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Evaluation des compétences en intercompréhension: réception et interactions plurilingues
Start date: Sep 1, 2016, End date: Aug 31, 2019 PROJECT  FINISHED 

The development of multilingualism is one of the priorities repeatedly reaffirmed by the European Union. In connection with this language policy, many works and achievements have emerged around the notion of plurilingual and intercultural competence. The development of this competence is one of the first objectives of the Common European Framework for Languages, which is currently the basis for the teaching and learning of languages in Europe. Yet this specific dimension of the Framework is still often ignored in language policies and practices, as recalled by the recent Guide for the development and implementation of curricula for plurilingual and intercultural education.Intercomprehension is one of the pluralistic approaches to the development of plurilingual and intercultural competence. Researchers and practitioners have explored its didactic applications since the 1990s, but the approach is still scarcely known and used. This is due to the tradition of a compartmentalized language teaching, but also largely to the absence, firstly, of specific descriptors corresponding to levels typically used to describe the language skills and, secondly, of tools internationally validated to assess and certify these levels.EVAL-IC proposes to develop these descriptors (specifying them into fine descriptors) as well as a protocol, and assessment and certification tools, for intercomprehension skills in Romance languages. It will also establish, to the attention of the community of teaching and learning of languages, an overview on the state of the art of research on intercomprehension skills and on their assessment, which will also serves as basis for the project’s work.EVAL-IC products are placed in the continuity and complementarity of previous projects and founding texts. The Framework for pluralistic approaches proposed some descriptors that apply to intercomprehension. Three main skill levels were described by the Miriadi project. The logical next step is to specify these descriptors, as it is already the case for all the language skills. On this basis, the project will then develop evaluation tools for a common inter-university certificate in intercomprehension skills.Setting these goals leads to developing two innovative intellectual products:a) a first skillset scale for intercomprehension consistent with the other already existing scales,b) the first inter-university certificate of plurilingual and intercultural competence in Romance languages, which will complement the existing monolingual certifications.Another innovative aspect: EVAL-IC will address receptive intercomprehension (reading oral and written texts, in a group of genetically related languages, by using already existing knowledge of one of the languages of that "family") and interactive intercomprehension (plurilingual interactions, in which each person uses a different language understood by their communication partners). Furthermore, EVAL-IC will pay special attention to the assessment of interproduction (the use of a language to address an audience who did not necessarily learn it, but may be able to understand it by using their knowledge of another language of the same group).Since its products aim at international recognition, the project had to be based on a strong and recognized transnational partnership. In fact, it gathers 14 partners from different projects and background teams. They have all worked in projects that addressed the themes of EVAL-IC.Based on the valuation of plurality, the project will work on a fundamentally collaborative mode. Depending on their areas of expertise, each participant will be involved in transnational working sub-groups responsible for intellectual outputs, but will simultaneously be invited to comment on and complement the work of other groups. The project will also involve the contribution of associated partners who will provide an outside view of its productions and contribute to their validation. The goal is that intellectual outputs may become the product of a real co-construction within the project and beyond.By proposing a common inter-university certificate, the project intends to contribute to the development and recognition of plurilingual and intercultural skills acquired in formal, informal or non-formal ways. In this, it contributes to the mobility and employability of students and to the development of didactic approaches to plurilingualism. More generally, it is part of the initiatives favouring the promotion of linguistic and cultural diversity and plurilingualism of European Union citizens.

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