Preface by Viviane Reding, European Commissioner Responsible ...

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EUROPEAN YEAR OF LANGUAGES 2001: SOME HIGHLIGHTSCelebrating languagesEurope’s linguistic diversity is one of its greatstrengths, intrinsically linked with its culturalvariety.The European Commission attaches greatimportance to the role of learning languages inpromoting cultural understanding, both amongEuropeans and between Europeans and others.Mary McAleese, President ofIreland, meets children at theLanguages Lift Off in Dublin on26 September47% of peoplein the EU can speakno language other thantheir mother tongue.Having language skills makes people more ableto embrace different cultures rather than feelthreatened by them. Equally, access to theculture associated with a language is apowerful motivation for learning it.Words426% of people in the EUcan speak at leasttwo languages other thantheir mother tongue.Most of the projects the Commission fundedduring the Year had cultural aspects. Somewere centred on bringing people from differentcountries together or on multilingual culturalfestivals. Others were simply enjoyableactivities which helped to promote the Year’smessages.For example, the project coordinated by theFrench Ministries of Culture, Foreign Affairs,Education and Youth/Sport "Dix mots pour leslangues du monde" (Ten words for thelanguages of the world) was simple, yet inspiring.A panel of linguists, writers and artists chose tenwords in French, and created a short text orpoem around each word. The list was translatedinto ten languages: Spanish, German, English,Italian, Portuguese, Occitan, Hungarian, Arabic,Haitian Creole and Lingala (spoken mostly inZaire and the Congo).The words were circulated throughout Franceand beyond via a booklet and Internet site, withan invitation to use them as a starting point forcreative work, in any language. The invitationwas taken up by hundreds of schools, businesses,cultural organisations and individuals. Therewere over three hundred lectures, workshops,exhibitions and competitions based on thewords.With its project "In Other Words", the Artslaborganisation in Ireland wanted to strengthenlinks with other areas of Europe wherebilingualism and minority languages are animportant part of culture and identity.Simultaneous celebrations of the European Dayof Languages on 26 September were organisedin the Republic of Ireland (Cabinteely, DúnChaoin), Northern Ireland (Derry, Enniskillen),Catalonia (Toroella de Montgris) and the BasqueCountry (Bera de Bidasoa). Further celebrationswere organised for Christmas.Young people from each place created a multilingualInternet site to exchange informationabout traditional festivals. Meanwhile, youngartists created original works representing theproject, including a board game and a cloak withpockets filled with objects linked with theparticipating cities, towns and villages.Enjoying languagesOne of the many high profile events which tookplace in Portugal during the Year was the"Festa das Línguas" (Festival of Languages)organised by the Fundação Centro Cultural deBelém. The two-day open air festival at the endof September included circus, theatre, dance,music and other activities in about 20languages, as well as the "Languages Lift Off"balloon launch organised by the Commission. AsMaria do Carmo Correia de Oliveira, of thePortuguese national coordinating body for theYear, said to one of many Portuguesenewspapers which covered the event: "theprinciple is that languages have an intrinsicvalue, as a heritage to conserve, but also assomething simply to be enjoyed".Languages on filmWatching films with subtitles – rather than dubbedversions – is an excellent way of improving one’sknowledge of foreign languages while havingfun at the same time.Cinema was an important part of the EuropeanYear in several countries. The InstitutoCervantes and the Filmoteca in Madridorganised a three-week festival concentratingon films in regional and minority languages. InLiechtenstein in July, the Vaduz film festivalfeatured films in four languages. The Queen’sFilm Theatre in Belfast, Northern Ireland, alsohosted a multilingual festival. Films also featuredin the innovative selection of activities organisedThe language most spokenas a mother tongue in theEU is German (23% of thepopulation).English, French and Italianare each spoken by about16% of the EU population.5
EUROPEAN YEAR OF LANGUAGES 2001: SOME HIGHLIGHTSCelebrating languagesLanguage learningis for everyoneThe European Year hot air balloon provided by Euroscript, Luxembourgby the rural region of Figueira de CasteloRodrigo, Portugal. These also included an internationalcookery competition and a windowdressing contest for local shops.Hip HopThere was an important place for youth culturein the Year. In one of the more unusual projects,in Amsterdam, a group of European culturalinstitutes coordinated by the Goethe InstitutInter Nationes organised a "Euro Hip Hop"night in October. There were rap groups fromeight countries and an accompanying bookletwith examples of their lyrics. "Not the kind ofpoetry you find in books", the reader was warned,but expressive and powerful nonetheless. Inseveral other European cities, including Madrid,Bordeaux and Brussels (see below), networksof national cultural institutes also got together,with support from the Commission, to organiseEuropean Year activities.Hot airMeanwhile, the European Year of Languageshot air balloon succeeded in attracting plentyof attention with its flights in Brussels, Munichand Luxembourg. Giveaways, quizzes, games andother activities around the balloon were mostlyaimed at children. The lucky ones also had thechance to make short flights. This Europeanproject was coordinated by Euroscript inLuxembourg.Some people have had bad experiences oflanguage learning during their education orbelieve that they are just "not good at it" or thatit is not useful for them. But language learning isfor everyone, whatever their age or nationality.Knowledge of languages opens the door to newexperiences and often to better job prospects. Italso makes it much easier to take advantage ofthe right to live and work elsewhere in the EU.GuideModern methods encourage the learner to usethe language to communicate, from thebeginning. If they invest some effort, people ofall ages can make quick progress, either throughorganised classes or by learning at home.These are key messages of the guide "How youcan learn languages", which gives some simpleadvice on how to learn effectively. The guide waspublished by the European Commission and theCouncil of Europe in May 2001, to coincide withthe European Adult Language Learners’ Week (5-11 May). Nearly half a million copies have beendistributed.Taste a languageMany projects co-financed by the Commissionincluded "language tasters" in their programme.These short sample lessons are an effective wayof getting people interested in language learning.In Brussels, the "Lingua Snacks" project offeredtasters in a wide range of languages, along withan edible snack to help entice people to takepart! The 30 minute classes were based on the"total physical response" method, associatingnew vocabulary with physical actions. CoordinatorRalph Bisschops said: " the method waschosen because learning a language throughactions comes very close to the infant’s languagelearning process and triggers our innate capacityto process verbal input."Venues included a library, a major cinemacomplex, and the European Commission’s pressroom, where a demonstration lesson in Czechwas given for journalists. On the European Day ofLanguages on 26 September, the snacks wereserved as part of an exhibition of projects in theCinquantenaire Park in Brussels, centred aroundthe "Languages Lift Off" balloon launch performedby European Commissioner VivianeReding.Another project participating in that event was"Vivre les langues" (Living with languages),managed by the Brussels network of Europeancultural institutes. Seven institutes from variousEU Member States provided tasters in the parkand at their own premises. Afterwards, tocelebrate the success of the network’s efforts andof the European Day, hundreds of young peoplefrom all over Europe danced the night away atthe Universal Language Techno Party.72% of people in the EUbelieve knowing foreignlanguages is useful.87% of the 15-24 agegroup believe foreignlanguage skills are useful.Among other projects offering language tasterswas the "Tower of Babel" in Iceland, which helda language fair in May, in association withcultural institutes, adult education groups andimmigrant organisations. The project alsoproduced a comprehensive guide to languagelearning oportunities in Iceland.6Finnish children wait to startthe Languages March inHelsinki on 26 SeptemberThe language learner’s guide published bythe Commission and Council of Europe in MayThe Italian city of Arezzo organised a series oftaster activities in summer 2001. The cityrounded off the Year with an arts and food7
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