European profile for language teacher education

The paper reports on the outcome of two EU funded research projects on Language teacher Education. The projects analysed examples of innovation and best practice across Europe. One of the outcomes of the projects was the drafting of a European Profile for Language Teacher education. The paper gives the background to the project and their main findings. There is reference to the methodological approach employed: cross European, Delphi Questionnaire, Documentary Analysis, and Case Study. The paper sets out both the theoretical and historical background to the research. It describes examples of ‘state-of-the-art’ language teacher education in terms of innovation and best practice. It describes the concept of the ‘European Language Teacher’. The European Profile for Language Teacher Education is presented in terms of its individual items, together with discussion of their content. The paper considers the rationale for each, including theoretical justification and practical implementation. There is further discussion of possible future directions for the research; namely, Networking; use of ICT; INSET; Supporting mechanisms; Mentoring; Quality Assurance; and links with the Common European Framework of Assessment: Learning, Teaching and Assessment and the Language Portfolio.. Finally, there is reference to the weaknesses and strengths of this type of research and its likely effects of European policy