INTER-INSTITUTIONAL LANGUAGE COURSES - BRUSSELS

Session February 2007 – June 2007

INTRODUCTION
I. CALENDAR
II. LANGUAGES OFFERED
III. CRITERIA WHICH DETERMINE THE ORGANISATION OF A COURSE
IV. TIMETABLE
V. ROOMS
VI. ADMISSION CRITERIA
VII. PROCEDURE FOR ENROLMENT
VIII. INVITATIONS
IX. ABSENCES
X. END OF COURSE RESULTS
XI. PLACEMENT TESTS
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.

I wish you an excellent course and I trust that your language training will be beneficial in your professional life.

Norman Jardine
Head of Unit
‘Learning and Development’

GENERAL INFORMATION

I. CALENDAR

II. LANGUAGES OFFERED

III. CRITERIA WHICH DETERMINE THE ORGANISATION OF A COURSE

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 “in the interest of the service”).

IV. 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
 

V. ROOMS

VI. ADMISSION CRITERIA

1. Who can apply:
   
   Candidates who, at the closing date for applications and/or at the start of the course, are either officials, temporary, auxiliary, contract or local agents or seconded national experts (SNEs), are eligible to apply for a course.
    
2. Who cannot apply:
   
   Candidates who, at the closing date for applications or 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. 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 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 (Croatian and Turkish), for which a request made in the interest of the service is required.

      Attention: spouses and former officials can be temporarily removed from courses, if 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, and
         
      • all the levels in Croatian 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, French or German 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, French or German 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 1^st 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. This requirement is set at level 6 of inter-institutional language training, which is in accordance with level B.2 of the Council of Europe’s Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEF). During a transitional period until 31 December 2008, the requirement is set at level 4 of inter-institutional language training, which is in accordance with level A.2 of the CEF, but with an obligation to follow the training until level 6 is reached..
   
   Please note: requests for standard courses (levels 1 to 6) have priority over requests for advanced and task-based courses in order to provide at least basic language training to those staff who need it.

VII. PROCEDURE FOR ENROLMENT

• All requests must be made only via Syslog Web Formation at http://www.cc.cec/di/syslog_formation/home/accueil.cfm. DG ADMIN will deal with your request only AFTER the electronic validation 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: 10 November 2006. ! Please note that late requests will always be refused. Please ensure that your line manager signs 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 have only an estimation of your level in the context of the article 45.2, the request for the « article 45.2 – UNIQUEMENT estimation de votre niveau » 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.
     
  • 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 (in Syslog Web Formation: choose “TEST + COURS”)
     
• 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.
   

  Please note: 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.

VIII. INVITATIONS

IX. ABSENCES

• 6 consecutive absences or 10 non-consecutive absences for a twice-weekly standard course OR
   
• 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, staff who wish to continue their training must submit a new request for the following semester.

NB: presence is required until the end of the course, this including the days following the final test, which is compulsory. Absences will 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 may be launched in order to avoid an exclusion from the course or to be reinstated in a 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 to 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 29 June 2007 at the latest.

X. 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 of the mark from the obligatory final test and the 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 levels 4 and 5 (if it concerns a certificate to meet the requirements of the art. 45.2 of the Staff Regulations) and of the level 6 of the standard courses, at the end of an advanced course and at the end of a task-based course.

The results of all language tests are final.

XI. PLACEMENT TESTS

For staff 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 – which become then compulsory - will be organised from 4 December to 8 December 2006, from 11 December to 15 December 2006 and from 8 January to 12 January 2007. Invitations will be issued by the Learning and Development Unit.

If your level has to be tested, please note the following:

• 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 – UNIQUEMENT estimation de votre niveau » 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.
   
• 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 (in Syslog Web Formation: choose “TEST + COURS”)

Please note : 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

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 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 completed 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 coordinator 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 Careers
LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT UNIT - ADMIN.A.3 ; Language training sector

SECRETARIAT OF THE INTER-INSTITUTIONAL LANGUAGE TRAINING

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

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