Project conducted by the University of Teacher Education Lucerne (PH Luzern) This project examined how teaching foreign languages advances – or can advance – (inter-)cultural competence and the reflection of transcultural elements as defined by ELBE. The project focused on the theme of food/eating culture and possible ways of exploring this topic when teaching a second Swiss national language at the secondary level I.

In cooperation with the University of Lausanne UNIL

The aim of the current project it to evaluate the learning impact of an age-appropriate, feasible exchange setting (two short, direct interactions embedded in contact via e-mail and video) at the primary level in Eastern and Western Switzerland. The focus is placed on the motivation to learn a foreign language as well as on changes in the productive language skills of the school children.

This project was dedicated to measuring students' compentences in French in the skills listening, reading, speaking and writing by the end of primary school as well as by the end of the 8th class. In order to compare results, the 8th-class students' skills in reading and writing in Englisch were also tested. Analyses focused on whether aspects such as number of teaching hours and different variables related to students and teachers influence the students' competences in foreign languages....

This project commissioned by the State Secretariat for Migration dealt with developing a framework curriculum to promote the language skills of migrants in Switzerland. Development goals for future projects were also defined. To order the document in German. To order the document in French.

This project was realised within a DORE project of the University of Teacher Training Valais and examined the influence the bilingual study requirements have on future teachers’ ability to acquire professional skills. Valais students’ skills in German and French were assessed before and after the two-semester exchange at the institution’s location in the other linguistic region of the canton.

This mandate from the cantonal government in Graubünden concerned the follow-up of introducing the newly consolidated written language Rumantsch Grischun to the so-called pioneer communes in the Canton of Graubünden. The communes in question were those with Rhaeto-Romanic schools already teaching Rumantsch Grischun. The long-term plan was to introduce the new language to all Rhaeto-Romanic schools. We evaluatedvarious dimensions resulting from this major change.

Promoting the integration of migrants in Switzerland is a legislative objective of the Swiss Federal Council, and the ability to speak one of the country’s languages is regarded as a critical step towards realising this goal. This overarching aim and the federal model “Framework proposal to promote language skills” (Rahmenkonzept Sprachförderung) provided the basis for the Institute of Multilingualism’s “Framework curriculum for promoting language skills of migrants”, commissioned by...

This project is based on the results of a survey of teachers at upper secondary schools, which was carried out by the General Secretariat of the Swiss Conference of Cantonal Ministers of Education (EDK). The results revealed a need to couple new methodological approaches in foreign language teaching – and the corresponding instruments – with teaching literature. This issue is of particular relevance in upper secondary schools, where language learning is embedded in a literary-cultural...

The six Swiss cantons located along the German-French language border (Bern, Basel Landschaft, Basel Stadt, Fribourg, Solothurn and Valais) have issued an inter-cantonal agreement on a new concept for foreign language education at schools. The agreement stipulates that German-speaking students learn French before English.