INTER-INSTITUTIONAL LANGUAGE COURSES - BRUSSELS
session September 2005 – February 2006
Deadline for
enrolment in SYSLOG Web Formation:
29 April 2005
Please read attentively all the
information contained in the following pages because they contain
the answers to nearly all of your questions |
INTRODUCTION
The language training sector of the training unit (ADMIN.A.3) organises
more or less 900 courses in 28 languages for more or less 13500
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. Priorities have
been therefore determined as follows:
- Priority 1: requests made in the context of article 45, paragraph
2 (see page 5), of the Staff Regulations in force as from 1st May 2004.
Staff members may join a language course (all E.U. languages) until the
end of the 2nd course month (except for level 1 beginner courses in
which it is essential to participate from the start of the session);
- Priority 2: requests made in the interest of the service by
newcomers and staff returning to Headquarters (here less than 3 months).
They may join an English or French course until the end of the
2nd course month (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;
- Priority 3: requests made in the interest of the service which
enable staff to work effectively;
- Priority 4: requests made in the interest of the individual.
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. Consequently, 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.
Moreover, 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 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).
|
Timetable 16h10-18h00
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 16h10-18h00 timeslot.
|
GENERAL INFORMATION
-
CALENDAR
The semester will start on Monday 19 September 2005 and will end on Friday
03 February 2006. The detailed timetable will be indicated in
the classrooms and on our web-site (http://www.cc.cec/guide/forma_b/489.htm).
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LANGUAGES OFFERED
Languages of the European Union Member-States: CS (Czech), DA (Danish), DE
(German), EL (Greek), EN (English), ES (Spanish), ET (Estonian), FI
(Finnish), FR (French), HU (Hungarian), IT (Italian), LT (Lithuanian), LV
(Latvian), MT (Maltese), NL (Dutch), PL (Polish), PT (Portuguese), SK
(Slovak), SL (Slovenian), SV (Swedish).
NB: Irish (GA) is proposed in the context of article 45§2 of the Staff
Regulations in force as from 1st May 2004.
Non Member-States languages: AR (Arabic), BG (Bulgarian), HR (Croatian),
JA (Japanese), RO (Rumanian), RU (Russian), TR (Turkish).
-
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. When
applying in Syslog Web Formation, it is highly recommended to indicate a
preferred timetable (even if not guaranteed) in the field provided.
-
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
(MONTOYER 63: rue Montoyer 63 – 1040 Brussels).
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ADMISSION CRITERIA
Candidates who at the closing date for applications and at the start of
the course are either an official, a temporary, auxiliary, contract 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, Dutch, 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.
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 (Bulgarian, Croatian, Rumanian,
Turkish),
for which a request made in the interest of the service is
required.
Attention : spouses of officials and former officials could be temporarily
taken off the courses if it is necessary to serve priority requests.
Requests made in the context of article 45, paragraph 2 *, of the Staff
Regulations in force as from 1st May 2004 have the priority. Staff members
concerned may join a language course (all E.U. languages) until the end of
the 2nd course month (except for level 1 beginner courses in which it is
essential to participate from the start of the session).
* Officials shall be required to demonstrate before their first promotion
after recruitment the ability to work in a third language among those
referred to in Article 314 of the EC Treaty. The institutions shall adopt
common rules by agreement between them for implementing this paragraph.
These rules shall require access to training for officials in a third
language and lay down the detailed arrangements for the assessment of
officials' ability to work in a third language, in accordance with Article
7(2)(d) of Annex III.
The second priority is granted to officials and other servants who have
been newly recruited and staff returning to Headquarters (within the
previous 3 months). They may join an English or French course until the
end of the 2nd course month (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.
Please note: requests for standard courses (levels 1 to 6) have the
priority over requests for advanced and task-based courses in order to
provide at least a basic language training.
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 Web Formation at
http://www.cc.cec/di/syslog_formation/home/formation.cfm?langue=EN. The DG
ADMIN will deal with your request only AFTER the electronic 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: 29 April 2005.
* 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 14 July 2005 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.
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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 reach:
-
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).
à à You can check the status of your participation in Syslog Web Formation
at any time during the session.
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 23 to 27 May 2005, from 30 May to
03 June 2005 and from 06 to 10 June 2005. 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
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 (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 (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
– 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
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
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 : Päivi ÖHMAN, GUIM 1/56, tel. : 21210
Secretariat : Emmanuelle LOUEDEC, GUIM 1/53, tel. : 51160
Administrative notices and website: Valérie DE KONINCK, GUIM 1/42, tel.:
58654
List of course managers (on 15 March 2005)
(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 |
CS – Czech |
KWIATKOWSKA Elzbieta |
1 / 60 |
61129 |
DA – Danish |
VAN LOO Martine |
1 / 50 |
52394 |
DE – German |
MROZ Magdalena |
1 / 61 |
87329 |
EL – Greek |
VAN LOO Martine |
1 / 50 |
52394 |
EN – English |
GONZALEZ CHAVES Alicia |
1 / 47 |
99195 |
ES – Spanish |
PODHRADSKA Ivana |
1 / 43 |
52108 |
ET – Estonian |
KWIATKOWSKA Elzbieta |
1 / 60 |
61129 |
FI – Finnish |
VAN LOO Martine |
1 / 50 |
52394 |
FR – French
(only FR twice-weekly
and weekly courses) |
MAAS Marijke |
1 / 46 |
57551 |
GA – Irish (only article 45§2) |
GONZALEZ CHAVES Alicia |
1 / 47 |
99195 |
HU – Hungarian |
KWIATKOWSKA Elzbieta |
1 / 60 |
61129 |
IT – Italian |
PODHRADSKA Ivana |
1 / 43 |
52108 |
JA – Japanese |
VAN LOO Martine |
1 / 50 |
52394 |
LT – Lithuanian |
KWIATKOWSKA Elzbieta |
1 / 60 |
61129 |
LV – Latvian |
KWIATKOWSKA Elzbieta |
1 / 60 |
61129 |
MT – Maltese |
KWIATKOWSKA Elzbieta |
1 / 60 |
61129 |
NL – Dutch |
MROZ Magdalena |
1 / 61 |
87329 |
PL – Polish |
KWIATKOWSKA Elzbieta |
1 / 60 |
61129 |
PT – Portuguese |
VAN LOO Martine |
1 / 50 |
52394 |
SK – Slovak |
KWIATKOWSKA Elzbieta |
1 / 60 |
61129 |
SL – Slovenian |
KWIATKOWSKA Elzbieta |
1 / 60 |
61129 |
SV – Swedish |
VAN LOO Martine |
1 / 50 |
52394 |
RU – Russian |
VAN LOO Martine |
1 / 50 |
52394 |
Other European country languages:
BG-HR-RO-TR |
KWIATKOWSKA Elzbieta |
1 / 60 |
61129 |
Survival level courses FR / EN |
DE KONINCK Valérie |
1 / 42 |
58654 |
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