Using FREPA

For programmes and curricula

Pluralistic approaches have been / are being introduced in the curriculum for school education of an increasing number of countries in Europe (Andorra, Austria, Belgium (Wallonia-Brussels Federation), Catalonia, Finland, France, Germany, Luxembourg, the three linguistic regions of Switzerland, South Tyrol (Alto Adige / Südtirol) and Valle d'Aosta in Italy - For more information see below). In many cases it is not easy to identify which concrete use has been made of the FREPA. In the following PowerPoint file, we present three cases (French speaking Switzerland, Finland, Ticino) in which the FREPA has undoubtedly played a role.
 The use of FREPA for curricula – three cases (with Text  )

To know more about other countries which have introduced / are introducing pluralistic approaches into their curriculum:   Bibliography

Some reflections about the various kinds of links which can be established between pluralistic approaches / the FREPA and a curriculum: Presentation given at the International colloquium Multilingualism: Curricular Perspectives, Rabat, May 2-3 2016 (in French):
  La prise en compte des approches plurielles et du CARAP dans les curriculums - Quelques modalités (with Text  )

- (About the impact exerted by Awakening to languages on some curricula worldwide, see:
 Awakening to languages today - a Powerpoint by Michel Candelier and Ildikó Lörincz (6th EDiLiC Conference, Györ, July 2016)

Introduction of Awakening to languages in the new curriculum of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation. Information provided by Wim de Grieve, retired Inspector of Basic Education.
Since the start of the 2020 school year, Awakening to languages has been integrated in the curriculum of all pupils from the first to the third year of pre-primary education. It will also become compulsory for pupils in the first and second years of primary education at the start of the next school year (September 2021).
A reference document has been produced and is available on the Enseignement.be website. It contains a number of interesting ideas about the principles of Awakening to languages, guidelines for progression and suggested activities for the class.
Besides,  n°47 of PROF magazine, which is sent to all teachers, has devoted a whole page to Awakening to languages.
At the same time, various measures have been taken for initial and further education of teachers, the production of other teaching materials and to make cross-references with frameworks of reference for competences more explicit. Local initiatives are taken by teachers to work together on Awakening to languages.

In order to know more about the Curriculum of the French speaking Switzerland (PER – Plan d’études romand) and the context in which it has been developed, see a presentation given by Jean-François de Pietro in a Conference in Göttingen (Germany, November 2016) (in French):
 De la didactique intégrée aux approches interlinguistiques Comment le nouveau Plan d’études pour la Suisse francophone conçoit-il le plurilinguisme ?

Pluralistic approaches and FREPA  in the new Aosta Valley Programmes. Information provided by Gabriella Vernetto, Inspector, Aosta Valley Autonomous Region, g.vernetto@regione.vda.it.
The Aosta Valley context is characterized by a bilingual Italian-French education system. The Aosta Valley Statute of Autonomy allows it to adapt the official national instructions to its needs and to the specific characteristics of its territory.
 The "Adaptations of the National Guidelines to the Local Requirements of the Aosta Valley for the Curriculum of the Kindergarten and First Cycle of Education"* (Primary and Middle School), August 2016, contain a chapter entirely devoted to plurilingualism, with explicit references to the pluralistic approaches and to FREPA. The part concerning Kindergarten explicitly refers to Awakening to languages.
In the pupil’s profile at the end of the first cycle of education, plurilingual competences are clearly referred to: "... curiosity, openness to and respect for linguistic and cultural diversity. Using the knowledge and skills that the learner has in one language in order to understand and produce in another language. Feeling comfortable in communicative situations where several languages and / or cultures are present ..."
"The certificate of competence that a school delivers to each student at the end of the first cycle includes the certification of plurilingual competences, whose descriptors are based on FREPA.
(In parallel, a reform of the university curriculum for the training of teachers (Aosta Valley University) offers a 60-hour course in "Didactics of plurilingualism" in the third year.
* Adattamenti alle necessità locali della Valle d’Aosta delle Indicazioni nazionali per il curricolo della scuola dell’infanzia e del primo ciclo di istruzione. On these developments, one can also read the comments by Marisa Cavalli.

IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF NEW PROGRAMMES AND CURRICULA

Implementation of the new Aosta Valley Programmes. Information provided by Gabriella Vernetto, Inspectrice, Région autonome Vallée d'Aoste, g.vernetto@regione.vda.it.
The application of the "Adaptations" (see "In the programmes and curricula" above) has been carried out experimentally since the beginning of 2016 and only concerns the first classes of each school level. Working groups have been set up to develop curricula and teaching aids. A working group for Kindergarten is organizing  a repository for Awakening to languages in relation to FREPA. The tools for its implementation are being selected and observation grids for bi-plurilingual skills are being developed. The presence of family members for certain activities is a common approach.
A comprehensive training plan for in-service teachers has been planned. In order to enhance Awakening to languages at Kindergarten, an 8-hour training module has been set up in the schools.

For didactic materials

In an interview given to the Goethe Institute Anna Maria Curci reports about how pluralistic approaches can efficiently contribute to plurilingual and intercultural education at Secondary II level in Italy.
She starts with Awakening to languages and Intercomprehension activities in a mini-course she gives in the third year of secondary I and then goes on with the Integrated didactic approach, form the first year of Secondary II until the CLIL modules she experiments in the third year.
https://www.goethe.de/en/spr/mag/20825785.html (EN)
https://www.goethe.de/de/spr/mag/20825785.html (DE)
 

For innovative projects

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For research

Martine Kervran (ESPE, Brittany, France) completed a doctoral thesis titled “Learning English and language awareness in primary school: Development and transfer of metalinguistic skills within an integrated didactic framework” at the University of Maine (France) in December 2008. The FREPA descriptors are used as “a guide to set benchmarks in the complexity of cognitive resources involved in the studied didactic situations”. In other words, the author seeks to “identify and name the cognitive issues with help of the proposed classifications by FREPA” (cited work, pp. 173-174). The thesis of Martine Kervran can be downloaded from the Plurilangues website.
 

For teacher training

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For global projects

Morocco's National Charter for Education and Training, which was launched in 2000, provides for the teaching firstly of one, and then of a second foreign language at primary level, in addition to the teaching of Arabic, the official language. The Charter provides for an "opening-up" to Amazigh, which is an official language of the State. It invites the regional education authorities to "choose the use of Amazigh or any local dialect in order to facilitate the learning of the national language at preschool level and in early primary school".
In a text linked to this article, Fatima El Kalloufi, teacher and researcher at the Mohammed V University in Rabat, explains how this situation has prompted a team from this university, under her coordination, to translate FREPA into arabic.
A first training seminar on pluralistic approaches took place in May 2015 in Rabat, and a international conference, as well as a new training course, are due to take place in May 2016.

Read Fatima El Khalloufi's text
Contact Fatima El-Khalloufi
(faelkhalloufi@yahoo.fr)

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