Multiple voices in the classroom: Harnessing the power of regional and minority languages in secondary education.
- European Center for Modern Languages, Graz (Austria)
- 4 December 2025
- 09:00 - 17:30
- Multiple voices in the classroom: Harnessing the power of regional and minority languages in secondary education.
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Event programme
9:00 – 9:15 Opening session Welcome by the ECML and the European Commission
9:15 – 10:00 Keynote address
Languages in competition? Immigration, education, and linguistic diversity – lessons (and challenges) from Polish schools.
Tomasz Wicherkiewicz (Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, Poland)
10:00 – 10:30
Inclusion of migrant background pupils arriving in a Swedish minority context in Finland.
Mandira Halder (Finland)
Video testimonies on benefits derived from learning an RML
10:30 – 11:00 COFFEE BREAK
11:00 – 12:00 Panel discussion: What motivates newcomers to learn RMLs?
Language attitudes in secondary school, the role of RMLs in integrating newcomers Chair:
Anna Jungner-Nordgren (Network to Promote Linguistic Diversity)
Eva Vetter (Austria)
Claudine Brohy (Switzerland)
Suzanne Dekker (Netherlands)
António Bárbolo Alves (Portugal)
13:00-14:00 Lunch break (Buffet offered by the ECML)
13:30 – 14:45 Group work
14:45 – 15:00 Group work summary
15:00 – 15:30 Coffee break
15:30 – 16:30
Panel discussion: Challenges RMLs face in multilingual classrooms, best practices and successful pedagogical models
Chair: Cor van der Meer (MERCATOR)
Ramieza Mahdi (Finland)
Maria Begoña Iturgaiz Rodriguez (Spain)
Brigitta Koncz (Romania)
Narrell Byrne (Ireland)
16:30 – 16:45
7 proposals for valuing regional and minority languages (RML) in European schools.
Aurelio La Torre (Italy)
16:45 – 17:00
Closing remarks – rapporteur Johan Häggman (Federal Union of European Nationalities)
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