Why languages matter: European and national perspectives on multilingualism

I'd like to start with the first European Survey on Language Competences, which we carried out in 2011 in close cooperation with the Member States. The results showed that the level of language skills as taught in schools throughout Europe is insufficient. The survey provided the basis for future Europe-wide assessments of proficiency in two foreign languages among 15 year-olds.
In May this year, all Member States reached political agreement about the need to better assess language skills in education in order to be able to improve the outcomes of language learning and progress towards the target levels. They will work on making language teaching in schools more efficient by introducing new teaching methods like content language integrated learning and by taking advantage of modern technologies. More...