INTER-INSTITUTIONAL LANGUAGE COURSES - BRUSSELS

session September 2006 –February 2007

• INTRODUCTION
• GENERAL INFORMATION
• TYPES OF COURSES
• APPLICATION FORM
• List of course managers
  

INTRODUCTION

• Your enrolment constitutes a contract to participate fully in the course. Applicants who enrol and subsequently drop out jeopardise the participation of others.
   
• Regular attendance is essential. This is not only to ensure the optimal use of resources but also to ensure that the pedagogical objectives of the course are met. You should be clear that a maximum of 9 absences will be allowed, regardless of the reason. Participants who reach a level of 10 absences will be expelled from the course.
   
• Late arrival more than 30 minutes after the start of the course, and early departure more than 30 minutes before the end, will be regarded as absence.
   
• If a training request is not met for any reason, it will be formally cancelled three weeks after the beginning of the session for which the request was made.
   
• Staff who do not attend a language placement test to which they have been invited will not be accepted on the course. Their request will be cancelled and they will have to enrol for subsequent sessions.
   
• You will be given a list of recommended textbooks, which you will have to purchase. Some second-hand copies are advertised for sale on the Language Sector notice board on the 1^st Floor of the Guimard building. Be wary of using photocopies of published works, as this may constitute an infringement of international copyright laws.

Norman Jardine
Head of Unit “Training”

GENERAL INFORMATION

1. CALENDAR
   
   The semester will start on Monday 18 September 2006 and will end on Friday 2 February 2007. The detailed timetable will be indicated in the classrooms and on our website.
    
2. 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), GA (Irish), HU (Hungarian), IT (Italian), LT (Lithuanian), LV (Latvian), MT (Maltese), NL (Dutch), PL (Polish), PT (Portuguese), SK (Slovak), SL (Slovenian), SV (Swedish).
   Non Member-States languages: AR (Arabic), BG (Bulgarian), HR (Croatian), JA (Japanese), RO (Rumanian), RU (Russian), TR (Turkish).
    
3. CRITERIA WHICH DETERMINE THE ORGANISATION OF A COURSE
   
   The elements determining the decision on whether or not to organise a course are as follows:
    
   1. Availability of financial resources ;
       
   2. The number of places available (limited course numbers according to the available budget) ;
       
   3. A sufficient number of participants (minimum 8 applications: “article 45§2” and/or “in the interest of the service”).
       
4. 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, you must indicate a preferred schedule in the field provided. Training Unit staff will endeavour to meet all requests as far as possible, but cannot guarantee that all preferences will be met.
    

   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.



5. ROOMS
   
   The Brussels language courses can take place in the Commission buildings (GUIMARD: rue Guimard 10 - 1040 Brussels; SCIENCE 29: rue de la Science 29 - 1040 Brussels; in the Council of the Union (ORBAN : square Frère Orban 10 - 1040 Brussels) and in the European Parliament (MONTOYER 63: rue Montoyer 63 – 1040 Brussels).
    
6. ADMISSION CRITERIA
    
   1. Who can apply:
      
      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.
       
   2. Who cannot apply:
      
      Candidates who at the closing date for applications and at the start of the course 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).
       
   3. Particularities:
       
      1. Participation of the spouses/partners and former officials
         
         Spouses of staff mentioned under point A above and former officials will be admitted, if there are places available, to courses in almost all the languages on offer:
          
         • Except for French and English (for which there is always a very large number of requests),
            
         • Except for level 1 in Arabic, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, Polish, Russian and
            
         • Except for other European country languages (Bulgarian, Croatian, Rumanian, Turkish), for which a request made in the interest of the service is required.

         Attention: spouses and former officials can temporarily removed from courses if it is necessary to satisfy priority requests.
          

      2. Restrictions
         
         Due to the huge number of requests received and in view of budgetary constraints (limiting the number of courses we can organise), we cannot accept requests made in the interest of the individual in:
          
         • level 1 (beginner’s level) in Arabic, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, Polish and Russian,
            
         • all the levels in Bulgarian, Croatian, Rumanian and Turkish.
            
      3. Order of priority for new requests
          
         • Priority 1: requests made in the context of article 45§2 of the Staff Regulations in force as from 1^st May 2004. Staff members may join a language course (all E.U. languages) until the end of the 3^rd course week (except for level 1 beginner courses in which it is essential to participate from the start of the session);
            
         • Priority 2: requests in English, German or French made in the interest of the service by newcomers and staff returning to Headquarters (the request must be entered within the first 3 months of the recruitment or return to Headquarters). If there are places available, they may join an English, German or French course until the end of the 3^rd course week (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, if there are places available;
            
         • Priority 4: requests made in the interest of the individual, if there are places available.

         * Article 45§2 of the Staff Regulations in force as from 1st May 2004: 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.
         
         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 basic language training to staff who need it.
          

7. PROCEDURE FOR ENROLMENT
   
   * All requests must be made only via Syslog Web Formation. 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/key_actors/index_en.html. ).
    

   Deadline for enrolment and signature by the hierarchy in Syslog Web formation: 4 April 2006. Please note that late requests will always be refused. Please make sure that your line manager has signed your request in time.

   
   
   • You are only allowed to enrol for one course per semester.
      
   • If your level has to be tested (see point XI), please note the following :
      
     • if you wish to take part in a course after having been tested, the request for the placement test is sufficient and it is not necessary to enter a second request for the course itself.
        
     • If you wish to have only an estimation of your level in the context of the article 45§2, the request for the « article 45.2 » test is sufficient. Please note : if you wish to take part in a course afterwards, it is necessary to enter a request for a course.
        
   • 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.
      

   New: where requests are unable to be met, for whatever reason, they will be cancelled three weeks after the beginning of the session for which the requests have been entered.

   
    
8. INVITATIONS
   
   Information on the status of your request can be viewed by clicking the “My training”, “My current applications” or “My closed applications” buttons in Syslog Web Formation.
   
   In addition, you will be personally informed by e-mail of the outcome of your application on 28 July 2006.
   
   Because of the limited human resources available in our team, no information can be sent out to you before this date. Please do not contact us by phone or by e-mail before this date.
    
9. ABSENCES
   
   It is important to remember 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: please note that 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 final test. 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 You can check the status of your participation in Syslog Web Formation at any time during the session by clicking the “My training”, “My closed applications” buttons in Syslog Web Formation.
   
   In very 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 manager to the language training Head of Sector certifying that participation in the course is in the interest of the service or in the context of article 45§2 of the Staff Regulations. The line manager must commit him(her)self to allow the participant take part regularly in the course;
   • 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.

   Please note that the appeal procedure can only be taken into consideration if introduced by 2 February 2007 at the latest.


 
10. END OF COURSE RESULTS
    
    At the end of each session, a final mark is given to each participant who has been present on a regular basis and who has not been excluded from the course.
    The final mark corresponds to the average between the mark of the obligatory final test and a mark resulting from continuous assessment of work and participation during the whole session.
    The final mark is communicated by the teacher in the final lesson. Please note: the pass mark is 60 %.
    
    A certificate is sent only to participants who have succeeded in the course (minimum 60 %) at the end of the level 6 standard courses, at the end of an advanced course and at the end of a task-based course.
     
11. 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 29 May to 2 June 2006, from 6 June to 9 June 2006 and from 12 June to 16 June 2006. An invitation to a test will be sent in due course.
    
    If your level has to be tested, please note the following:
     
    • if you wish to take part in a course after having been tested, the request for the placement test is sufficient and it is not necessary to enter a second request for the course itself.
       
    • If you wish to have only an estimation of your level in the context of the article 45§2, the request for the « article 45.2 » test is sufficient. Please note : if you wish to take part in a course afterwards, it is necessary to enter a request for a course.

    New : Candidates who have enrolled for a course for one (1) session, but who have not turned up for a language test to which they have been invited 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 staff). 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 working languages (DE-EN-FR).
 

1. STANDARD COURSES (twice a week)
   
   Languages
   All languages mentioned in point II of the general information; for which we have received enough applications and if there are sufficient resources available.
   
   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 32 lessons on a twice-weekly basis, 1 h 50 per day, for 16 weeks (excluding holidays).
    
2. ADVANCED COURSES (once a week)
   
   These courses are for candidates who have successfully completed the six levels of 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 II 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 16 lessons, 1 h 50 once a week for 16 weeks (excluding holidays).
    

3. TASK-BASED COURSES (once a week)
   
   These courses are for candidates :
    
   • who have finished level 6 of the standard courses and/or 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.
   
   People who have previously successfully completed a task-based course can re-enrol for the same module after a period of two years has elapsed.
   
   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
      
   •     Task-based oral courses
      
   • 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 16 lessons, 1 h 50 once a week for 16 weeks (excluding holidays).

APPLICATION FORM

Those who cannot access SYSLOG WEB FORMATION must consult their training manager on the required procedure to follow in their DG/Service (list of Training Coordinators at:
http://www.cc.cec/pers_admin/training_bxl/key_actors/cofolist_en.html#1).

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

Address : rue Guimard, 10
Administrative address : GUIM 1/53

Head of Unit : Norman JARDINE, GUIM 3/56, tel. : 92852
Head of Sector : Päivi ÖHMAN, GUIM 1/56, tel. : 21210
Secretariat : Emmanuelle LOUEDEC, GUIM 1/53, tel. : 51160

List of course managers (on 1 March 2006)
(enquiries by phone or in person may be made between 10 and 12 a.m.)