.eu/education/policies/lang/key/studies_en.html. 

3.3. 

Effects  on  the  European  Economy  of  Shortages  of  Foreign  Language  Skills  in 
Enterprise (ELAN)  

The  objective  of  the  ELAN  survey  was  to  provide  the  Commission  and  decision-
makers  in  Member  States  with  practical  information  and  analysis  of  the  use  of 
language skills by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and their impact on 
business performance.  

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According to this study, 11% of exporting European SMEs (945 000 companies) had 
lost business due to a lack of language skills. It also identified a clear link between 
languages  and  export  success.  The  four  central  elements  of  language  management 
associated  with  successful  export  performance  are:  taking  a  strategic  approach  to 
multilingual  communication,  appointing  native  speakers,  recruiting  staff  with 
language skills and using translators and interpreters. There could be very significant 
gains across the whole EU economy if all exporting SMEs employed one or more of 
these techniques. The survey also confirmed the importance of English as the world 
business  language.  Thus  there  is  a  need  for  a  range  of  other  languages  if  business 
relationships  are  to  be  built  successfully.  Those  cited  as  being  the  most  important 
include  the  main  European  languages,  such  as  German,  French  and  Spanish,  but 
increasingly  also  other  world  languages  like  Mandarin,  Arabic  and  Russian. 
Moreover,  according  to  the  research,  nearly  half  of  the  exporting  SMEs  surveyed 
were planning to expand into new foreign markets in the next three years and their 
demand  for  language  skills  would  increase  accordingly.  However,  instead  of 
investing  in  language  training  themselves,  they  preferred  to  look  to  the  Member 
States’ education and training systems to provide graduates with the right language 
skills or they simply searched on the labour market for geographically mobile people 
with the required language skills. 

The  report  recommends  identifying  and  disseminating  models  of  successful 
collaboration  between  business  and  education,  directed  towards  the  promotion  of 
language  skills,  and  the  examination  of  the  potential  of  existing  mobility 
programmes to accommodate periods of work experience in other countries for SME 
employees. Another suggestion concerned developing and supporting programmes to 
raise awareness of the importance of language skills and of the availability of support 
systems.  The  researchers  recommended  supporting  businesses  to  become  more 
expert  at  managing  language  skills  and  in  applying  the  elements  of  language 
management  which  are  associated  with  improved  export  performance.  They  also 
proposed  strengthening  (foreign)  language  learning  in  education  and  training  at  all 
levels  and  improving  the  supply  of  interpreters  and  translators  in  less  commonly-
taught languages. They would  like to see a period  of  mobility  in  another  European 
country become an expectation for every student in tertiary education and to build on 
existing  language  skills  by  encouraging  development  of  the  languages  spoken  by 
children of migrant workers alongside the national language of their host country.  

The  results  build  on  a  survey  of  nearly  2000  SMEs  from  29  European  states  (EU, 
EEA  and  candidate  countries).  Data  was  collected  on  approaches  to  the  use  of 
language  skills,  intercultural  competence,  awareness  of  language  strategies,  loss  of 
business  owing  to  lack  of  language  skills,  future  exporting  intentions  and  hence 
projected  requirements  for  further  language  skills.  The  report  was  presented  in 
December 2006. 

This  research  was  undertaken  by  CILT,  the  UK  National  Centre  for  Languages  in 
collaboration with InterAct International and an international team of researchers.  

full 

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http://ec.europa.eu/education/policies/lang/doc/elan_en.pdf. 

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http://ec.europa.eu/education/policies/lang/doc/elansum_en.pdf. 

is  available  at:aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa 

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3.4. 

The  main  pedagogical  principles  underlying  the  teaching  of  languages  to  very 
young learners  

The purpose of this study was to examine the main pedagogical principles underlying 
the  teaching  of  languages  to  very  young  learners  as  evidenced  in  literature  and 
current best practice, taking into account the conceptual differences between Member 
States. It was launched in the context of the Action Plan 2004-2006, which furthers 
the principle of ‘mother tongue plus two other languages’ from an early age, and the 
numerous  initiatives  in  Member  States  to  introduce  early  language  learning 
programmes, and was completed in 2007. 

The authors analysed the literature and research published since 1998 when a report 
by Blondin et al reviewed the literature on early language learning, and extracted the 
pedagogical principles dealt with. The studies reviewed offer no conclusive evidence 
of the positive effects of early language learning (ELL). What they do show is that it 
is  in  no  way  damaging  and  certainly  contributes  to  building  language  competence 
early,  assuming  that  it  is  not  forced  and  that  it  is  accompanied  by  good  teaching 
methods and skills, a supportive environment and continuity. Success in teaching a 
modern  language  to  young  learners,  if  it  is  to  extend  beyond  the  individual  school 
and  inspired  individual  teacher,  is  heavily  dependent  on  a  whole  range  of  factors: 
sufficient  amount  and  distribution  of  time  and  intensity,  well  trained  teachers 
supported  by  suitable  language  pedagogy,  teaching  and  learning  strategies, 
evaluation  and  ICT  tools,  etc.  National  authorities  and  transnational  bodies  should 
support  ELL  through  planned  initiatives  which  include  systematic  research  and 
development. 

Practice  in  European  countries  considered  by  professionals  to  be  ‘good’  was  then 
discussed thoroughly with researchers and policy makers and compared with official 
documents prescribing early language learning at national level. On the basis of the 
analysis, a number of important principles were identified. 

Principles  with  a  clear  relationship  to  the  personality  of  the  child  and  his  or  her 
cognitive  functioning  include:  frequent  exposure  to  the  foreign  language;  taking 
account  of  the  full  range  of  learner  characteristics;  encouraging  tolerance  towards 
others and providing familiarity with different sets of values. 

General  principles  related  to  learning,  didactical  concepts  and  instruction  include: 
taking  account  of  the  learning  strategies  and  learning  styles  of  children;  providing 
meaningful  contexts  and  relevant  themes;  and  putting  comprehension  skills  before 
production. 

Principles  related  to  language  learning  include:  holistic  language  learning;  a  visual 
approach  and  multi-sensory  learning;  learning  should  be  age-related,  taking  full 
advantage of the children’s physical predispositions. 

Among  the  principles  defined  as  unique  to  early  language  learning  are:  more 
comprehension than production; positive motivation to learn; training of the ear and 
training in pronunciation, and extension and training of the relationship in a foreign 
language between phonetics and graphemes. 

The full study and summary can be downloaded from 

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http://ec.europa.eu/education/languages/eu-language-policy/doc126_en.htm  

3.5. 

European profile for language teacher education 

The objective of this study was to draw up a common set of competencies and values 
for language teachers in Europe. The curricula and structures for training teachers of 
a  foreign  language  must  adapt  to  the  changing  language  skills  that  pupils  and 
students  need  to  acquire,  but  also  to  the  new  realities  of  the  modern  school  and 
classroom. The European Profile which resulted in 2004 was conceived as a frame of 
reference for policy makers and language teacher educators, which should become an 
essential  checklist  for  all  who  are  involved  in  language  teacher  training  and 
education. 

Drawing  on  good  practice  across  Europe  and  in  consultation  with  a  group  of 
international  teacher  educators,  the  Profile  presents  40  key  items  which  could  be 
included in teacher education courses. It details how courses can best be structured 
and  delivered  to  give  trainee  teachers  access  to  essential  learning  opportunities 
during initial and in-service teacher education. In particular, it focuses on innovative 
teacher  education  practices  and  ways  of  promoting  cooperation,  exchange  and 
mobility  among  the  new  generation  of  Europe’s  language  teachers.  The  issues 
developed  in  the  profile  are  in  step  with  a  Commission  Communication  on 
improving  the  quality  of  teacher  education  and  the  Council  conclusions  which 
followed in November 2007. 

Building  on  this,  the  Commission  also  carried  out  a  preliminary  study  in  2006  on 
detecting and removing obstacles to the mobility of foreign language teachers. 

Full studies and a summary of the European Profile can be downloaded from: 

http://ec.europa.eu/education/languages/eu-language-policy/doc126_en.htm 

http://ec.europa.eu/education/policies/lang/doc/profile_en.pdf 

Follow up by ELIN 

ELIN — The European Language Inspectors Network set up in 2005 following the 
Commission Action Plan on Promoting Language Learning and Linguistic Diversity 
2004-2006 — discussed the 40 recommendations in the European Profile with a view 
to extracting those considered most essential for language teacher education. Having 
studied the document in depth, ELIN highlighted the following core elements. 

Dedicated training programme 

In  the  first  place,  provision  of  specific  training  for  language  teachers  must  be 
assured,  the  existence  of  which  seemed  to  be  taken  for  granted  in  the  European 
Profile. This training should include a curriculum that integrates academic study and 
practical experience of teaching. This teaching practice (the ‘stage’ or ‘practicum’) 
should  be  guided  by  an  explicit  framework  which  stipulates  how  teaching  practice 
will  be  organised  and  who  will  be  responsible  for  feedback  on  the  school-based 
experience. 

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Foreign-language  teacher  education  should  be  structured  to  include  experience 
abroad:  a  period  of  work  or  study  in  a  country  or  countries  where  the  trainee’s 
foreign  language  is  spoken  as  native;  participation  in  links  with  partners  abroad, 
including  visits,  exchanges  or  ICT  links;  and  the  opportunity  to  observe  and 
participate in teaching in more than one country. Obstacles to mobility such as those 
identified through the study mentioned above need to be addressed. The Commission 
might consider drafting a mobility strategy specifically for foreign language teachers. 
Working  with  a  mentor  and  understanding  the  value  of  mentoring  should  be  an 
integral part of the strategy, and for this purpose, training for school-based mentors 
in how to mentor is essential. Flexible and modular delivery of initial and in-service 
education is more accessible and attractive to a diverse range of trainees.  

During  their  careers,  language  teachers  require  regular  paid  access  to  in-service 
training  and  opportunities  for  lifelong  learning  to  enable  individual  competence 
development and continuous improvement of teaching skills. 

Knowledge, understanding and values 

Proficiency in the language to be taught should be reached by the end of training, but 
a  sufficient  level  of  knowledge  is  required  before  starting  training  (level  B2  is 
recommended as a minimum access level). Initial language teacher education should 
include a course in language proficiency and assess trainees’ linguistic competence. 
The  level  of  proficiency  attained  will  differ  depending  on  whether  teachers  are 
preparing  for  a  career  in  primary  or  secondary  education.  Language  teachers’ 
continuing  professional  development  should  ensure 
language 
competence is maintained and enhanced on an ongoing basis. 

that  personal 

Teachers need to be conversant with different pedagogical methods and state-of-the-
art  techniques  to  apply  them  to  the  different  learning  abilities  and  levels  of  the 
student. This requires: training in language teaching methodologies, and in state-of-
information  and 
the-art  classroom 
communication  technology  (ICT)  for  pedagogical  use  in  the  classroom  to  enhance 
language  learning;  ICT  for  personal  planning,  organisation  and  accessing  new 
resources  and  information;  and  awareness  raising  of  the  use  of  ICT  to  develop 
students’ knowledge. 

techniques  and  activities; 

training 

in 

Assessment  techniques  are  a  crucial  part  of  the  job  and  require  training  in  the 
application of various assessment (formative, summative and peer assessment, self-
assessment) procedures and ways of recording and reporting learners’ progress in the 
skills  of  language  acquisition  (listening,  speaking,  reading,  writing),  e.g.  using  the 
European  Language  Portfolio.  Training  in  the  critical  evaluation  of  nationally  or 
regionally  adopted  curricula  in  terms  of  aims,  objectives  and  outcomes  is  also 
necessary. 

Foreign language teachers have a vital role to play in promoting social and cultural 
values.  Their  training  should  include  awareness  and  understanding  of  this  role,  of 
linguistic diversity in Europe, of the linguistic profile of the countries in which the 
languages they teach are spoken, and of how they themselves can create interest in 
cultures and languages.  

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It  is  important  to  strengthen  the  self-image  of  foreign  language  teachers  and  their 
identification with language teachers in general and not with teachers of a particular 
language  only.  Team-work,  collaboration  and  networking  with  peers  are  relevant 
areas  to  be  developed  in  order  to  achieve  this.  Contacts  and  effective  professional 
support  networks  between  language  teachers  at  a  regional,  national  and  European 
level should be encouraged, to enable teachers to keep up with developments in their 
profession. 

The  Network  judges  Content  and  Language  Integrated  Learning  (CLIL)  to  be  an 
aspect of language teaching that merits development and wider application.  

3.6. 

Study  on  Dubbing  and  Subtitling  Needs  and  Practices  in  the  European 
Audiovisual Industry 

The  purpose  of  the  ‘Study  on  Dubbing  and  Subtitling  Needs  and  Practices  in  the 
European Audiovisual Industry’, is to explore dubbing and subtitling practices in the 
31  countries  participating  in  the  MEDIA  2007  programme.  The  study  is  also 
intended  to  provide  recommendations  regarding  measures  to  be  taken  by  the 
European  Community  in  order  to  encourage  linguistic  diversity,  whilst  reducing 
obstacles to the movement of audiovisual works on the international market. 

This assessment of current dubbing and subtitling practices was carried out to reflect 
the  goals  of  the  MEDIA  programme:  increase  the  circulation  of  European  works; 
boost the competitiveness of the European audiovisual sector; and promote cultural 
and linguistic diversity. 

Among many results are some which concern multilingualism in particular. Firstly, 
the various language-teaching modalities, and the number of languages spoken from 
country to country, make for a European map quite different to that suggested by the 
dubbing/subtitling  professions.  Television  plays  a  minor  role  in  the  learning  of 
languages; in fact, the only situation in which television could be considered to really 
play  a  role  is  in  the  case  of  intralinguistic  subtitling  (not  common  in  Europe) 
combined  with  total  immersion  in  the  foreign  country.  Secondly,  some  university 
specialists suggest that subtitling can have a positive effect on reducing the level of 
illiteracy in a country. However, a comparative analysis of data did not lead to any 
empirical conclusion to this effect. 

In  the  field  of  multilingualism,  the  study  highlights  that  an  absence  of  dialogue 
between  research  carried  out  on  digital  technologies,  notably  under  the  Seventh 
Framework  Programme,  and  financed  research  on  multilingualism  is  harming 
prospects  for  technological  innovation,  when  the  two  fields  overlap  as  regards 
audiovisual broadcasting. 

It  concludes  too  that  language  transfer  (dubbing/subtitling)  is  necessary  but 
insufficient  to  enhance  the  circulation  of  European  audiovisual  works  and  that  the 
choice  of  distributors  and  broadcasters  for  small  countries  is  determined  by  the 
language choices made by the lead countries.  

The  study  also  makes  two  recommendations  in  the  area  of  multilingualism. 
Synergies and convergence between European research programs and developments 
in the digital sector should be promoted. Research into potential co-relations between 

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subtitling and the development of multilingualism (further research into the field of 
teaching and training, best practice) should be carried out. 

More information is available at: 

http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/media/overview/evaluation/studies/index_en.
htm. 

4. 

EXTERNAL REPORTS 

4.1. 

Report of the High Level Group on Multilingualism  

The High Level Group on Multilingualism (HLGM) was an external group set up in 
September 2006 to bring about an exchange of ideas, experience and good practice, 
to  develop  ideas  relevant  to  policies  and  practices  on  multilingualism  across  the 
European Union and to make recommendations to the Commission on action in this 
area.  Its  creation  was  announced  in  the  Commission  communication  A  new 
framework strategy for multilingualism in November 2005. The Group was given the 
general  remit  of  providing  support  and  advice  on  developing  initiatives,  together 
with fresh impetus for and ideas on a comprehensive approach to multilingualism in 
the European Union.  

The  HLGM’s  final  report,  presented  to  the  Commission  on  26  September  2007, 
presents  various  aspects  of  multilingualism  such  as  strategies  to  promote  language 
learning:  raising  awareness  and  enhancing  motivation,  languages  and  the  media, 
languages for business, interpretation and translation, new trends and needs, regional 
or minority languages, and research into multilingualism. It recommends launching 
information  campaigns  among  inter  alia  young  people,  parents  and  organisations 
related to education and culture in order to raise awareness of language learning. It 
also advises including languages in extra-curricular activities for young students and 
in  leisure  activities,  as  well  as  providing  ‘edutainment’  (combining  education  and 
entertainment)  on  television.  These  elements  can  increase  motivation.  The  report 
mentions  too  that  it  is  necessary  to  use  the  potential  of  immigrants  as  a  source  of 
language  knowledge  and  as  a  good  opportunity  for  companies  to  profit  from  their 
cultural  and  linguistic  abilities  in  order  to  gain  access  to  markets  in  immigrants’ 
countries of origin. Moreover, it recommends improvement of training in important 
non-EU  languages  in  order  to  increase  competitiveness.  Finally,  it  highlights  the 
importance  of  developing  Master’s  qualifications  in  translation  and  interpretation, 
and  higher  education  programmes  in  the  field  of  legal,  court  and  community 
translation and interpretation. 

The report is available at: 

http://ec.europa.eu/education/policies/lang/doc/multishort_en.pdf. 

4.2. 

Report of the ‘Group of Intellectuals’  

the  2008  European  Year  of  Intercultural  Dialogue,  was 

The objective of the Group of Intellectuals, set up by the European Commission to 
to  make 
mark 
recommendations  on  the  role  that  multilingualism  could  play  in  intercultural 
dialogue and mutual comprehension among citizens of the European Union. 

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The  report  highlights  the  importance  for  the  European  Union  of  preserving  its 
linguistic heritage. It puts forward two central ideas. Firstly, the EU should promote 
the idea of a ‘personal adoptive language’, to be seen as a ‘second mother tongue’, 
with every European citizen being motivated to learn one. It would need to be part 
and parcel of everyone’s education and professional life, linked to aspects involving 
history, culture and literature. This adopted language would not be the one normally 
used for international communication. It should thus overcome any perceived rivalry 
between  English  and  other  languages.  Secondly,  bilateral relations  between  the  EU 
countries should hinge on the languages of the two countries involved rather than on 
a  third  language.  Each  country  should  have  enough  speakers  of  the  other’s 
language(s). 

The  group,  composed  of  10  personalities  with  a  multicultural  and/or  literary 
background,  chaired  by  the  Lebanese  writer  Amin  Maalouf,  also  makes  some 
interesting  recommendations.  Those  Europeans  whose  mother  tongue  occupies  a 
dominant position in the world should learn a personal adoptive language in order to 
avoid  remaining  isolated  in  monolingualism.  Immigrants’  personal  adoptive 
language would normally be the language of the country in which they have chosen 
to  live.  However,  non-EU  immigrants’  own  languages  should  also  be  included 
among the languages which EU citizens would be invited to learn. To ensure that this 
linguistic  diversity  is  maintained,  countries  should  set  up  an  organisation  which 
promotes knowledge of each other’s languages and culture. 

The Group’s findings fuelled the discussion at the first-ever Ministerial Conference 
on multilingualism, held on 15 February, and represent a valuable contribution to the 
Commission’s work on multilingualism policy.  

The report is available at: 

http://ec.europa.eu/education/policies/lang/languages_en.html 

4.3. 

Report of the Business Forum 

An important factor in examining the contribution of multilingualism to growth and 
jobs  was  the  setting  up  in  2007  of  an  advisory  group  with  distinguished 
representatives from large and small companies around Europe, chaired by Viscount 
Etienne  Davignon,  well-known  businessman  and  former  politician.  The  group  was 
called the European Business Forum for Multilingualism and its aim was to identify 
how companies can make operational use of language management when seeking to 
maximise  their  economic  performance.  The  Business  Forum  also  focused  on 
employability  and  worker  mobility,  and  on  raising  awareness  of  the  benefits  of 
multilingualism.  The  Forum  produced  a  set  of  recommendations  for  the  European 
Commission’s policies in this field. 

Its  report  concluded  that  there  is  indeed  a  strong  case  for  multilingualism  in 
European companies, regardless of size and line of business. Europe is not using its 
multilingual  resources  optimally  and  the  Business  Forum  would  like  to  see  this 
change  urgently.  Otherwise,  according  to  its  report,  ‘Europe  is  running  the  risk  of 
losing  the  war  of  competences,  as  emerging  economies  mainly  in  Asia  and  Latin 
America  rapidly  acquire  language  skills  and  other  skills  necessary  for  competing 
successfully  on  tomorrow’s  markets.’  Even  nationally  operating  SMEs  increasingly 

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have  to  address  integration  issues  as  a  result  of  international  mobility  leading  to  a 
more and more multilingual and multicultural workforce. However, most companies 
are  looking  at  global  markets  and  not  only  their  sales  but  also  their  supply  chains 
across borders.  

The report sees multilingualism as ‘a hidden resource which needs to be unlocked’. 
It wants to do away with the complacency concerning English as the only necessary 
language  for  international  business.  According  to  the  Business  Forum,  it  is  time  to 
classify English as a basic skill and look at other languages with the aim of acquiring 
a  competitive  edge.  Many  companies  feel  the  need  to  strengthen  their  language 
resources in the main European languages like German and French and in Russian. 
Large companies, especially, are increasingly looking for new opportunities outside 
Europe and thus needing Spanish and Portuguese for Latin America, for example, or 
Mandarin  for  China.  A  differentiated  approach  is  recommended.  While  recruiting 
native speakers bringing proficiency in the languages of the main business partners 
can be a very good solution for certain tasks, it can be just as useful to acquire basic 
language skills, including cultural skills, for the purpose of building long-lasting and 
profitable relationships. 

‘The  challenge  is  to  integrate  multilingualism  firmly  in  all  strategies  aiming  at 
developing  human  capital  for  the  future.’  That  is  one  of  the  key  statements  in  the 
report. Large companies mainly need to reorient their strategies for recruitment and 
development  of  human  resources,  taking  language  skills  into  account  to  a  much 
larger extent than today. 

However, SMEs will need support and assistance to become more multilingual. The 
Business Forum emphasises the crucial role of networks and strategic partnerships in 
this context and urges trade organisations and chambers of commerce to take more 
action. 

Among the practical recommendations from the Business Forum are the following. 

Companies can create a language-friendly multilingual environment in the workplace 
by  acknowledging  and  cherishing  all  the  language  skills  possessed  by  members  of 
staff and by looking at new and creative ways of using them. They can open up more 
exchanges  with  business  partners  or  recruit  trainees  and  temporary  staff  speaking 
different  languages.  They  should  look  closely  at  European  and  regional  funding 
possibilities for mobility programmes, language training and other means to enhance 
companies’  language  resources.  The  business  sector  would  benefit  from  close 
cooperation  with  local  universities  and  business  schools.  Companies  need  to  be 
specific about languages as part of the skills needed for future employment.  

It  is  worth  while  investigating  the  availability  of  Internet-based  tools  to  help  with 
machine  translation  for  information  purposes,  for  instance  when  browsing  public 
procurement  sites  in  different  countries.  Technology  can  help  companies  improve 
their  language  skills  in  many  ways.  It  is  possible  to  find  flexible  and  time  saving 
Internet  courses  that  are  adapted  to  individual  companies’  needs,  resources  and 
constraints.  When  it  comes  to  external  communication,  companies  need  to  develop 
proficiency  in  translating  and  localising  messages  for  target  audiences  in  different 
countries.  Especially  for  small  companies,  good  multilingual  communication  via 
Internet can make the difference between success and failure. 

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The report of the Business Forum can be downloaded from:  

http://ec.europa.eu/education/policies/lang/languages_en.html 

5. 

RESULTS OF THE ONLINE CONSULTATION  

Context 

Greater  mobility  within  the  Union’s  borders,  migration  from  third  countries  and 
globalisation have all brought an increasing number of languages into the everyday 
lives  of  citizens  and  companies.  The  European  Commission  is  committed  to 
promoting  language  learning  and  linguistic  diversity,  in  accordance  with  the 
European  Union’s  founding  principles.  Between  14  September  and  15  November 
2007, it carried out a public consultation to solicit citizens’ views and expectations in 
relation to language policy. The findings of this survey, which forms part of a broad 
consultation process, have served as a basis for the new Commission Communication 
which this document accompanies.  

Methodology 

The questionnaire covered six different areas, all closely linked to the ways and the 
extent  to  which  languages  are  used  and  promoted  within  the  EU,  from  learning 
provision, through social, cultural and economic aspects, to the functioning of the EU 
institutions.  The  sixteen  questions  either  called  for  comments  or  offered  multiple 
choice answers. Some were a mixture of both. 

This document presents the main findings of the consultation. While it was possible 
to compile statistics for all the closed questions, the responses to the open questions 
were analysed at length and clustered around recurrent themes to establish trends and 
correlations.  These  free  comments  also  offered  an  insight  into  the  reasons  behind 
respondents’ choice of the various options.  

Participation 

The consultation was open to all interested parties, inside or outside the Union. The 
number of finalised responses received came to 2 419, in all official languages of the 
EU.  

The survey was publicised by means of notices on various web pages of the Europa 
site, references in the press and in public speeches, and direct publicity sent to a large 
number of individuals, organisations and networks that had formerly expressed their 
interest  in  European  policies.  As  no  information  was  gathered  on  how  the 
participants learnt about the consultation, it is difficult to estimate the proportion of 
respondents who were either ‘spontaneous’ visitors to the Europa site or readers of 
the European press compared with the proportion of those who had been contacted 
directly.  It  is  worth  bearing  in  mind,  however,  that  contributions  came  from 
individuals  and  organisations  interested  in  European  policies  in  general  and  in  the 
place and roles attributed to languages in the EU in particular. Despite the relatively 
high number of participants, the outcomes of this consultation should therefore by no 
means  be  interpreted  as  those  of  a  public  opinion  poll,  but  rather  as  the  views  of 

EN 

39 

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citizens  who  have  opted  to  enter  into  a  dialogue  with  the  European  Commission 
about the way they would like to see the European Union in the future. 

An outstanding response rate 

The  2 419  finalised  contributions  to  the  survey  on  multilingualism  represent  an 
outstanding  participation  rate  for  public  consultations  on  European  policies,  which 
on average receive between 200 and 500 responses.  

Another  striking  feature  of  the  participation  is  the  prevalence  of  individual 
respondents over people responding on behalf of their organisations. There is not one 
EU,  EFTA  or  candidate  country  missing  from  the  broad  range  of  countries 
represented by the respondents; moreover, a significant number of contributions were 
received from other continents. 

The  consultation  was  available  in  22  official  EU  languages,  but  altogether  the 
participants  represented  57  mother  tongues,  including  numerous  regional  and 
minority languages and some spoken in countries outside the EU. 

This  high  rate  of  participation,  across  such  a  vast  geographical  area  and  mainly  by 
private  individuals,  clearly  shows  that  the  way  languages  are  taught,  treated  and 
spoken in Europe is an issue particularly close to people’s hearts.  

Moreover, the significant proportion of respondents whose mother tongue is not one 
of the EU official languages provides evidence that multilingualism in the Europe of 
today  is  a  reality  whose  complexity  goes  far  beyond  the  management  of  23 
operational languages. It sets out a context calling for answers at levels other than the 
merely  functional  one,  covering  a  much  wider  spectrum  of  languages  than  those 
enjoying official status. 

In a nutshell: what do respondents to the consultation think about languages? 

More than 96% of the respondents agree that the linguistic diversity of the EU calls 
for special attention from European politicians and that language skills are important 
for both their everyday and their professional life. 

According  to  respondents,  the  most  important  factors  for  successful  language 
learning are an early start and direct experience of the country of the target language.  

Most people think that the linguistic diversity of the EU is an asset to be safeguarded 
and wish to see it placed in a context going beyond economic and functional aspects, 
which recognises the identities and cultures represented in languages.  

Advocates of the cause of regional and minority languages think more respect could 
be shown to these languages especially in education and public services and would 
like to see the EU adopting a more protective role in this respect. 

Most  respondents  would  like  to  see  the  media  promoting  an  intercultural  society 
model,  valuing  linguistic  and  cultural  identity,  and  focusing  on  tolerance,  not 
confrontation. 

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The vast majority of respondents share the view that it is easier to do business abroad 
if  you  know  the  local  language  and  that,  therefore,  companies  have  an  interest  in 
investing in the development of the language skills of their staff. 

The  majority  share  the  view  that  migrants  should  preserve  their  language  of  origin 
and treat their linguistic and cultural identity as a necessary basis for integrating into 
a linguistic and cultural community different from their own. 

Most  people  find  that  the  costs  related  to  working  in  23  official  languages  are 
justified or should even be increased. 

More information is available at: 

http://ec.europa.eu/education/policies/lang/consult/report_en.pdf. 

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1.1. FOLLOW-UP TO THE 2005 COMMUNICATION ON MULTILINGUALISM 

Nr. 

ANNEX  

Action 

State 

Output 

Who 

I. A MULTILINGUAL SOCIETY: language learning and research 

Implement,  in  cooperation  with  Member  States, 
the European Indicator of Language Competence  (cid:59)  COM(2007) 184 final, COM(2005) 596 final 

1. 

2. 

3.  

4.  

5. 

Promote  discussion 
aaaaaaaa 
recommendation  on  ways  of  bringing  language 
teacher education up-to-date 

and  produce 

Publish a study on best practice in early language 
learning in 2006 

(cid:59) 

Provide  support  through  the  LLP  for  studies  on 
the  state  of  multilingualism  in  higher  education 
and the creation of chairs in fields of study related 
to multilingualism and interculturalism 

(cid:59) 

Continue  to  support  the  teaching  and  learning  of 
languages through cooperation programmes in the 
field of education, training, youth, citizenship and 
culture 

EC 

EC 

EC 

EC 

See section 3.5 of this document. 

Mainstreamed 
on 
http://ec.europa.eu/education/policies/2010/objectives_en.html#training 

in  work 

teacher 

quality 

of 

education: 

http://ec.europa.eu/education/languages/eu-language-policy/doc126_en.htm 

http://ec.europa.eu/education/programmes/llp/index_en.html 

http://ec.europa.eu/culture/our-programmes-and-actions/doc411_fr.htm 

EC 

http://ec.europa.eu/youth/youth-in-action-programme/doc247_en.htm 

http://ec.europa.eu/education/programmes/llp/valor/index_en.html  

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42 

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6. 

7. 

A. 

B. 

C. 

Investigate ways of supporting language diversity 
networks through the LLP 

(cid:59) 

Minority languages were given priority. 

http://ec.europa.eu/education/programmes/llp/index_en.html 

Reinforce research and technological development 
activities  on  language-related  IT,  with  a  specific 
focus  on  new 
for  machine 
translation,  and  study  the  ways  in  which  the  EU 
in  new 
could  encourage  further  cooperation 
translation and interpretation technologies 

technologies 

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 

See section 2.6 of this document. 

http://ec.europa.eu/idabc/en/document/2070/5927 

In  2007,  an  independent  consultant  to  the  Commission,  Professor  Jean-
Claude Beacco (New Sorbonne University, Paris), carried out an analysis 
of  the  national  reports  and  additional  information  provided  by  the 
Working  Group  on  Languages.  His  report  outlines  the  main  trends  in 
language teaching in Europe and highlights good practice, some of which 
was included in the Commission Report. 

http://ec.europa.eu/education/languages/archive/policy/report_en.html  

EC 

EC 

MS 

Review current arrangements for foreign language 
teacher training in the light of the findings of the 
study  ‘European  Profile  for  Language  Teacher 
Education’ 

Review  current  arrangements  for  early  language 
learning  in  the  light  of  best  practice  from  across 
Europe 

See  the  Report  on  the  implementation  of  the  Action  Plan  ‘Promoting 
language  learning  and  linguistic  diversity’.  COM(2007)  554  final/2  and 
related national reports. 

MS 

http://ec.europa.eu/education/languages/archive/policy/report_en.html  

See  the  Report  on  the  implementation  of  the  Action  Plan  ‘Promoting 
language  learning  and  linguistic  diversity’.  COM(2007)  554  final/2  and 
related national reports 

MS 

http://ec.europa.eu/education/languages/archive/policy/report_en.html  

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D. 

Implement  the  Conclusions  of  the  Luxembourg 
Presidency  concerning  Content  and  Language 
Integrated  Learning,  including  raising  awareness 
of  the  benefits  of  this  approach,  exchanging 
information and scientific evidence on good CLIL 
practice and specific CLIL training for teachers 

II. MULTILINGUAL ECONOMY 

See  the  Report  on  the  implementation  of  the  Action  Plan  ‘Promoting 
language  learning  and  linguistic  diversity’.  COM(2007)  554  final/2  and 
related national reports 

http://ec.europa.eu/education/languages/archive/policy/report_en.html  

8. 

9. 

10. 

11. 

12. 

Publish  a  study  on  the  impact  on  the  European 
economy of shortages of language skills in 2006  (cid:59) 

Publish  on  the  web  an  inventory  of  the  language 
certification systems available in the EU in 2006  (cid:59) 

http://ec.europa.eu/education/languages/eu-language-policy/doc126_en.htm 

http://ec.europa.eu/education/languages/eu-language-policy/doc126_en.htm 

Lunch  a  study  on  the  potential  for  greater  use  of 
sub-titles  in  film  and  television  programmes  to 
promote language learning 

(cid:59) 

http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/media/overview/evaluation/studie
s/index_en.htm 

Publish 
the 
database IATE 

inter-institutional,  multilingual 

(cid:59) 

http://iate.europa.eu 

http://ec.europa.eu/idabc/en/document/2294/16#what 

Organise  a  conference  on  translator  training  in 
universities, in 2006 

(cid:59) 

http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/translation/external_relations/universities/master_en.htm 

MS 

EC 

EC 

EC 

EC 

EC 

EN 

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13. 

Launch under i2010 a flagship initiative on digital 
libraries  making  multimedia  sources  easier  and 
more interesting to use 

(cid:59) 

http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/activities/digital_libraries/index_en.htm 

EC 

EC 

together  and  coordinate 

Bring 
the  work  of 
European  research  teams  in  the  fields  of  human 
language  technologies,  machine  translation,  and 
language  resources  such  as 
the  creation  of 
dictionaries  and 
technical 
thesauri,  and  set 
challenges specific to the European context (such 
as  the  focus  on  the  quality  of  multilingual 
applications and machine translation systems) 

Review  training  programmes  at  universities  to 
ensure  that  they  equip  students  in  the  language 
professions  with  the  right  skills  for  rapidly 
changing working conditions 

14. 

E. 

See section 2.6 of this document. 

http://ec.europa.eu/idabc/en/document/2070/5927 

See  the  Report  on  the  implementation  of  the  Action  Plan  ‘Promoting 
language  learning  and  linguistic  diversity’.  COM(2007)  554  final/2  and 
related national reports 

MS 

http://ec.europa.eu/education/languages/archive/policy/report_en.html  

III. MULTILINGUALISM IN THE COMMISSION’S RELATIONS WITH CITIZENS 

15. 

16. 

Ensure,  through  an  internal  network,  that  all  EC 
departments apply the multilingualism policy in a 
coherent way 

Continue  to  foster  multilingualism  on  the  Europa 
portal and in EU publications. All the Publications 
Office  websites,  EUR-Lex,  EU-Bookshop  and 
Electronic  Daily  where 
TED 
procurement  notices  are  published),  are  fully 

(Tenders 

The status of multilingualism has risen and the internal network has been 
transformed into an Interservice Group on Multilingualism.  

EC 

EC 

http://ec.europa.eu/publications/ 

http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/communication/index_fr.htm 

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45 

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multilingual. 

17.  

Launch  a  languages  portal  on  Europa  providing 
information  about  multilingualism  in  the  EU  and 
accommodating new portals dedicated to language 
learners and language teachers 

(cid:59) 

http://europa.eu/languages/en/home 

http://ec.europa.eu/education/languages/index_en.htm 

18. 

19. 

20. 

21. 

22. 

Give  a  greater  role  to  translation  field  offices  in 
the  Member  States  in  promoting  multilingualism, 
particularly by customising EC messages for local 
target audiences 

Organise  high-level  seminars  on  multilingualism 
in  the  Member  States,  targeted  at  journalists  and 
other opinion multipliers 

Continue to offer universities grants and teaching 
assistance  in  the  field  of  conference  interpreting, 
help  develop  distance  learning  tools  and  fund 
student grants and training visits 

Continue  to  develop  cost-effective  multilingual 
conferencing  and  communication  tools  under  the 
Commission’s  project  on 
inter-operable 
delivery  of  pan-European  e-government  services 
to public administrations, businesses and citizens 

the 

(cid:59) 

http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/translation/external_relations/field_offices/index_
en.htm 

http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/translation/bookshelf/brochure_en.pdf 

http://scic.ec.europa.eu/europa/jcms/c_6333/aiuto-alle-universita 

http://scic.ec.europa.eu/europa/jcms/c_6344/bourse-d-etudes 

http://ec.europa.eu/idabc/en/chapter/3 

Support  the  European  Master’s  in  Conference 
Interpreting  and 
in 
Conference Management 

the  European  Master’s 

(cid:59) 

http://scic.ec.europa.eu/europa/jcms/c_5374/international-cooperation 

EC 

http://www.emcinterpreting.org/ 

EC 

EC 

EC 

EC 

EC 

EN 

46 

EN 

 
  
 
 
 
23. 

24. 

25. 

Continue  to  play  a  full  part  in  the  International 
Annual  Meeting  on  Language  Arrangements, 
Documentation  and  Publication,  a  body  which 
discusses new job and skills requirements 

Continue  to  provide  universities  with  a  model 
curriculum of a Master’s degree in translation and 
supply visiting translators to help train students in 
translation 

Organise  an  international  translation  competition 
between  schools  in  Member  States,  to  promote 
language knowledge and the language professions 

IV. GENERAL CONCLUSIONS 

26. 

Set up a High Level Group on Multilingualism 

27. 

Organise a Ministerial Conference  

28. 

Present  a  further  communication  proposing  a 
comprehensive approach to multilingualism in the 
EU 

(cid:59) 

(cid:59) 

(cid:59) 

(cid:59) 

http://scic.ec.europa.eu/europa/jcms/c_6354/dg-interpretation-and-
iamladp-ndash-the-international-annual-meeting-on-language-
arrangements-documentation-and-publications?qs=id%3Dc_5666 

http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/translation/external_relations/universities/master_
curriculum_en.pdf 

Translation School Contest  

http://ec.europa.eu/translation/contest/2007/index_en.htm 

http://ec.europa.eu/education/policies/lang/doc/multireport_en.pdf 

15 February 2008 

17 September 2008 

EC 

EC 

EC 

EC 

EC 

EC 

EN 

47 

EN