Enhancing language education in cross-border vocational education
On February 7-8, European Center for Modern Languages (ECML) in Graz, Austria, held a workshop to disseminate the results of the first two years of work through the project “Enhancing language education in cross-border vocational education.” Lithuania is one of the four partnering countries that contributed to the creation of the teachers’ manual that would help promote cooperation between vocational schools in the cross-border setting. During the workshop, the first version of the teachers’ guide was presented to the experts selected by the ministries of education from 28 countries (Albania, Armenia, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Greece, Iceland, Latvia, Poland, Luxembourg, Lithuania, Cyprus, Malta, Montenegro, Norway, France, Finland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Germany and Canada). The workshop provided participants with an opportunity to discuss the chapters in detail and also to suggest contributions themselves. The participants appreciated the exchange with colleagues from different countries and a like-minded community; many of them plan to integrate ideas learnt during the event into their work practice. During the discussions, the importance of languages and plurilingual/intercultural competences in vocational training and cross-border working environments was once again unanimously stressed. For the team and the associate partners, the workshop confirmed the relevance of its work and the decisions taken so far. It is now particularly motivated to complete the planned manual, in dialogue with the different target groups.
