This report proposes a European Profile for language teacher education in the 21st century. It deals with the initial and in-service education of foreign language teachers in primary, secondary and adult learning contexts and it offers a frame of reference for language education policy makers and language teacher educators in Europe. The findings draw on consultation with a wide range of European experts on language teacher education, and on the experience of eleven European teacher education institutions. The findings also suggest guidelines for quality assurance and enhancement. By outlining the key elements in European language teacher education, the Profile aims to serve as a checklist for existing teacher education programmes and a guideline for those still being developed. The report begins by examining the context of recent European enlargement and developments in the European Commission’s policies for education and languages. It outlines the need for a Profile for foreign language teacher education in Europe and explains the rationale behind the Profile as it has been developed. It deals with the structure of educational courses, the knowledge and understanding central to foreign language teaching, the diversity of teaching and learning strategies and skills and the kinds of values language teaching should encourage and promote. Drawing on the expertise of policy makers and educators in the field of foreign language teacher education from a wide range of European countries, the Profile presents 40 key elements in language teacher education courses. It details how courses can be structured and delivered to give trainee teachers access to essential learning opportunities during initial and in-service teacher education. In particular, it focuses on innovative teacher education practices and ways of promoting cooperation, exchange and mobility among the new generation of Europe’s language teachers. In the Profile, each element is explained in detail and supported by advice, guidelines and proposals from European experts. Eleven case studies of European teacher education institutions provide exemplifications of how each element works in practice. The case studies also help identify a number of possible issues that might arise in relation to items of the Profile.
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