To learn more about this issue please visit TLC Archive.

There will be an opening session on Friday afternoon, so participants can travel on Friday morning May 3rd. There will be a welcome reception on Friday evening. The members’ AGM will be on Friday evening before dinner. Further programme details are available at icc-languages.eu.

We would like to invite colleagues to speak at the conference. If you have an idea for a presentation talk, workshop or panel discussion, please contact the ICC Chair, Dr Ellinor Haase, at chair@icc-languages.eu.

The ICC Conference will be held at the European Academy Centre. The venue is the beautiful European Academy (EAB) in central Berlin. In this country house – in a style reminiscent of the late 19th century – ICC delegates will have the use of 5 seminar rooms of varying sizes, a lounge with a fireplace, a dining conservatory and 32 hotel rooms. There is also a beautiful garden with mature trees for delegates to enjoy in between sessions. The address of the venue is Europäische Akademie Berlin, Bismarckallee 46/48, 14193 Berlin. Venue website is eab-berlin.eu.

A separate EUROLTA event will be held alongside the ICC conference in Berlin. More information and a draft programme will be sent to EUROLTA training centres and trainers and assessors early in 2019. Please let ICC know if you wish to attend this special EUROLTA event.

The topic was the ECML 2020-2023 programme on languages entitled, Inspiring innovation in language education: changing contexts, evolving competences. Details are available at youtube.com.

Ifigenia presented the history, aims and activities of ICC, including The Berlin Conference 2019 (see above), EUROLTA and the TLC Journal, to 25 delegates from 15 leading European language organisations. The Professional Network Forum focuses on language education and assessment and represents current and former project co- ordinators, ECML consultants and members of the ECML governing board. Each representative offered their perspective on current challenges in language and education and how the ECML can address these through its next programme.

ECML is a unique institution committed to linguistic and cultural diversity and embodying the values of the Council of Europe. It has 33 member states. ECML offers training and consultancy to member states as well as organising language programmes for learners and language professionals.

Among their initiatives are training in digital literacy, a teacher’s programme for optimising the use of the CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference), developing language awareness in classes teaching other subjects and promoting excellence in sign language instruction.

They are also concerned to set up action research communities for language teachers to create a quality assurance matrix for CEFR use, language tools for professional development and a roadmap for schools to support the language(s) of schooling.

For more information please visit ecml.at, or visit hcc.edu.gr for the Hellenic Culture Centre.

It is one of the largest schools in this area and accommodates 700 students daily in about 150-200 courses. The school offers German courses at all levels all year round: intensive immersion courses, summer and holiday courses, literacy classes, one-to-one classes, company and in-house training.

The students come from all parts of the world and the multicultural background of the participants makes the German courses exciting and challenging. Studying in international groups helps activate and boost the learning process. The language school is also a cultural institute. The leisure programme ranges from visits to the European Parliament in Strasbourg to discovery trips to Rome and other European cities.

The school employs about 60 teachers who are all qualified specialists in German as a Foreign Language. The director and owner of the school, Frau Inga Heenemann, says: ‘Teaching is not just a profession, but a vocation that our teachers fulfil daily with renewed energy and enthusiasm.’

The school places great importance on high quality training. The director of the school sees the EUROLTA teacher training programme as a suitable in-service further qualification for language teachers not only for their school but for the whole area of Freiburg and Lörrach. The school will offer EUROLTA to teachers who have not yet started teaching, but also to other participants who would like to start a career in teaching. There will be two programmes – an intensive four-week programme (200 sessions) and a modular two- month programme running on alternate Saturdays and Sundays (160 sessions).

The aim of the meeting was to update delegates on the developments in Erasmus+, the Lifelong Learning platform, the European Education Exchange and Youth for Understanding, and ICC and EUROLTA. The meeting included contributions from experts from the European Commission Schools division and the Council of Europe.

A key topic was the difficulty of adaptation of students going abroad to study and the education of students entering EU countries, particularly in the development of language and multiculturalism. The unique contribution of EUROLTA is that it provides practical teacher training programmes for language teachers with little experience and turns them into effective trainers able to help fill the gap in teachers needed to train new immigrants.

This was particularly important in Bavaria in southern Germany in 2016 where the government was short of teachers to meet the demand for language training for the influx of migrants from the southern Mediterranean.

Using the EUROLTA training programme, the local authorities were able to certify 225 teachers in a short time and get them to work. It made clear that EUROLTA is a key training facility for enabling state and private bodies to increase the provision of language teachers to meet the demands of expanding educational populations, especially in adult education.

These manuals contain the training materials that you need, and all the information about starting and running a training centre. The manuals are now available to all accredited training centres. Please contact Ms Fischer at myriam@icc-languages.eu.

The event turned out dynamic and entertaining. RUDN University students studying English learned amazing and informative trivia about Scotland, the birthplace of Mr. Young. In his interactive presentation, he spoke about the flag and the emblems, the population of this part of the UK, their language and traditions, as well as the chequered patterns on kilts.

As the participants had an opportunity to listen to traditional Scottish songs performed on a bagpipe, they all noted it was the most memorable part of the meeting. Mr. Young showed to the spellbound audience the complicated the process of setting up the instrument, then treated the students to a delightful performance of Scottish tunes which obviously earned him a well-deserved applause, and also taught the participants to sing the traditional Scottish New Year song, Auld Lang Syne. The meeting ended with a quiz and an award ceremony with the most attentive and erudite students receiving gifts all the way from Scotland.

The corresponding decree was issued on December 15. Earlier on, Professor Filippov was put in nomination at the founding meeting of the Russian Committee on UNESCO Educational Programmes, which took place on November 27 in Ryazan.

An interactive demonstration highlighting the establishment and functioning of OPEC was presented by OPEC PR specialist and an employee of Public Relations and Information Department Hind Zaher. Following the presentation, programme participants had an extended discussion on OPEC activity and prospects of cooperation within OPEC+.

The event welcomed academics and industry representatives (Dell EMC, Nokia, Intel, Open Mobile Platform, etc.). FRUCT is a large pan-European cooperation network that promotes the development of open innovation in academia and industry and annually holds scientific events to bring the academic and business communities together to promote innovative projects.

In terms of medicine, the ranking regocnised 7 Russian universities with RUDN University sharing its second place countrywide with Kazan Federal University, Novosibirsk State University, and St. Petersburg State University. The ranking evaluates universities in 5 categories: teaching, research, citations, international activity, and industry income.

Another focus of this issue is translation methodology with two papers exploring general and field-specific methodology of translation training – ‘Translation as a subject of theoretical analysis’  by Elena Borisova et al. on the concept of philological approach to translation offering a number of comprehensive arguments to be considered by specialists in the field, and ‘Some basic challenges and strategies in teaching translation to Chemistry majors’  by Elena Aksenova and Svetlana Orlova on teaching translation to non-language majors in ESP classes offering a test run of relevant approaches assessed with experiment and control groups at Moscow Technical University. To learn more please visit TLC Archive.

We have seen a huge increase in the number and nature of technological ‘solutions’ to learning languages. With the movement of peoples across the world, learners are more diverse than ever before. ‘Clashes of culture’ are ever more present. The challenges facing language teachers are becoming more numerous and more varied. The range of languages not only that students want to learn but also that learners bring into the classroom is increasing and becoming more fluid. How well prepared are we? What is being taken into account in teacher training? What kinds of pre-service and in-service support do language teachers need? This conference will examine the challenges faced by teachers across a range of classroom environments. It will offer reflections on planning, policy making and practical tips for those of us on the front line. It also examines how the training of teachers and the training of trainers can be developed if we are to adapt to the ever-changing needs of the language learning environment.

We are keen to consider proposals for presentations at the conference and invite you to submit your proposals by 0ctober 30th to Ozlem Yuges at ozlem.yuges@icclanguages.eu. Full details are available at icc-languages.eu/conferences/26th-icc-annual-conference-2019-berlin.

This immersive Certificate in Contemporary Arabic is a fully experiential, contextualised and communicative programme providing an intensive Arabic language and cultural experience. It prepares students for a wide range of professional, social and academic challenges. It will enable you to communicate effectively in both formal and informal, spoken and written Arabic. The programme is based on a unique holistic approach to the Arabic language which focuses on Language Unity of Arabic varieties (formal/informal; spoken/ written; standard/colloquial). The programme emphasises the communicative competences required for effective use of Arabic in a variety of Arabic speaking contexts. The first programme starts on October 8th, 2018. Details are available at icc-languages.eu/news.

The Recommendation aims at increasing the employability and personal development of apprentices and contributing towards a highly skilled and qualified workforce responsive to labour market needs.

Quality apprenticeships also help encourage active citizenship and social inclusion by integrating people of different social backgrounds into the labour market. The framework sets out 14 criteria in relation to working and learning conditions as well as to framework conditions. It provides a common understanding among Member States and it will support their efforts to reform and modernise apprenticeship systems that provide an excellent learning and career pathway.

On the morning of December12th, from 09:00 to 10:30, there will be a promotional part of the event involving additional experts. This session will focus on the Call for the next ECML programme. ECML are planning to broadcast this short session as a webcast. It will include a brief summary of the themes of the Call (which will have been adopted by the Centre’s Governing Board by then) and ‘voices’ from experts (such as ICC) on why it is beneficial to become involved within an ECML project.

Demand for German as a foreign language continues to grow in Germany and around the globe. All on Board aims to give new trainers a solid foundation in the theory and practice needed to teach German to adults. It is a six-month, part-time course held at All on Board, Seestraße 27, 13353 Berlin Wedding.

Course details:

• September: 29-30.09
• October: 27-28.10
• November: 24-25.11
• December: 15-16.12 (if participants agree)
• January: 26-27.01.2019
• Fabruary: 23-24.02.2019

The course contact is Ms Kim Nguyen and the main EUROLTA trainer on the course is Justin Ehresman. Justin holds a Master’s degree in Applied Linguistics and has extensive experience in teaching both English and German as foreign languages, as well as years of teacher training experience. For more information, please visit the All on Board website at allonboard.de or write to info@allonboard.de.

The EUROLTA – Eurovolt Diploma is a Certification for Online Teaching in Vocational Language Teaching to Adults via Virtual Learning Environments. Its aim is to improve teaching skills in developing and managing online learning in institutions or for private use, bringing new life into multimodal language teaching. To learn more, please visit icc-languages.eu/component/attachments/download/2.

This year, 500 students were admitted to the university, with 250 first years now studying at the Faculty of Economics and over 150 students admitted to the Institute of World Economics and Business. The first years were welcomed by Dean of the Faculty of Economics Prof Yuri Moseikin and Head of Federal Service for Technical and Export Control in Russia Andrei Glaskov.

The study covers data on professionals residing in Moscow and indicates income thresholds to be expected by young experts specialising in the field of Economics and Management.

The parties discussed preparations for the 19th meeting of the Russian-Chinese Intergovernmental Commission for Humanitarian Cooperation, the 18th meeting of the Russian-Chinese Subcommittee for Educational Cooperation, the development of bilateral academic exchange and scientific inter-university cooperation, and the forthcoming China Education Expo to be held in October in Beijing, Chengdu, Guangzhou and Shanghai in partnership with the leading Russian universities.

The delegation visited the headquarters of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation to meet with Deputy Secretary General of the SCO Aziz Nosirov and Resident Commissioner Bandar Wilsonbab to discuss member states’ working group on education, as well as the regulatory and legal framework of SCO operations. RUDN University Vice-Rector for International Affairs Larisa Efremova and Mr Wilsonbab discussed cooperation opportunities and prospects for the inclusion of Indian universities as part of a network university.

The topics covered by Prof Krouglov included approaches to the notion of equivalence in translation, terminological variation and specific application of the notion to specialised translation, the importance of coherence and cohesion in translation, cultural and multimedia translations, transcreation, translation of economic, business, marketing, advertising and PR texts.

Subway exits will be located in close proximity to the university buildings.

The screening process will be held in three stages.

• Stage 1 – receipt of applications (up to September 21, 2018);
• Stage 2 – processing of applications by the Contest Committee (up to September 27, 2018);
• Stage 3 – announcement of winners (October 3, 2018).

Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia is the national leader in internationalisation with the international students representing 155 countries worldwide and covering 27% of the university’s student body. The university has an established system supporting student adaptation and talent promotion and is committed to increasing its share of international professors by 10.2% by 2020. RUDN University intends to share its best practices, bolster the network of international partners, expand inclusive training and double diploma programmes, and find new opportunities for scientific cooperation.

Detailed information on the EAIE Conference and Exhibition is available at eaie.org/geneva.html.

Key aims included: (1) facilitating international collaboration; (2) improving the mechanisms of cooperation between RUDN University and international graduates’ associations and alliances; (3) improving relevant RUDN University project activities; (4) discussing on-the-job training and employment issues and opportunities. The round table welcomed the representatives of diplomatic missions in the Russian Federation, leaders of over 50 graduates’ associations representing universities in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Europe, Latin America and the CIS, representatives of state authorities, public organisations, Russian and international business structures, as well as RUDN University students and staff.

All types of mobility will be implemented in the second semester of the 2018/2019 academic year. Candidates must complete their applications by October 15, to be further considered by the selection panel of the University of Porto in view of their academic achievements, motivation, language skills, etc. Detailed information is available at mobileunlimited.up.pt/courses.

A lot of language is about manipulating opinion and maybe avoiding the truth. Many of our articles this issue address this area of different uses of language. To learn more please visit TLC Archive.

EUROLTA QUIZ

• What does EUROLTA stand for?
• How many levels does EUROLTA have – one, two or three?
• Name three active EUROLTA centres.
• Who can take EUROLTA?
• When was the first EUROLTA certificate issued – 1989, 1999, or 2009?
• What is so special about EUROLTA?

Myriam Fischer, EUROLTA Project Manager, presented a concept based on EUROLTA, for the training of volunteer language teachers in Germany. With the first major wave of asylum seekers in 2016, over one million refugees crossed the border into Germany. The government realised that the first step toward integration was learning German. The German Ministry set up the so-called integration courses for refugees and asylum seekers offering 700 teaching hours. The classes prepared the refugees for the German exam at B1 level.

There has been unfortunately a lack of qualified teachers, so that some refugees have to wait for over two years before they can attend these classes. To help fill this void, a huge number of volunteer teachers started ‘Help’ programmes. They organised encounters, opened clothes bazaars, accompanied the refugees to the authorities, organised sporting events, sewing classes, cookery classes, bike repair instruction, but they also wanted to teach German. With the help of EUROLTA, 223 volunteer teachers were trained. The courses took place in 20 adult education centres in Bavaria and consisted of 24 teaching units in three days.

The ICC conference has raised much interest in teacher training programmes, especially in Greece and Crete. It was clear to the conference participants that the key to integration is first and foremost educating the migrants. Teaching languages to refugees and migrants is a huge challenge for language teachers. EUROLTA could be the solution.

First, thanks to Ozlem Yuges and Ifigenia Georgiadou for organising the logistics. The location (Butari) and excursions could not have been better chosen. Thanks to Myriam Fischer and Ellinor Haase and to all the members from the board, especially to Tony Fitzpatrick. The exchange of experiences and knowledge during the conference was amazing. Every plenary speaker, every presentation showed new aspects and highlighted different challenges for language teaching.

The discussion was always lively and creative, huge problems were handled carefully, sharing not only knowledge but friendship. The variety of the participants made the conference a success. We had many interesting conversations, from the first moments at the airport in Athens till the end of the conference. Even during lunchtime, the discussion did not stop. The conference was very inspiring. I had the impression that everybody was highly interested and engaged and we will spread this knowledge. These contacts were more than business exchanges, we felt close to each other. Special thanks to the Greek colleges working in the camps: Michael, Kostas, Ifigenia, Vicky and Luke. I will not forget your essential work, and I will not forget the song we sang together.

Elke Bissinger, Teacher Trainer, Basel (CH)

Not only is the island stunning, but the actual conference setting was spectacular and was the perfect backdrop to the two days of thought-provoking presentation and debate. The conference brought out the best in the ICC, blending the political, academic and practical to give us all a more complete picture of the challenges for language education when faced with teaching refugees and migrants.

One of the highlights of the conference was the presentation by Luke Prodromou and Vicky Sarantidou, whose enactment of their teaching journey with a group of refugee learners and in particular their presentation of the learners’ own voices, moved a number of the audience to tears. But on the up side we had songs in English and Greek, music and dancing and much joy and laughter over dinners, round the hotel pool and on the bus transits from place to place. Perhaps it was this mix of emotions that helped make the conference special.

This was also the occasion where our founder, Tony Fitzpatrick, decided to take a back seat from the ICC. As was only normal for the person who founded the ICC and spent a large part of his working life running it, this was a moment of mixed emotions. Rob Williams led the tributes to him, including messages from those who were not able to attend, and Tony gained a standing ovation.

First impression feedback from the delegates echoed the sense that we had almost turned into a community within three days - we had time to get to know each other. This and the fact that every presentation and intervention linked together and built on what came before contributed greatly to the success of the event. We now look forward to next year’s conference and to continuing the spirit of the association that Tony Fitzpatrick created.

The conference was organised by the Foreign Languages Department of the Faculty of Economics with contributions from both Russian and international participants representing various universities all over the world. The conference was supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research and was attended by the representatives of the Mexican Embassy in Moscow, Cambridge University Press, the French Institute in Moscow, CampusFrance, the International Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language (IATEFL), London Metropolitan University, University College London, Rezekne Academy of Technologies, the University of León, the University of Rome Tor Vergata, The Moscow-Taipei Coordination Commission on Economic and Cultural Cooperation, and Language.Prosveshcheniye Ltd.

The researchers and practising professors had an opportunity to exchange views on a number of issues concerned with applied linguistics, profession-oriented translation, integration of emerging information technology into the educational process, intercultural communication, and the methodology of teaching foreign languages at a non-linguistic university. The meeting revealed the scope of work accomplished since the previous conference in the context of business and professional communication. The plenary sessions and seminars held in the course of the conference provided an excellent platform for productive suggestions, which can later on be implemented through the assistance of the entire linguistic community.

Various issues of professional communication and specialised translation warranted in-depth discussion that proved extremely productive and far-reaching. Conference participants noted the emerging need to develop innovative pedagogical ICT and emphasised the persistent importance of cultivating the research and practical component of profession-oriented teaching. The issues having to do with the strategy-based teaching of specialised translation at non-linguistic universities also ranked high on the agenda. The trends and problems discussed at the conference aroused keen interest on the part of researchers and teachers at Russian universities and obviously call for further theoretical and practical reflection and justification.

We greatly appreciate the productive contribution of all participants over the two-day conference and are looking forward to fruitful cooperation in the future. More information is available at lspconference.ru.

The Rector’s meeting with the best graduates of the year is a tradition of RUDN University. This is an illustration of the informal slogan of the University - We are different! We are equal! We are leaders! Geologists, philologists, dentists, journalists and pharmacists, no matter what country they come from, all have a record of excellent performance and an active social position. Many of them have already started their professional or scientific career. Most of them are presidents and chairpersons of student associations, athletes and performers.

Multidisciplinary approach is not the only value underlying the principles of RUDN University. Multidisciplinary approach and international cooperation are what RUDN University has been famous for since 1960. It is important not to lose contact and keep in touch with classmates and friends. Among the best graduates of 2018 are students from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Guinea, Kazakhstan, Cuba, Latvia, Mali, Nigeria, Palestine, Syria, Ukraine, Chad, Sri Lanka, Ecuador and Ethiopia. An informal conversation with the Rector is an opportunity to ask daring questions concerning internships, financial support for students' scientific achievements, the residence permit procedure, preferential terms for educational loans and, of course, career prospects.

RUDN University was represented by CSc in Economics, Associate Professor of the Department of National Economics Maxim Chernaev.

This issue touches upon a variety of problems ranging from immigrant examination and teacher's sense of plausibility to German Gymnasiums and classroom factors in selecting translation equivalents. To learn more please visit TLC Archive.

The two big events in the immediate future are RUDN University international conference on Topical Issues of Linguistics and Teaching Methods in Business and Professional Communication and the annual ICC international conference on Migration and Language Teaching on the beautiful Greek island of Santorini. For more information please visit lspconference.ru (Moscow) and icc-languages.eu (Santorini).

The conference will be devoted to topical problems in modern applied linguistics, including practical issues of teaching a foreign language for business communication; current trends in profession-oriented foreign language teaching; integration of new information technologies into the practice of teaching foreign languages in a non-linguistic university; a strategy for organising the teaching of translation in a non-linguistic university; intercultural communication in the language of business communication; practical problems of modern applied linguistics - Germanic (English, German), Romance (French, Spanish, Italian) and Asian languages (Chinese).

Among the plenary speakers are well-known experts of foreign language teaching methodology from Great Britain, Spain, Germany and Russia: Elena Malyuga, Barry Tomalin, Robert O’Dowd, Wayne Rimmer, Alex Krouglov, David Krašovec, Anna Renate Schönhagen, Guido Tejerina, Evgenia Ponomarenko, Tamara Nazarova and Tatyana Dmitrenko. The main goal of the conference is to provide an opportunity for the exchange of ideas between researchers, teachers and professionals to discuss the results of their research activity. More information is available at lspconference.ru.

Classes were devoted to theoretical and practical issues of specialised translation, as well as the practical analysis of students’ output, translation analysis of texts.

The agenda was concerned with a discussion and a search for effective solutions to the most pressing problems affecting all areas of modern life, and in particular financial affairs. The participants discussed a wide range of issues including:

• National payment systems: problems and solutions;
• Cryptological approaches to financial relations: the role of finance in the digital economy;
• Banking of things: retail financial products in the digital economy;
• Technological and legal security in the global digitalisation of financial markets;
• Competence and financial literacy in an innovative digital financial environment.

Over a thousand representatives of science and higher education from most of the Russian regions participated in a professional dialogue on streamlining of the university environment and the knowledge economy as the main resource for national innovative advancement. The forum gathered together over 70 rectors of leading universities and the largest educational centres of Russia. The forum served as a platform for several cooperation agreements.

The year before was marked by landmark events and international recognition. RUDN University – the "greenest" university in Russia – rose to the 44th position in the international UI Green Metric rating and now heads the list of Russian universities.

The lab will become the main centre for comprehensive research of 5G networks and their applications. The lab will serve as a platform for joint collaboration of mathematicians and engineers from Russia, the United States, Switzerland, Finland, Portugal, Italy and the Czech Republic.

The centre will help chemists synthesise new active substances and search for simpler, cheaper and more efficient methods of drugs production.

It includes interaction with foreign partners – state authorities, universities, employers, graduates – in order to train highly qualified personnel in demand at home. So, in 2017, the ‘Africa-South’ cluster in Zambia approved a comprehensive development programme covering academic exchanges, joint research and projects involving employers.

Students from Europe, Asia, Africa, Middle East and Latin America shared their cultures with the audience. The 90-minutes gala performance Discover the World in One University features folklore, pop and academic vocal, ethnic dances and musicals. RUDN University students had an opportunity to illustrate the importance of treating cultures and traditions with respect, knowing that intercultural communication rules in a multinational team.

The commemorative title was given to Battaray Hari from Nepal, who graduated from the Medical Institute with a degree in Medicine. Many congratulations to Battaray Hari and to all of his colleagues who were awarded the degrees they worked so hard to obtain.

We are always interested in hearing from schools and associations who would like to join ICC or partner with us in teacher training and accreditation work. Please get in touch via info@icc-languages.eu.

In the past, ICC inspectors have evaluated and accredited language examinations, teacher training programmes, project plans and more. A recent new accreditation is the Euroexam range of examinations. Euroexams offers language exams for English and German at different levels and covering all skills. In partnership with ICC, these examinations have now been carefully evaluated and accredited by ICC, and will now carry the quality mark Accredited by ICC. Further information is available at euroexam.com.

ICC 2018 Conference dates are May 4-6, 2018. Delegates will be able to stay in local hotels at low cost and take advantage of the beaches and taverns of this beautiful Greek island in a warm and welcoming climate. We recommend also that delegates arrive early or stay later to take advantage of Santorini and its neighbouring islands.

The core theme of the ICC 2018 Conference is Migration, Communication and Culture. One of the greatest challenges that Europe faces is dealing with the huge increase in economic and refugee migration with the heart-rending dramas of migrants crossing the Mediterranean from North Africa and the Middle East to find security and a new life. The numbers of migrants have caused problems at political, economic, housing and security levels, and in some countries fuelled internal political unrest.

Our concern as Europe’s International Language Association is language learning and cultural integration. Our role as educators is to assist with the design and planning of language training and cultural engagement that this migration development makes necessary. What are the most successful projects for migrant culture and language integration? The conference presentations will share case studies, issues and potential solutions.

There will be a number of well-known speakers at the conference as well as educators from Greece and around Europe. Please find details at icc-languages.eu and contact Ozlem Yuges with any questions at ozlem.yuges@icc-languages.eu.

The training aims to develop the awareness, knowledge and skills needed by the language teacher dealing with people from different cultures. On the one hand, it includes a theoretical approach and highlights different cultural models (for example, Edward Hall’s Cultural "iceberg" model and Geert Hofstede’s "onion" model). On the other hand, it includes many practical hands-on activities for the foreign language classroom. The activities are intended to stimulate discussion of the cultural differences between the students themselves and to build tolerance, respect and understanding. Some of these practical activities deal for example, with the role of women in different societies, eating and drinking in different cultural contexts, the meaning of time, taboos, non-verbal communication, dealing with stereotypes, greetings, giving presents, distance between speakers, etc.

The participants can be asked to reveal whether they ever had a nickname, whether they like their name and which name they gave (or would give) to their children. The participants then introduce their partner to the rest of the group. In our experience, most participants reveal a surprising amount of interesting cultural information about their names. The greater the cultural diversity in the group, the better this activity works.

The main goal, therefore, of intercultural learning as seen in EUROLTA is the development of intercultural competence – the ability to act and relate appropriately and effectively in various cultural contexts. In times of globalisation and hope for peace, it is vital to use this understanding to communicate with people from other cultures successfully. The teacher develops a new understanding, moving from giving information and communicating knowledge to being a mediator between cultures, and they need to be educated accordingly. Teaching a language is not only about teaching vocabulary or grammar; it is also about helping students develop sensitivity towards cultural differences. Language is culture and culture is language. We cannot understand a culture without having direct access to its language and vice versa. The relationship between language and culture is vital. As Rita Mae Brown, American novelist and mystery writer notes in our cover quotation, Language is the road map of a culture. It tells you where its people come from and where they are going.

Where to put the preposition and which preposition to put is a constant source of concern. Phrasal verbs remind me of the famous misuse, attributed, I think, to Winston Churchill, who is alleged to have said on one occasion, up with which I will not put. It should of course be, and as he undoubtedly knew, which I will not put up with. But who is to tell the difference between put up (accommodate), put up with (tolerate), put up for (promote as a candidate for office), put up (a proposal), not to mention put up a cupboard (erect a cupboard), put up a picture (place it in position). I think we need a new simplified English for phrasal verbs. Professor Crystal, are you interested?

Y.A. Yukov, London

In my own classes with mainly English as a second language students I am prepared to use a degree of slang and "down with the kids" language to build rapport and confidence, but I see my job as being to teach reading, writing and speaking and listening skills which will help my students in more formal environments. It doesn’t mean we can’t use humour and indeed practise a variety of registers, but students of all languages have to learn to recognise and use the more formal register of academic discourse. Otherwise, they may register at university, college or for apprenticeship and training courses and find themselves at a disadvantage when it comes to following up the references and completing assignments. Anyway, thanks to Svetlana for raising an interesting issue in language teaching and learning. It made me think.

Sarah B., Teacher of Spanish, London

However, I still ask the question, shouldn’t a poem be considered on its own merits and is it really important to know about the poet’s life and background? Do we need to know, for example, Dylan Thomas’s drinking habits or August von Platen’s sexual orientation in order to enjoy their poems? And indeed, if we do need to know that, what do we need to understand about Heinrich Heine, along with Goethe and Schiller, one of the giants of German literature who, as Radchenko reports, had a long running feud with Von Platen? I’m sure it’s interesting to know about an author’s private life to some extent and it certainly can increase interest in a poet’s output, but if I didn’t like the poet’s lifestyle, would it affect my attitude to his or her poetry? Or my ability to understand, analyse and appreciate it? I hope not.

Old fashioned, Berlin