EU promotes multilingualism as a way of life
THE EUROPEAN Commission earlier this week called for action to promote multilingualism in the EU, under the motto: “the more languages you know, the more of a person you are.”
The Commission has called on Member States to play their part in furthering the teaching, learning and use of languages.
J?n Figel’, Commissioner for Education, Training, Culture and multilingualism explained that, “languages are what makes us human”.
“Europe’s linguistic diversity is at the core of its identity. Exactly a year ago today, I was appointed as the first European Commissioner ever to be given specific responsibility for multilingualism. The Commission is committed to promoting languages and linguistic diversity in the Union,” he said.
According to a recent Eurobarometer survey, half of the EU’s citizens say they can hold a conversation in a second language apart from their mother tongue.
A report issued in February by the information network on education in Europe said that Cyprus has the highest percentage of bilingual pupils among 30 European countries. English is the most widely taught language at primary level everywhere, except in Belgium and Luxembourg. This is also the case in Cyprus, where 99.1 per cent of pupils learn English and 78.2 per cent choose French as their second choice, until it ceases to be compulsory in the last two years of school.
The Commission sees language knowledge as a desirable life-skill for all EU citizens, and promotes and develops language skills and linguistic diversity. Through the Socrates and Leonardo da Vinci programmes, for example, 30 million euros are provided each year for training, mobility of students and teachers and funding class exchanges.
The Communication stresses the importance of language skills to worker mobility and the competitiveness of the EU economy.
Within Member States, the Commission proposes the adoption of national action plans to promote multilingualism, further improvements in language teacher training, adequate provision for early language learning, and more teaching of school subjects through a foreign language. It also asks Member States to review training programmes at universities to ensure that they equip students in the language professions with the right skills.
A ministerial conference on multilingualism will be held in the near future to allow Member States to share the progress made and plan future work.
A new Web portal on languages has been launched on the EU’s inter-institutional Website, EUROPA, with access in all the 20 official languages.
The subjects covered range from the Union’s policies to encourage language learning and linguistic diversity, to the rules for the use of the EU’s own official languages and a round up of employment opportunities for professional linguists with the Union’s institutions.
n For more information, visit http://europa.eu.int/languages
