Foreword
This handbook forms part of the Socrates Lingua project 2, “L’Europe Ensemble”,
and aims at helping 10-15 year olds to discover or enhance their competence in eight
European languages (German, English, Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian
and Swedish) and develop a wider understanding of cultural differences.
The project has produced three complementary teaching aids: a multilingual learning
website, eight handbooks, and eight CDs that provide sound files as well as written
and visual resource materials.
“L’Europe Ensemble” reaches out not only to learners and teachers, language assistants,
and trainers in the project’s partner countries but also well beyond these to people in all
other countries interested in learning and teaching these languages and their cultures
(including expatriates, native speakers, overseas teachers, and so on).
The authors’ approach
In “L’Europe Ensemble”, language learning focuses on culture and civilization, with
particular reference to young people’s interests. The approach is activity-oriented and
the language skills acquired equip the learners to carry out tasks in the target language.
The learner will be able to associate saying with doing. To this end, we have provided
multi-media resources to help the learners with their personal learning projects and/or
mobility, and to acquire independent learning skills.
“… It is essential to give everyone the means of opening up to the world thanks to the
mastery of a foreign language and enable him/her to become a citizen of a wider European space and far beyond.”
« Mise en œuvre du Cadre européen commun de référence pour les langues »,
France, Bulletin officiel de l’Éducation nationale n° 8 HS, 30/8/2007.
Because of the project’s European status and its main distribution area being Europe, we
have chosen to use the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages
(CEFRL), which has already been adopted or is being adopted in the national modern
languages teaching curricula in the partner countries.
The CEFRL, as a cross-curricular language policy for all modern languages, will
prove an essential tool in the development of pedagogy. All the authors in the “L’Europe
Ensemble” project – depending on where they live – already use this tool or are learning
to use it. Whatever the case may be, they are committed to participating in the building
of this European educational forum for modern languages.
NEW HORIZONS FOR LANGUAGES
> English
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The resource materials
– A collection of 8 handbooks, each with its own hybrid-CD which offer teachers, assistants and trainers teaching modules and multi-media resources for eight languages:
NEUE HORIZONTE FÜR SPRACHEN • German
NEW HORIZONS FOR LANGUAGES • English
NUEVOS HORIZONTES PARA LAS LENGUAS • Spanish
NOUVEAUX HORIZONS POUR LES LANGUES • French
NUOVI ORIZZONTI PER LE LINGUE • Italian
NOVOS HORIZONTES PARA AS LÍNGUAS • Portuguese
NOI DESCHIDERI PENTRU LIMBI • Romanian
NYA HORISONTER FÖR SPRÅKEN • Swedish
– A free multilingual website for learners: Around Europe in 80 Days is designed for
learning individually or in groups at home or in the classroom. It encourages learner
autonomy.
The learners are invited to discover (Level 1) or develop (Levels 2 & 3) their competence in
the languages of the countries they visit, and to widen their cultural horizons through their
virtual journey across Europe.
Level 1 (A1) is particularly well suited to those preparing transnational mobility projects (Comenius, etc.) and is designed to encourage multi-lingualism and inter-comprehension of languages.
There is a European dimension throughout the site and for every level.
Authentic communication situations based on varied resource materials: written
texts, sound files, images (videos, fixed images, animations) associated with interactive
activities: assimilation, practise and assessment. A recording device, which is always
accessible, allows the learners to listen, repeat and check their oral expression.
Numerous resource materials are provided and make up a valuable data bank which
can be used by the teacher to devise other activities, including cross-curricular activities
(e.g., through “European Reference Marks” and the 104 “postcards”).
Teachers are invited to use the website for independent learner use, as a complement
to the classroom work provided in the handbook.
The website address: http://www.europensemble.eu
Finally the resource materials from “L’Europe Ensemble” have their rightful place beside
and as a complement to classroom textbooks and classical modern language teaching
methods.
Françoise Robert, project leader
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