NDLR Modern Languages’ Community of Practice

The ‘Problem SOLVE’ (Student Orientation and Language Preparation for Vocational Experiences) project has won a 2006 European Award for Languages.

The award recognises creative ways to improve the quality of language teaching, motivate students, and make the best of available resources at every level of education and training. It is coordinated by the European Commission and managed on a decentralised basis by each member state. Léargas, as the national coordinator, will present the awards to the 2006 winners on September 25^th in Galway.

This Leonardo da Vinci pilot project was developed, designed and tested as a multi-lingual, multi-cultural preparation module for students undertaking mobility placements in vocational training. The modules consist of language and cultural exercises in a number of virtual situations in user-friendly CD-Rom and website format. This is a multimedia on-line preparation tool for learners. The project content is available in English, German, Italian, Spanish, Swiss French, Swedish and Slovak.

You can access the project website at http://www.problemsolve.org/. Please note that Internet Explorer and Macromedia Flash Player are needed to view the content.

Congratulations to all partners concerned, particularly IT Blanchardstown (Multimedia), Letterkenny IT (Prototype design), and IT Tralee (Quality Management) for achieving this prestigious award. Â

Further information on the 2006 European Award for Languages can be found on the Léargas web site at http://www.leargas.ie/education/lingua/eal.html

The European Language Gazette – Summer 2006 issue is now online.  The latest publication from the European Centre for Modern Languages features news from the ECML, the Language Policy Division and other related sectors of the Council of Europe.

Click here to view the Summer 2006 issue.

Call for papers for the ‘German Encounters with Islam’ conference which will be hosted by the Department of German, National University of Ireland, Maynooth from 22-24 March 2007.  Given the prevailing global political and, sadly, military situation, it seems particularly pertinent to investigate the relationship between Europe and the Islamic world.

This conference is intended to illuminate a range of specifically German (-language) literary/intellectual responses to Islamic culture with a view to revealing aspects of the dynamics of cultural interaction. The organisers would be particularly keen to receive submissions which offer insights into the development of German views on Islam over time and those which deal directly with theological issues.

Potential areas for discussion might include: the depiction of firsthand encounters with Islamic cultures in travelogues; the incorporation of characters, situations, locations from the Islamic world into literary texts – writing by Muslims, or by those of a Muslim background in German; writing on Islamic art ;historical writing with a focus on Muslim states; political responses to Islam;  theological discussion of inter-faith relations.

Proposals (400 words max.) for 30 minute papers should be forwarded by 1 October 2006 to: Dr. Jeff Morrison (email: jeff.morrison@nuim.ie), Dept. of German National University of Ireland, Maynooth, Maynooth, Co. Kildare Republic of Ireland.  

The joint annual conference of the British Association for Applied Linguistics (BAAL) and the Irish Association for Applied Linguistics (IRAAL) is being hosted at University College Cork from September 7-9. 

The theme of the conference is ‘From Applied Linguistics to Linguistics Applied: Issues, Practices, Trends‘. Further details can be found at http://www.baal.org.uk/conf2006/index.htm

An Overview of the Institute of Technology (IoT) Language Policy Network – an interview with Kristin Brogan, Lecturer in German at ITT Tralee.

On May 15th the IoT Language Policy Network was initiated with a view to exploring aspects of existing policies and examining the extent to which a college Language Policy can be a successful tool in the promotion of languages and other skills relating to the learning of languages.  The aim of the IoT Language Policy Network is to adopt a pro-active approach and to foster greater inter-institutional collaboration for languages in the IoT sector to the benefit of all participants.

Kristin Brogan offers an overview of the network, and outlines the background, aims and objectives of this important initiative. Further information can be sought from Kristin at kristin.brogan@staff.ittralee.ie and from Dr. Riana Walsh (ITT Dublin) at riana.walsh@ittdublin.ie.