INTER-INSTITUTIONAL LANGUAGE COURSES -
BRUSSELS
1st semester 2004-2005
Deadline for enrolment in SYSLOG Web Formation:
02 April 2004
Please read attentively
all the information contained in the following pages because they
contain the answers to nearly all of your questions |
INTRODUCTION
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The language training sector of the training unit
(ADMIN.A.3) organises more or less 700 courses in 26 languages for more or
less 11000 participants a year, mainly at an inter-institutional level. To
accomplish this, all our resources (financial, human and logistical) are
utilised to the full.
In spite of this, it is not always possible to organise
all the courses requested or to satisfy all the requests for training.
Priority is given to requests made in the interest of the service
(particularly for level 1 in Spanish, Italian and Dutch as well
as in Russian, Arabic and Polish because of their popularity and
budgetary constraints) which enable staff to work effectively and priority
is also given to standard courses (levels 1 to 6) which provide a basic
language training.
In practical terms, we have to follow very tight
time-scales established at an inter-institutional level. Please,
therefore, remember that we must apply strict deadlines for enrolment
in SYSLOG Web Formation.
NB: Newcomers and staff returning to
Headquarters (here less than 3 months) may join an English or
French course during the first 2 months of a course (except for level
1 beginner courses in which it is essential to participate from the start
of the session), with the aim of becoming operational as quickly as
possible in the most widely-used languages.
The organisation of language training implies a serious
investment on the part of the Institution in terms
of financial resources, staff resources and logistics. Before
enrolling, participants are asked to consider the implications in terms of
time and effort (for them and their service). Potential participants are
also invited to consider the costs of lost opportunity - should you sign
up for a course and then drop out, you prevent another colleague from
availing of the opportunity to attend the course, as well as raising the
average costs per participant.
In order to ensure optimal use of resources and to
ensure that each student achieves the pre-established training objectives,
regular attendance at all courses is required. Consult the
attendance rules (see point 7). In this respect, you are also
reminded that arrival more than 30 minutes late to a class or departure 30
minutes before the end of the class is considered as non-attendance.
All members of staff (or other participants) are
reminded of the necessity to comply with all rules and administrative
practices drawn up to ensure the smooth functioning of courses and
participants are invited to ensure that they do not hinder the work of the
Administration and of Teachers (recording of presences/absences,
non-attendance, etc.)
Please note that participants who have enrolled for a
course, but who have not turned up for a language test to which
they have been invited on two consecutive semesters, will not be accepted
on a course. Their request for enrolment will be considered null
and void and they will have to re-enrol for any subsequent sessions.
Participants are reminded that it is their responsibility to purchase
course textbooks. Use of photocopies of published works constitutes an
infringement of international copyright laws.
I wish you an excellent course and I trust that this
language training will be beneficial in your professional life.
Guido Vervaet
Head of Unit
Training
ATTENTION
"Survival Level" / "Niveau de
survie" courses aimed at those with little or no knowledge (=
beginners) of FR or EN
These courses are intended to supply a rapid response
to the operational needs of the services (recruitment, internal transfer,
etc.). Four sessions will be run throughout the academic year and will be
communicated by the training coordinators and via our web-site.
These courses are characterised by a training approach
entirely
based on real professional situations and on material (internal
publications, notes, forms, etc.) used daily in the European institutions.
The aim is to enable beginners in more or less 6 months
(holidays not included) to communicate in a satisfactory way within their
working environment, orally and in writing.
The details have been published in the Administrative notice
n°
49-2000 of 23 May 2000 (please
note that the person in charge of the survival level courses is Mrs
Valérie De Koninck, and not anymore Mrs Maas and Mrs Van Loo).
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Timetable 16 h 10-18 h 00
Please note that as a result of shortage of training rooms at
peak hours, and to ensure continuity of the range of
courses offered, more courses will be scheduled at the 16
h 10-18 h 00 timeslot.
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GENERAL INFORMATION
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- CALENDAR
The semester will start on Monday 20 September 2004
and will end on Friday 04 February 2005. The detailed
timetable will be indicated in the classrooms and on our web-site (http://www.cc.cec/guide/forma_b/489.htm).
- LANGUAGES OFFERED
Languages of the European Union Member-States: DA
(Danish), DE (German), EL (Greek), EN (English), ES (Spanish), FI
(Finnish), FR (French), IT (Italian), NL
(Dutch), PT (Portuguese), SV (Swedish).
Non Member-States languages: AR (Arabic), JA
(Japanese), RU (Russian).
Languages of Enlargement 2004 countries: CS (Czech), ET
(Estonian), HU (Hungarian), LV (Latvian), LT (Lithuanian), MT (Maltese),
PL (Polish), SK (Slovak), SL (Slovenian).
Languages of other European countries: BG (Bulgarian),
RO (Rumanian), TR (Turkish). NB: for the languages of other
European countries, only requests made in the interest of the service will
be accepted.
- TIMETABLE
If you are given a place on a course, you will be
allocated to one of the following time slots.
08 h 30 – 10 h 20
11 h 40 – 13 h 30
13 h 45 – 15 h 35
16 h 10 – 18 h 00
These time slots have been chosen in order to optimise
the use of our training rooms and suit the hours of the teachers, ensuring
at the same time a minimum disruption to the daily work of the
participants.
- ROOMS
The language courses can take place in the Brussels
Commission buildings (GUIMARD : rue Guimard 10 - 1040 Brussels; SCIENCE
29: rue de la Science 29 - 1040 Brussels; JECL: avenue de la Joyeuse
Entrée 24 – 1040 Brussels), in the Brussels Council of the Union
(ORBAN : square
Frère Orban 10 - 1040 Brussels) and in the
Brussels European Parliament (MTY63: rue Montoyer 63 – 1040 Brussels).
-
ADMISSION CRITERIA
Candidates who at the closing date for applications
and at the start of the course are either an official, a temporary,
auxiliary or local agent or a seconded national expert (SNE) are eligible
to apply for a course.
Due to the huge number of requests received for level 1
in Spanish, Italian and Dutch and in Polish, Russian and Arabic, and
in view of budgetary constraints which limit the number of courses we can
organise, we cannot accept requests for this level made only in the
interest of the individual. New : spouses of officials and former
officials could be temporarily taken off the courses if it is necessary to
serve priority requests.
Spouses of officials and former officials will be
admitted, if there are places available, to courses in all the
languages on offer ; except for French and English (for which there
is always a very large number of requests), for level 1 in Spanish,
Italian, Dutch, Polish, Russian and Arabic and for other European
country languages (BG, RO, TR), for which a request made in the
interest of the service is required.
Officials and other servants who have been newly
recruited and staff returning to Headquarters (within the previous 3
months) may join an English or French course during the first
two months of a course (except for level 1 beginner courses in which it is
essential to participate from the start of the session), if their service
makes a special request.
The following categories of applicants will not be
accepted if at the closing date for applications and at the
start of the course they are ‘intérimaires’, service providers (‘prestataires’),
trainees, consultants, staff in receipt of an invalidity pension or on
leave on personal grounds or on sick leave or on maternity leave. People
working part-time can attend a course only during their working hours
(time spent training is considered equivalent to work time).
-
APPLICATION PROCEDURE
* All requests must be made only via SYSLOG at http://www.cc.cec/di/syslog_formation/home/formation.cfm?langue=EN.
The DG ADMIN will deal with your request only AFTER the electonic
validation done by the Training Coordinator of your DG/Service (list
of Training Coordinators is at http://www.cc.cec/pers_admin/training_bxl/cofolist_fr.html).
* Deadline for enrolment in Syslog Web formation: 02
April 2004.
* You are only allowed to enrol for one course per
semester.
* You will not be allowed to change language once
the training coordinator of your DG/Service has validated your request
electronically.
* People who are currently attending level 1 to 5
of a standard course do not need to submit a new application as their
enrolment is automatic until they complete level 6.
* To follow an advanced or task-based course (after
level 6), participants must always make a new request.
* Information on the status of your request can be viewed by
clicking the "My training", "My current applications"
buttons in SYSLOG WEB FORMATION http://www.cc.cec/di/syslog_formation/home/formation.cfm?langue=EN.
Nevertherless, you will be personnally informed by
e-mail of the outcome of your application by 13 July 2004 at the latest.
Because of the limited human resources available in our team, no
information can be sent out to you before this date. So
please, do not contact us by phone or by e-mail before this date.
-
ABSENCES
It's worth remembering that the learning of any
language means regular attendance at all courses. Repeated absences
inevitably slow down the learning pace of the individual and the whole
group and risk compromising the training objectives. A similar problem is
posed by chronic latecomers to courses or by early departures: which is
why arriving more than 30 minutes late to your class or leaving 30
minutes before the end of the class is considered as non-attendance.
It is therefore advisable not to apply for a course if you are not sure
that you can attend regularly.
Participants who throughout a course accumulate:
- 6 consecutive absences or 10 non-consecutive absences for a
twice-weekly standard course
- 5 absences for an advanced or a task-based course,
regardless of the reason for the absences will be
excluded from the course and will not be allowed to sit the final test.
In these cases, if they wish to continue their
training, these participants must submit a new request for the following
semester.
NB: presence is requested until the end of the
course, this includes days following the course exam. Absences will then
be counted until the last course hour and exclusion rules will be
strictly applied (attention : it means that the exam results will be
cancelled if there is a total of 10 absences).
In exceptional cases, an appeal procedure can be
launched
in order to avoid being excluded from the course or to be
reinstated in the course, as follows:
- a note from the participant’s line superior to the language
training Head of Sector certifying that participation in the course is
in the interest of the service
- a written declaration from the teacher stating that the participant
is capable of continuing and successfully completing the course
without slowing down the progress of the class as a whole
- commitment from the participant to take part in all remaining
classes and to review the material covered during his or her absence
-
PLACEMENT TESTS
For people whose level in the language requested is not
known or who have not attended a course in that language during the
previous three years, placement tests will be organised from 3 to 7 May
2004, from 10 to 14 May 2004 and from 24 to 28 May 2004.
An invitation to a test will be sent in due course.
NB : Candidates who have enrolled for a course,
but who have not turned up for a language test to which they have
been invited on two consecutive semesters, will not be accepted on a
course. Their request for enrolment will be considered null and
void and they will have to re-enrol for any subsequent sessions.
TYPES OF COURSES
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Courses are organised within the limits of the
available resources (financial, logistical and human). Requests will
therefore be satisfied as long as there are places available and
sufficient demand from candidates. If necessary, priority will be given to
requests in the interest of the service, and to work languages (DE-EN-FR).
- STANDARD COURSES
(twice a week)
Languages
All languages mentioned in point 2 of the general information.
Aim
To enable participants to acquire the language skills which are
necessary to carry out their daily work and to express themselves in
everyday situations.
Levels
The levels on offer range from level 1 (complete beginner) to level 6.
Length and frequency
Course length is approximately 64 hours on a twice-weekly basis, 1
h 50 per day, for 16 weeks (excluding holidays).
- ADVANCED COURSES (ex "specialised" courses)
(once
a week)
These courses are for candidates who have successfully
completed the six standard courses or those who can demonstrate in the
placement test that they are at an equivalent level. A specific request
is necessary as automatic re-enrolment ends after level 6 of the
standard courses. People who have previously successfully completed an
advanced course can re-enrol for the same module after a period of two
years has elapsed.
Languages
Courses will be organised for the languages of the European Union
Member-States mentioned in point 2 of the general information if we
have received enough applications and if there are sufficient resources
available.
Aim
To improve the participants’ listening, speaking, reading or writing
skills.
Content
There are four specialised
modules :
- Oral expression (code 020)
- Listening comprehension (code 022)
- Written expression (code 024)
- Reading comprehension (code 025)
Length and frequency
Each module lasts approximately 32 hours, 1 h 50 once a week for 16
weeks (excluding holidays).
- TASK-BASED COURSES (ex "specific" courses)
(once
a week)
These courses are for candidates :
– who have finished level 6 of the standard courses and at least
one of the advanced modules (from the same domain – written or oral),
mentioned above or
– who can demonstrate in the placement test that they have an
equivalent level.
A specific application is required.
Languages
Task-based courses are only organised in DE, EN, FR if there is
sufficient demand and if the necessary resources are available.
Aim
- Specific writing courses focus on
professional writing tasks (administrative writing).
- Specific speaking courses focus on
professional oral tasks (speeches, meetings, negotiating).
Content
- Task-based writing courses
– Preparation for administrative writing (code 026) FR, EN, DE
– Letters and memos (code 027) FR, EN
– Note taking and minute writing (code 028) FR, EN
– Report writing (code 029) FR, EN
– Speeches and presentations (code 051) FR, EN, DE
– Meetings (code 052) FR, EN, DE
– Negotiating (code 053) FR, EN, DE
Length and frequency
Each module lasts approximately 32 hours, 1 h 50 once a week for 16
weeks (excluding holidays).
APPLICATION FORM
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Those who cannot access SYSLOG WEB FORMATION must ask their training
coordinators the procedure to follow in their DG/Service (list of Training
Coordinators at: http://www.cc.cec/pers_admin/training_bxl/cofolist_fr.html).
DIRECTORATE-GENERAL FOR PERSONNEL AND ADMINISTRATION
Directorate A. Staff and Career
TRAINING UNIT - ADMIN.A.3
Language training sector
SECRETARIAT OF THE INTER-INSTITUTIONAL LANGUAGE TRAINING
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Everything is in place to ensure rapid access to precise information
about the progress of your application via SYSLOG WEB FORMATION which
you should consult first (http://www.cc.cec/di/syslog_formation/home/accueil.cfm?langue=EN).
Telephone n° (02-29) 51160
Fax n° (02-29) 51106 |
Address : rue Guimard, 10
Administrative address : GUIM 1/51
Head of Unit : Guido VERVAET, GUIM 3/56, tel. : 59224
Head of Sector : Italo RUBINO, GUIM 1/56, tel. : 62593
Secretariat : Emmanuelle LOUEDEC, GUIM 1/53, tel. : 51160
Training adviser : Maria RATZINGER, GUIM 1/60, tel. : 98749
Coordination and planning : Martine VAN LOO, GUIM 1/50,
tel. : 52394
Administrative notices and website: Valérie DE KONINCK, GUIM 1/42,
tel.: 58654
List of course managers (on 1st February
2004)
(enquiries by phone or in person may be made between 10 and 12 a.m.)
Language |
Name |
Office |
( |
AR – Arabic |
VAN LOO Martine |
1 / 50 |
52394 |
DA – Danish |
VAN LOO Martine |
1 / 50 |
52394 |
DE – German |
KWIATKOWSKA Elzbieta |
1 / 60 |
61129 |
EL – Greek |
VAN LOO Martine |
1 / 50 |
52394 |
EN – English |
GONZALEZ CHAVES Alicia |
1 / 47 |
99195 |
ES – Spanish |
PODHRADSKA Ivana |
1 / 43 |
52108 |
FI – Finnish |
VAN LOO Martine |
1 / 50 |
52394 |
FR – French
(only FR twice-weekly and weekly courses) |
MAAS Marijke |
1 / 46 |
57551 |
IT – Italian |
PODHRADSKA Ivana |
1 / 43 |
52108 |
JA – Japanese |
VAN LOO Martine |
1 / 50 |
52394 |
NL – Dutch |
MROZ Magdalena |
1 / 61 |
87329 |
PT – Portuguese |
VAN LOO Martine |
1 / 50 |
52394 |
SV – Swedish |
VAN LOO Martine |
1 / 50 |
52394 |
RU – Russian |
VAN LOO Martine |
1 / 50 |
52394 |
Enlargement 2004 and other European country languages:
BG-CS-ET-HU-LV-LT-MT-PL-RO-SK-SL-TR |
KWIATKOWSKA Elzbieta |
1 / 60 |
61129 |
Survival level FR / EN |
DE KONINCK Valérie |
1 / 42 |
58654 |
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