The five rectors have signed the Language Charter of the Flemish Language Platform. In this way they highlight “the importance of linguistic competences for education, the professional field and society at large”, reports the Flemish Interuniversity Council. The Language Platform, which hopes to promote language education and the choice of language courses, will also appeal to companies and organizations to support that charter as well. A Language Campaign will start in a few weeks, comparable to the Voting Campaign that has existed for some time for the sciences.
By signing the charter, the rectors recognize “the need for good language skills, language knowledge, multilingualism and language diversity as essential assets for social participation, for intercultural solidarity and for the Flemish knowledge economy”. The charter also wants to convey the message that language professionals are needed in many sectors.
Specifically for education, the charter aims, among other things, at “high-quality language courses with an attractive image”. UGent rector and VLIR president Rik Van de Walle notes that focusing on language enriches every student, “because language insight and skills such as reading comprehension and writing skills make students better students in any domain and give them more opportunities to take their place. found in society”.
exams
After the past exam period, several professors and teachers raised the issue of the many language errors in exam answers. This concerns the classic dt error, but the frequent omission of the final n in plural forms and downright incorrect sentence constructions are also a concern for the teachers.
The signing has been in the pipeline for some time and is actually separate from that fuss, but it fits within the Language Campaign that will be launched in a few weeks. With the support of the rectors, the Language Platform also wants to reach out to companies and employers’ organizations to highlight the advantages of language training. Secondary schools are also being taken in the bath, to make students enthusiastic about language training at an early age.
READ ALSO: OUR OPINION: “Deduct points for language errors. Old school? Probably. But good training” (+)
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