NDLR Modern Languages’ Community of Practice

Colleagues, Lewis Purser of the Irish Universities Association (email: lewis.purser@iua.ie) has asked if members of the NDLR Modern Languages’ Community of Practice would be interesed/able to provide feedback and comment on a National Qualifications Authority of Ireland paper which aims to provide an analysis of the National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ), the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) – and the emergent European Qualifications Framework (EQF) – comparing and contrasting them and identifying where and how it is feasible to develop a correspondence between them.

The paper concludes that it is both possible and desirable to set out how these two frameworks correspond. Further, it can be demonstrated that CEFR, NFQ and EQF, while all different and designed for different purposes, are nevertheless compatible and able to function together as a suite:

• EQF at the meta, European level, as a translator between systems
• NFQ at the national level, a means of defining and comparing qualifications
• CEFR at the subject or field level, as a means of improving teaching and learning of languages and describing individual attainment of language skills.

Developing an understanding of how the frameworks align and correspond is an essential step in developing an overall environment in which they can function together. The work reported on in this paper is presented as a first step towards the establishment of the relationships between the frameworks.

The paper is available to view by clicking here. Please email any feedback comments to Lewis Purser (email: lewis.purser@iua.ie).

An interesting conference coming up on October 13 is the Isle of Wight conference which aims to highlight the practicalities involved with the integration of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) into the language teaching and learning environment.

Our colleague Joe Dale (NDLR podcast here) will be the lead practitioner for the conference with will cover topics such as blogging and podcasting, digital video, and how to use interactive whiteboards, to name but a few. Other events are scheduled around the conference such as Show and Tell gatherings.

Further conference details can be found by clicking here. For booking detals please email Melanie Buck at scnevents@ssatrust.org.uk.

The 9th Limerick conference in Irish-German Studies ‘Heinrich Böll and Ireland – 50 years Irisches Tagebuch’ will take place from 30 August to 1 September 2007 at the University of Limerick.

Click here to listen to our latest podcast as conference organiser Dr. Gisela Holfter discusses the background, structure and content of this important three day event.

Further conference information here.  Any enquiries should be directed to Dr. Gisela Holfter (email: gisela.holfter@ul.ie) and you can contact Claudia Reese (email: claudia.reese@ul.ie) for registration information.

Both Germany and Ireland have undergone a marked and prolonged period of change since 1989. The causes behind this period of transition are, on the one hand, due to common external factors (e.g. increasing globalisation, the impact of developments in the world economy and policy/legal/monetary developments at EU level) and on the other to major country-specific, internal factors (e.g. in Germany the dissolution of the GDR and its aftermath; in Ireland the Celtic Tiger and its economic and societal impact).

Prof. Niamh O’Mahony and Dr. Claire O’Reilly are editing Societies in Transition: Ireland, Germany and Irish-German Relations in Business and Society since 1989 . This book seeks to capture the essence of this period of transition in both countries and in their relationships to each other.

Submission are being sought by interested contributors should send a typed abstract of two pages (min. 500 words) by 31 July, 2007. Abstracts should be sent to the editors Prof. Dr. Niamh O’Mahony niamh.omahony@reutlingen-university.de or Dr. Claire O’Reilly claire.oreilly@ucc.ie All contributors will be contacted by 17 August, 2007 as to the final selection of the editors. A final version of contributions will be expected by 18 February, 2008. The book is expected to be published in the winter of 2008. Further submission details here.

Please note the following important dates for your diary:

30 August to 1 September 2007 at the University of Limerick.
The 9th Limerick conference in Irish-German Studies ‘Heinrich Böll and Ireland – 50 years Irisches Tagebuch’ .  Click here for further details. 

13 October 2007 at IT Tallaght.
Association of Third-Level Teachers of German in Ireland AGM. Click here for further details.

Since its establishment in May 2006, the IoT Language Policy and Planning Network has provided a timely and necessary community forum to share and disseminate information accross the IoT sector with a view to exploring aspects of existing Good Practice 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 next meeting of the network is planned for 22nd October 2007 at ITB and this event will feature guest speakers from e.g. IBEC, Forfás, DES, HEA, Enterprise Ireland. You can view a summary of the network’s activities by clicking here.

Further information from Dr. Riana Walsh, ITT Dublin (Email riana.walsh@ittdublin.ie Tel: 01 4042831) or Ms. Kristin Brogan, IT Tralee (Email Kristin.brogan@staff.ittralee.ie Tel: 066 7191902).

The Language Corner@DIT web site has been developed by Noel Fitzpatrick and the DIT staff as a means of aggregating and distributing collections of web links and resources for language teachers and students.  Resources are freely available in the language areas of Chinese, English, French, Gaeilge, German, Italian, and Spanish.

Click here to listen to Noel’s podcast interview in which he discusses the background and rationale of the Language Corner@DIT and explains how he sees the development of this resource into the new academic year.

Please contact Noel (email: noel.fitzpatrick@dit.ie) if you would like to contribute any useful links to the web site.