European Award for Languages

European Award for Languages

On 29 June 2010, the European Award for Languages was held at the Emirates Stadium in London. The prize-giving ceremony was attended by winning organisations and projects to celebrate achievement in language learning.

The Award is a Europe-wide initiative supported by the European Commission through the Transversal programme, and co-ordinated by CILT, the National Centre for Languages. It is open to organisations and projects involved in language learning from across all education sectors across the UK.

Winners included the Devon Learning and Development Partnership, who combined language learning with keep-fit activities, and Lancashire Children's Services Authority, who developed a project to provide language training for non-specialist class teachers in the form of weekly five to ten- minute French podcasts. There was also a strong emphasis on projects to develop the learning of Mandarin, Arabic, Urdu and other community languages.

An outstanding contribution award was given to the Arsenal Double Club, in recognition of their efforts combining languages with football in schools across the country over the last few years.

To find out more about this year’s winning projects, visit  www.cilt.org.uk/eal.

The Award has recognised over 1,000 language projects across Europe since it began in 1999, including 158 projects in the UK. CILT is always looking for more examples of innovation, creativity and inspiration for the awards.

Visit CILT’s website for more details or to register your interest in applying for next years' Awards, contact eal@cilt.org.uk.