Upholding and Accrediting Quality in Language Teaching and Learning

1. Upholding and Accrediting Quality in Language Teaching and Learning Peter BrownFounder Chair, EAQUALS Professional Network Forum – ECML Graz, 7February 2013

2. EAQUALS Founded in Trieste as an international association in 1991, now based in the UK as a Registered Charity – Secretariat in Hungary Mission: to foster and contribute to the development of language education A unique international accreditation scheme for language education 107 accredited member institutions and 23associate members in 30 countries(recently: China, Egypt, Libya, South Africa)

3. EAQUALS and the Council of Europe EAQUALS has continued to be represented on the Coordinating Group for the 'Linguistic Integration of Adult Migrants' through Richard Rossner. In 2012 the group met four times in different configurations and completed work on a new dedicated web area , to which EAQUALS contributed an institutional Self-assessment Guide adapted from an EAQUALS in-house document. Supporting Council of Europe initiatives such as ECML projects, and the PNF An international NGO with participatory status at the Council of Europe

4. EAQUALS participation in projects EAQUALS is a partner, inter alia, in three current EU co-funded projects The EPG Project (2011-2013) The Quality Guidelines Project (2011-2013) The NELLIP Project (2012-2014) assessing the best of the 1700 European Label awards EAQUALS and the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO): in particular ISO 29990 (published) ISO 29991-1 "Language Learning Services outside formal education: requirements“ (to be published late 2013)

5. Background to the European Profiling Grid Originally developed by EAQUALS for its own members Has parallels with the Common European Framework– both are designed to encourage: use of a common meta-language about language teaching agreement on some common reference points reflection on current practice “We have not set out to tell practitioners what to do or how to do it. We are raising questions not answering them.” (CEFR introduction)

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10. Self assessment example - core teaching competences 30/09/2014 10

11. Self assessment example – language, culture & professionalism 30/09/2014 11

12. QUALITY GUIDELINESQuality management for international education Leonardo da Vinci This project has been funded with support from the European Commission

13. ISO 29990 ‘LEARNING SERVICES FOR NON-FORMAL EDUCATION AND TRAINING – BASIC REQUIREMENTS FOR SERVICE PROVIDERS’ A BRIEF INTRODUCTION

14. THE NEED FOR QUALITY GUIDELINES • International education and cross-border mobility imply that the quality assurance systems used need to be comparable. • The procedures and processes involved in international education need to be transparent for all those involved. • Existing quality management systems like ISO 9001 and the EFQM model contain no requirements or recommendations relating to international dealings between education providers.

15. LEADERSHIP PROCESSES The complete system Managing and developing the educational organization SUPPORT PROCESSES Allocating and developing staff including teachers; developing the learning infrastructure Measuring, analyzing and improving the educational processes and services CUSTOMER SATISFACTION: participants, the labour market, the national economy, and society CUSTOMER REQUIREMENTS: participants, the labour market, the economy, society CREATION-OF-VALUE PROCESSES Conceiving, implementing and evaluating educational services

17. PNF 2012 - Burning issues (S) • funding & focusing • learners increasingly unwilling to invest qualitytime to learn a language • impact of technology • lost in translation: the economic cost on GDP of poor language skills in the workplace • renewal: of methodologies, techniques, teacher competencies, ... • need to update CEFR ( publishers) • need for research & dissemination of results of research

18. PNF 2012 – Possible Action Points •  ECML - Authoratative and independent source of communicating good practice to stakeholders § • learners less willing to invest timein learning • renewal: of methodologies, techniques, competencies • research & dissemination of results of research • lost in translation dedicating part of site to SME •  Examine possibility of Joint Conferences • impact of technology • need to update CEFR • Can private sector being more involved? Including in partnership co-funding? • funding & focusing • lost in translation

19. PNF 2012 – Reflections • best practiceis important (for we must be able to learn) • but =past practice • future = innovation(but innovation needs monitoring, measuring & evaluating). Innovations: • ... do not, and should not, necessarily equate with technology but should equate withscience(= hard data),knowledgethrough experience, learning, ... • ... can benew, or equally canrenew / revisit • ... not just breaking new ground butcould be new solutions to old problems(reviewing, reflecting & revisiting)

20. PNF – 2013 Action Points § • Educational governance – civil society • Teachers as leaders • CLIL: language & cognition | longitudinal studies required • Potential impact of ISO 29991 • Austrian Presidency Conference - 2014: an international conference under the auspices of the Austrian presidency, co-ordinated by the ECML: the value of education, the role of language education in the context of social mobility and integration.

21. PNF – Reflection § “... the greatest explorers are not those who discover new countries but those who see things with new eyes ... ”

22. Thank youPeter.Brown@EAQUALS.org for further information from the EAQUALS website www.EAQUALS.org by e-mail from Info@EAQUALS.org