In this article we analyse education policies for language learning in Catalonia, within the European organisational framework. We present educational plans for Catalan schools, developed for empowering foreign language learning to increase academic success, focusing on how social and democratic participation can be built through plurilingualism and integrated language learning approaches (CLIL), as well as through international mobility and eLearning

Lorenzo Galés, Neus

Taula Rodona Internacional TRI-CLIL

Lorenzo Galés, Maria Nieves

Diposit Digital de Documents de la UAB

 324  CLIL EDUCATION POLICIES IN CATALONIA: LOOKING FOR COLLECTIVE EMPOWERMENT THROUGH SCHOOL AUTONOMY  POLÍTIQUES EDUCATIVES A CATALUNYA: LA CERCA DE L’EMPODERAMENT COL·LECTIU A TRAVÉS DE L’AUTONOMIA DE CENTRE  Mª NEUS LORENZO GALÉS nlorenzo@xtec.cat SERVEI DE LLENGÜES ESTRANGERES, DEPARTAMENT D’ENSENYAMENT  Key words: CLIL, plurilingualism, mobility, inclusion, employability, language policies, European policies, school autonomy Paraules clau: AICLE, plurilingüisme, mobilitat, inclusió, prioritats, empleabilitat política lingüística, polítiques europees, autonomia escola   1. Summary  In this article we analyse education policies for language learning in Catalonia, within the European organisational framework. We present educational plans for Catalan schools, developed for empowering foreign language learning to increase academic success, focusing on how social and democratic participation can be built through plurilingualism and integrated language learning approaches (CLIL), as well as through international mobility and eLearning.       325 We believe that the EU can be a global co-leader. Not by imposing ideas, but by proposing solutions to our partners in the world! (Barroso, 2010).  2. The main organisational challenge: coordination  At the UN Millennium Summit of 2010, the President of the European Commission stressed that today’s global interdependence requires common solutions because “ultimately, we are all in the same boat” (Barroso, 2010). As he said, “that is why the EU, with its transnational experience of peace and integration, is well-equipped to make a leading contribution to the globalisation process” (idem). This speech reminds us that collective empowerment, international collaboration and enriching diversity are the best paths for achieving the Millennium development goals. The conclusions of the Council of the European Union of 19 May 2006 (Council of the European Union, 2006), on the European Indicator of Language Competence, had already reaffirmed the importance of cultural diversity and language plurality. Council experts affirmed that foreign language skills and mutual understanding between peoples are prerequisites for the workforce mobility, needed to bolster the competitiveness of the Union’s economy. On 25 October 2011, the Council concluded:   While general language programmes help to develop essential communication skills for everyday use, methodologies such as content and language-integrated learning (CLIL) in both general education and VET can be particularly effective in enhancing the mobility and employability of workers (Council of the European Union, 2011)  In addition, the Council agreed: “In order to promote CLIL, teachers and trainers - in particular in VET - should be encouraged to acquire high quality language competences and should have access to high quality teaching resources”. Both these statements promote the involvement of schools, teachers and institutions, in a process of change that must move from traditional methods towards integrated approaches, through enhancement of the offer, quality and relevance of language teaching in general education.   326 Our challenges are also related to developing teacher co-ordination and student involvement. CLIL becomes an opportunity for organisational learning and for involving teachers in their own professional improvement, interacting and networking.  3. Catalan policies to implement CLIL  The world is becoming increasingly complex; for educational policies to be efficient and sustainable, both professionals and communities must participate. To promote this collaboration, Catalonia created its Strategic Agreement5To promote co-operation between education, innovation and research, the Generalitat de Catalunya has defined its education decisions between 2008 and 2011 within the framework of this Acord estratègic per la internationalitzaciò, la qualitat de l’occupació i la competitivitat de l’economia catalana (Strategic agreement to promote internationalisation of the Catalan economy, strengthen its competitiveness, and improve the quality of employment) (Generalitat de Catalunya, 2008b).    (Generalitat de Catalunya, 2008a) in 2007, between the regional government, stakeholders and enterprises:  This agreement included CLIL as the favoured methodology for improving students’ communicative competencies, and for developing plurilingualism, lifelong learning, and employability (Generalitat de Catalunya, 2008c).  Since 2009, the Catalan Education Law has provided a legal framework to develop autonomous school projects. They implement decision-making at the school level, and are promoted with organisational flexibility, international training and research, networking for teachers, student mobility, ICT tools, plurilingualism, CLIL approaches, and experimental language plans. Since 2011, they are empowered by the Council of The European Union, when it invites the member states to:   Encourage innovative forms of European co-operation, experimentation and new approaches to language teaching and learning, such as content and language-integrated learning (including in bilingual schools), opportunities for language immersion mobility and, where appropriate, more extensive use of ICT also in creative language learning environments (Council of the European Union, 2011).                                                  5 Follow up of the strategic agreement (seguiment de l’acord estratègic) retrieved 28 March 2012 from: http://www.acordestrategic.cat/seguiment_acord/documents_acord/index.html  327  Many European educational policies are targeted to involve users and professionals in acquiring high quality language competencies, essential for the internationalisation of higher education institutions and the enhancement of graduate employability. This strategic goal aligns the Catalan education system with European proposals.  The Subdirecció General de Llengua i Plurilingüisme, the official unit in charge of developing international school projects in several curricular languages in Catalonia, is now promoting CLIL initiatives by funding the new PILE 2012 (Pla Integrat de Llengües Estrangeres). The foreign language service, Servei de Llengües estrangeres, is also working on strategies to implement school language projects6All these programs contribute to provide valuable strategies to develop a school’s linguistic project, fostering plurilingualism, networking, CLIL approaches, eLearning, and European mobility.  where European networking and classroom CLIL-tasks are blended: eLearning at eTwinning projects, mobility in Comenius associations and training in Grundtvig, are successful examples to take into account.  4. CLIL for democratic engagement  Education policies should also focus on getting both immigrant and established communities involved, to avoid social gaps. Stimulating citizen participation in decision-making is a real challenge that puts democracy on the spot. Every school                                                  6 In 2012, several CLIL programs will be promoted in Catalonia: a) PILE: Pla Integrat de Llengües Estrangeres. It gives founding to schools that include planning for curricular foreign languages under CLIL approaches. All school levels. b) AAI: Ajut a l’Aprenentatge Actiu. It facilitates international student mobility, after preparing projects where classroom-work is based on language and content learning. Secondary education. c) SAE: Suport a les Activitats Extraescolars o estades per primària. It offers foundings to organise after-classes in foreign languages with content and language learning approaches in Primary education. d) PAP: Programa d’Aprenentatge Permanent (Comenius and Grundtvig). It empowers networking among European schools and mobility for teachers and students.  328 project should include strategies for enhancing long-term commitments from teachers and should involve families actively, whatever their origin or social status.  School projects need to develop leadership among actors and users: the so-called BachiBac programme, for example, where the French Baccalauréat and Spanish Bachillerato are combined to produce an internationally accepted CLIL curriculum (Ministerio de Educación, 2010), requires determined support from the whole educational community. It can be an opportunity for reflection and debate among teachers and students, alongside families.  Co-ordinating holistic CLIL curricula at schools cannot be worked out without profound acceptance and participation7Education policies must be presented to school communities, open to suggestions and collaborative participation with transparency and democratic processes. School communities can feel involved if contextual decision-making and school-management autonomy is promoted: educators from formal, non-formal and informal educational fields can also work together to provide a major increase in resources, widening the scope for success. . Many other issues such as implementing plurilingualism with equity, improvement of academic results, consolidation of lifelong learning or future expectations, also need collective involvement if we want any successful level of achievement.  CLIL offers opportunities for professional development, shared leadership, international collaboration, and for action–research at school: teachers, families and students can participate in designing, promoting, assessing and diffusing their CLIL school projects internationally, disseminating their success.  5. References  Barroso, J. M. (2010). European Union shows global leadership at UN Summit. Speech at the UN Millennium Development Goals Summit, and UN General Assembly in                                                  7 In Catalonia, the Headmaster Committee (Junta de Directors) is where the main education policies are presented and explained to schools. This is a way for the education authorities to be open to suggestions and collaborative participation from principals, teachers, and communities, with transparency and democratic processes.  329 New York (video). European Commission, Audiovisual Services (streaming 166218-24.09.2010). Retrieved 28 March 2012 from: http://ec.europa.eu/commission_2010-2014/president/news/speeches-statements/2010/09/20100924_speeches_2_en.htm Council of the European Union (2006). Council conclusions on the European indicator of language competence. Official Journal of the European Union (p. 1-3). Council of the European Union, OJ C 172, 25.07.2006. (2006/C 172/01) Retrieved 28 March 2012 from: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:C:2006:172:0001:0003:EN:PDF Council of the European Union (2011). Council conclusions on language competences to enhance mobility. Official Journal of the European Union. Council of the European Union, EDUC 256 SOC 891 CULT 83, 20.12.2011  (2011/C 372/07) Retrieved 28 March 2012 from: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:C:2011:372:0027:0030:EN:PDF Generalitat de Catalunya (2008a). Strategic Agreement to Promote Internationalisation of the Catalan Economy, Strengthen its Competitiveness and improve the Quality of Employment, 2008-2011 (Acord estratègic per a la internacionalització, la qualitat de l’ocupació i la competitivitat de l’economia catalana, 2008-2011). Generalitat de Catalunya. Retrieved 28 March 2012 from: http://www.acordestrategic.cat/doc/doc_31305876_1.pdf Generalitat de Catalunya (2008b). Strategic Agreement to Promote Internationalisation of the Catalan Economy, Strengthen its Competitiveness and improve the Quality of Employment 2008-2011 (Acord estratègic per a la internacionalització, la qualitat de l’ocupació i la competitivitat de l’economia catalana, 2008-2011). Generalitat de Catalunya. Retrieved 28 March 2012 from:  http://www.acordestrategic.cat/ Generalitat de Catalunya (2008c). Strategic Agreement to Promote Internationalisation of the Catalan Economy, Strengthen its Competitiveness and improve the Quality of Employment 2008-2011 (Acord estratègic per a la internacionalització, la qualitat de l’ocupació i la competitivitat de l’economia  330 catalana, 2008-2011). Generalitat de Catalunya, Aim 26(3) document. Retrieved 28 March 2012 from:  http://www.acordestrategic.cat/doc/doc_98238263_1.pdf Ministerio de Educación (2010). Real Decret 102/2010, de 5 de febrer, pel qual es regula l’ordenació dels ensenyaments acollits a l’acord entre el Govern d’Espanya i el Govern de França relatiu a la doble titulació de batxiller i baccalauréat en centres docents espanyols. Ministerio de Educación, BOE 62, de 12 de març de 2010.   

CLIL education policies in Catalonia: looking for collective empowerment through school autonomy

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CLIL education policies in Catalonia: looking for collective empowerment through school autonomy

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