FULL VERSION - European Commission - Europa

understand people from other cultures, but also an important engine of social and economicgrowth in Europe.From a labour market perspective, as shown in a recent study on the impact of languageskills in enterprises including SMEs 42 , knowing languages improves competitiveness andmobility of companies and citizen, thus leading to better working conditions and jobopportunities. Further, according to the final report of the EU Group of Experts onMultilingualism 43 , motivation is the key factor to succeed in second (third, etc.)language acquisition. So it is very important to enhance motivation of language students.Schools and teachers play a vital role in this matter: a positive experience in secondlanguage acquisition at school will encourage further study of the respective language aswell as of other languages. 44 It should be made clear that the language learning processdoes not stop at school, it rather continues through additional channels, which should beavailable to interested students.In addition to the individual motivation to learn a second, third or fourth language, thepersonal and financial investments it takes to acquire a foreign language should also betaken into account at an individual level. Accordingly, innovative and bold measures shouldbe explored and designed if the EU wishes to reach the lofty goals of multilingualism. In thatcontext, a special attention should be paid to programs that enhance social inclusion,for instance through the creation of better learning opportunities and by making languagelearning affordable, in particular for marginalised groups.3 Group work on Language Diversity and Social InclusionThe Work group on Language Diversity and Social Inclusion has convened several meetingswhere a fruitful exchange of opinions has taken place. One of the main tasks carried out bythe Group has been the drafting of a questionnaire addressed to third sector organisations,nearly 40 institutions from different countries, which work with groups potentially at risk ofexclusion, especially immigrants, with a view to have a clearer idea of the linguistic obstaclesthey encounter when interacting with social services in the host country (such as medicalservices, police, court). This is a survey which is still at a preliminary stage; it requires, thus,methodological improvements. However, it is a useful tool to explore the current situation andto help us define priorities and identify good practices in the field.According to the preliminary results of the questionnaire, 76% of the respondents say they know linguistic projects aimed at promotingintegration of immigrants or people at risk of exclusion; 50% of the respondents think that public services (medical, social, police, court) arenot prepared at all to face the linguistic needs of groups at risk of exclusion and toprovide services to people who do not speak the language of the majority and havedifferent cultural backgrounds; 46% consider that public services are barely in a position to respond to these needs. Among the institutions which appear to be best prepared to meet those needs,respondents mention third sector organisations (especially NGO’s) followed by legalcourts and medical services. A great majority of the respondents think that the attention paid in their territories tothe issue of multilingualism is not sufficient. More than 84% think that training and educational initiatives should be carried out inorder to promote multilingualism, and around 53% believe that political and42http://ec.europa.eu/education/languages/Focus/docs/elan-sum_en.pdf43http://ec.europa.eu/education/languages/pdf/doc1664_en.pdf - European Communities, 2008 - ISBN 978-92-79-06902-444An innovative UK programme (Springboard to Languages), which is making interesting progress in increasing the motivationof weaker students, is described in detail in the education section of the Platform’s report.Civil Society Platform on Multilingualism: 32Policy Recommendations for the Promotion of Multilingualism in the European Union 06/06/10 – FULL VERSION