Language Rich Europe project (2010–2013), co-funded by the British Council and the European Union, promotes knowledge sharing about good policy and practice in language learning and teaching across Europe, and encourages Europeans to learn more languages at all stages of their lives. It is a networking project which brought together over 1,200 policy makers and practitioners from 24 countries and regions to discuss and develop better policies and practices for multilingualism. Network members are drawn from the fields of education, business, public services and the media. The research covers 15 EU member states – Austria, Bulgaria, Denmark, Estonia, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, United Kingdom – plus Bosnia and Herzegovina, Switzerland and Ukraine.

The Language Rich Europe (LRE) consortium, co-funded by the European Commission and the British Council, calls on European institutions and member state governments to initiate new policies to support immigrant language teaching, revise trilingual learning, and use the particular position of English to promote and support multi/plurilingualism. This would help to develop a truly multilingual Europe and in turn ensure economic competitiveness while building more inclusive societies.

A comprehensive report was prepared with involvement of 30 partners from across Europe to discuss and develop better policies and practices for multilingualism (Language Rich Europe: Trends in Policies and Practices for Multilingualism in Europe). This research and subsequent consultation has led to European Recommendations that offer unique insights into language policies and best practices within the educational, business, public service and media sectors across Europe.

The rise of English and a growing mix of immigrant languages have redrawn Europe's linguistic map in recent decades. The ability to communicate in other languages is essential if Europeans are to develop a broader international outlook and enhance their employment prospects. New policies for language training are needed to adapt to increasing mobility, migration and the recent economic downturn.

Androulla Vassiliou, European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth, stated, 'The European Commission is committed to a multilingualism policy which recognises the importance of linguistic diversity and supports language learning, which is essential for economic competitiveness and inclusive societies. In particular, I welcome the fact that the "Language Rich Europe" report calls for increased mobility and training of language teachers. Our new Erasmus for All programme will provide additional funding for this in future.'

 
Key findings & recommendations from the project:

			English is now the most widely-chosen second language in Europe’s schools, especially in higher education studies. A new model for developing and preserving other languages is needed to promote diversity among languages used and spoken by Europeans.
			The European Commission’s trilingual formula of ‘mother tongue plus two’ should be updated and further developed. For many citizens ‘mother tongue’ is no longer the same as the national language. The particular position of English also means that in practice most citizens will learn English plus one, so it is rarely any ‘two’. A useful development of the formula could include the clear articulation of a linguistic profile.
			The particular position of English in Europe should be explicitly acknowledged, in order to propose a new model for the co-existence of languages in Europe. This would have implications for policy formulations and would encourage more research and development work on the ways in which the position of English could be used to promote and support multi/plurilingualism rather than to undermine it. This would also mean that European funding streams, for example, the successor to the Lifelong Learning Programme, would prioritise support for languages other than English.
			Immigrant languages have significantly changed the linguistic landscape in Europe. To develop more inclusive societies, immigrant languages should be explicitly recognised at European level. Funds should be allocated at the national and European levels to support language teaching from pre-primary to university education that reflects the diversity of student populations.
			Existing barriers to the employment of teachers from other member states should be removed. Teachers should be enabled and encouraged to do training abroad to improve the level of achievement in language learning. For example, 'Erasmus for teachers' should be established.
			When creating audio-visual materials, subtitling – not dubbing – should be the default option for organisations on the European level. The comparative data demonstrate a strong positive correlation between subtitling and language competency.
			We should reassess the ways in which multilingualism increases trade and profitability. Research is needed into how successful companies actually engage in successful business exchanges across languages and cultures from an economic and sociological perspective rather than with a solely linguistic bias to produce case studies and practical guidance.

 
Language Rich Europe in Ukraine

In Ukraine the project publication was launched in November 2012 in the premises of the Institute of Social and Political Psychology of the National Academy for Education Studies – Ukrainian partner in the project. The event was attended by educationalists, government officials and media. The discussions touched current situation in Europe and in Ukraine, problems and modern tendencies throughout Europe. The British Council’s partners from Netherlands, Lithuania, and Germany presented the best practices from these countries.

The project was presented to a wider audience during two international exhibitions organised under the auspices of the National Academy for Education Studies – 'Modern Education in Ukraine 2013' and 'Modern Education Institutions 2013' with 15,000 and 10,000 visitors respectively. The project won gold medal as a leader in international co-operation at the Modern Education Fair.

In conclusion the British Council has supported the idea of translation competition among school students developed by the Director of the Institute of Higher Education Prof. Mykhaylo Stepko and Director of the Wisconsin International University (USA) in Ukraine Prof. Oleksandr Romanovsky. The competition was piloted in the town of Ukrayinka for pupils of the 8–10 forms of Ukrayinka and Obukhiv schools. The initiative was supported by the Mayor of Ukrayinka Mr Pavlo Kozyrev.

Though all participants performed very good knowledge of English the prizes went to:

			1st place among students of 8th forms Maryna Volokhata, Nina Karyeva, Kateryna Nagorna from the Secondary School No 1 of Ukrayinka
			2nd place among students of 8th forms Oleksandr Tilny and Yury Kozynets from the Secondary School No 2 of Ukrayinka
			1st place among students of 9th forms Oleksandr Yeryomchenkov, Ivan Kramarenko and Eva Pogrebna from the Secondary School No 1 of Ukrayinka
			2nd place among students of 9th forms Alina Golovchynska, Yulia Piskova and Oleksandra Andreyeva from the Secondary School No 5 of Obukhiv
			1st place among students of 10th forms Olena Astakhova, Olena Mazhuga and Maria Sydoruk from Obukhiv V.Melnyk Gymnasium
			2nd place among students of 10th forms Yulia Belemets, Valentyna Plyusch and Dmytro Romas  from the Secondary School No 1 of Ukrayinka

We hope that the idea of translation competition will be implemented wider in Ukraine and the project results will be used for further initiatives aimed at promoting languages in all sectors of society.