Language competences and the European Higher Education Area Some comments and reflections

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Language competences and the European Higher
Education AreaSome comments and reflections

• Josef HuberHigher Education and ResearchCouncil
  of EuropeDecember 2005

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Some initial questions

• Which language competences
• What are they? Which are needed?
• Communication? Intercultural? Understanding?
  Expertise? Partial?
• Preconceived ideas about
• Necessary language competences
• Bi and multilingualism in HE
• Linguistic imperialism ?
• European Higher Education Area
• What can we expect from it?
• Multilingual, multicultural, diverse, stable,
  peaceful, affluent, European society
• Knowledge-based, competitive, strong?
• What is happening and what is NOT happening
  enough?

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Responding to changes

• Need for
• Better trained and educated work force mass
  universities
• Competition for scarcer public resources
  steering by economics
• More transparency and comparability mobility
• Competitive research results knowledge society
• Stronger position in the international context
  internationalisation and income generation
• Social cohesion in socially, culturally and
  linguistically diverse societies
• Peaceful and stable democratic societies
• While respecting and promoting the multiple
  mission of higher education
• preparation for the labour market
• preparation for life as active citizens in
  democratic societies
• personal development
• development and maintenance of an advanced
  knowledge base in a broad area of academic
  disciplines

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Council of EuropeHigher education policy platform

• In the framework of the European Cultural
  Convention
• Public authorities (ministries responsible for
  higher education), higher education institutions
  and their associations, students and other
  professional associations
• The Council of Europe and the Bologna Process
• Consultative member in steering bodies and active
  in working groups, contributions to seminars and
  conferences
• Provider of input to the process and policy
  discussions in it

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Main concerns

• Support and assistance for member states (EE,
  SEE, SC)
• Integration into the EHEA, assistance in higher
  education reform
• Recognition, Lisbon Recognition Convention, 1997
• Enable people to move between countries without
  loss of value of own qualification
• Offer right to fair assessment, recognition
  unless substantial difference (partial
  recognition)
• Qualifications framework and learning outcomes
• Public responsibility for Higher Education and
  Research
• A cornerstone of European university heritage
  needs adaptation to todays society - levels of
  public responsibility Exclusive, leading,
  substantial
• Higher Education Governance
• a method to reach agreement on objectives and
  orientations (fitness of purpose) and to develop
  strategies and instruments to implement them in
  practice (fitness for purpose)

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2006 onwards

• New project
• Redefine the missions of higher education and
  research for the world of today and tomorrow
• Strengthen
• Employability in a wide sense
• Research for understanding not just for economics
• Citizenship/ model for pluralist democracy
  preparation for life
• Continue to develop the four-fold mission of
  higher education and research
• as a safeguard against a one-dimensional vision
  of higher education not fit to answer the
  multidimensional needs of complex modern
  societies.

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Some dangers

• Disparate disjointed types of HEI with diplomas
  but no real qualifications no national higher
  education areas, no European Higher Education
  Area
• Diversity of types without common core of higher
  education - overspecialised
• Schooling instead Educating - development of
  competences for independent search for creative
  solutions
• Virtual space reduced learning experience -
  lack of social and political competences, ethics

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What is an educated person?

• Savoir
• Which knowledge? Which scope of knowledge? Which
  balance between specialist and general knowledge?
• Savoir faire
• Which competences and skills? Which scope of
  competences and skills? Which balance between
  specialist and general competences and skills?
  Technical specialist skills vs general,
  interdisciplinary skills
• Savoir être
• Which attitudes based on which ethic values?
  Within the discipline and beyond
• Savoir apprendre
• independent, critical thinking, autonomous
  learning, life-long learning, collaborative
  learning
• Language and communication competences are part
  and parcel of these savoirs

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Q Which language competences do we deem
necessary?

• General communication competences, capacity for
  social political and intercultural dialogue and
  competences in area of expertise?
• Elaborated communication competences
• in only one language?
• in one PLUS one language?
• in one PLUS one PLUS one?
• How far can we go?
• Partial competences - for which purposes?

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How to achieve the necessary competences

• Everything is already done on secondary level?
• Left to individual initiative (and finances)?
• Higher education institutions
• Provide generic language (or communication)
  training for one, two (several) languages, for
  area of expertise (or beyond)
• Offer parts of or full programme in one or two
  languages
• Offer bi/ multilingual programmes (or parts
  thereof)

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The need

• Fully integrated language education at tertiary
  level including training for
• General communicative competence in at least two
  languages
• Area specific communicative language competences
  in at least two languages including identified
  partial competences
• Based on a structured and sound approach to the
  description of language competences and their
  assessment
• Full recognition as part of programme
• Recognition for further going individual
  initiative
• True promotion of a multilingual/ multicultural
  higher education culture

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http//www.coe.int/higher-education

• The public responsibility for higher education
  and research (Council of Europe higher education
  series No. 2) (2005)Luc Weber and Sjur Bergan
  (eds)92-871-5679-4
• The university as res publica - higher education
  governance, student participation and the
  university as a site of citizenship (Council of
  Europe higher education series No. 1) (2004)Sjur
  Bergan, Annika Persson, Frank Plantan, Sergiu
  Musteata, Angela Garabagiu92-871-5515-1
• Recognition issues in the Bologna Process
  (2003)92-871-5150-4Sjur Bergan