Celebrate the European Day of Languages with us!



Throughout Europe, 700 million Europeans are represented in the Council of Europe's 46 member states and all are encouraged to discover more languages at any age, as part of or alongside their studies. This stems from the Council of Europe’s conviction that linguistic diversity is a tool for achieving greater intercultural understanding and a key element in the rich cultural heritage of our continent. Therefore, the Council of Europe, in Strasbourg, promotes plurilingualism in the whole of Europe. 

At the Council of Europe’s initiative, the European Day of Languages has been celebrated every year since 2001 on 26 September - together with the European Commission.
az bg bs ca cs cy da de el en es et eu fi fr fy ga gl hr hu hy is it ka lb lt lv me mk mt nl nn pl pt ro ru sk sl sq sr sv tr uk
Statement from Marija Pejčinović Burić, Secretary General of the Council of Europe, on the occasion of the European Day of Languages 2023
"The European Day of Languages reminds us that learning a language is a step towards openness and respect for other cultures."
 

Activities

Languages in my classroom/school

How many languages are spoken in your classroom or school? For this challenge we are inviting you to create a poster showcasing all the languages present in your learning environment.

 Initiative 
Languages in my classroom/school

How many languages are spoken in your classroom or school? For this challenge we are inviting you to create a poster showcasing all the languages present in your learning environment.

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All 1900 posters are online now!

The beauty of languages

Every language harbours intriguing expressions, often accompanied by interesting or amusing anecdotes related to their usage. These reflect the unique charm and elegance of a language. Can you come up with an expression that you love – either from your native language or one you're learning— and provide the backstory or anecdote that explains its meaning?

 Initiative 
The beauty of languages

Every language harbours intriguing expressions, often accompanied by interesting or amusing anecdotes related to their usage. These reflect the unique charm and elegance of a language. Can you come up with an expression that you love – either from your native language or one you're learning— and provide the backstory or anecdote that explains its meaning?

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Poll: Impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on the future of language learning

Which of the following first come to mind when you think of AI in relation to language learning?

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Poll: Impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on the future of language learning

Which of the following first come to mind when you think of AI in relation to language learning?
(Choose a maximum of 3)
 
Other
 

Poll: Impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on the future of language learning

 
2023's 'most innovative event' is
Message in a Bottle

The event received 480+ votes and was organised by Departamento Curricular de Línguas, Alcobaça, Portugal.

Congratulations to the winners!

We were greatly impressed by the creativity and great effort which went into organising the events submitted and would like to thank all organisers of EDL events in 2023.

EDL T-shirt competition


Send us your design/image/graphic and have your layout on the official EDL T-Shirt! Find out more

New in 2023  

New in 2023  

New: Lara’s next journey - through Europe’s Regional and Minority Languages

Lara sets off on a new language journey - On this chapter of her journey, Lara explores the fascinating world of regional and minority languages and, being inquisitive, she, of course, uncovers many linguistic treasures!

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The funniest one and only multilingual joke book

In how many languages can you make someone laugh? Following an extremely strict selection process (involving a jury of individuals who aren’t easy to please!) we ‘proudly’ present the results of this 2022 initiative. From the over 700 jokes that were submitted (not all of them publishable!) we have painstakingly whittled this down to the ‘crème de la crème’ of multilingual humour. 

Download

For fans of ‘Christmas cracker’ jokes – this is a must... You are most welcome to continue to submit new and even funnier jokes with a multilingual element for Volume 2...! View page

Poster " Another  20 things you might not know about the world of languages"

Are you a language detective?

Can you recognise all the languages being displayed in the game?

Are you a language detective?

Can you recognise all the languages being displayed in the game?

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Word of the year

Every year, countries throughout Europe participate in the tradition of selecting a "word of the year." Here are the words from the previous year!

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Word of the year

Every year, countries throughout Europe participate in the tradition of selecting a "word of the year." This practice involves choosing a single word or phrase that reflects the social, cultural, or political trends and events of the year. The word of the year serves as a symbolic representation of the collective consciousness and prevailing themes within a society. It captures the zeitgeist and becomes a reflection of the shared experiences, concerns, and aspirations of the people.

Poster "Counting your way around Europe"



English - Deutsch

Poster "Say YES to languages"



English

The secret agent’s language challenges app  2023 

The app has been updated with a new ‘language detective’ challenge in 2023. Can you succeed where others have stumbled? The app has been updated with a new ‘language detective’ challenge in 2023. Can you succeed where others have stumbled?

The secret agent’s language challenges app  2023 

The challenges and quizzes contained within this app encourage learners – future international agents – to take advantage of the plentiful opportunities available to practice or learn more about a language beyond a classroom context. By passing through a series of levels you can rise from a lowly agent in training to become a master secret agent.
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BG BS CA CS DA DE EL EN ES ET FI FR GA HR HU IT LV LT ME MK MT NL PL PT RO RU SK SL SR SV UK


Brain game: Greek alphabet

How fast can you complete this challenge?



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Where am I?

You'll be shown 20 random images from all over Europe. Can you find out, where those images where taken? Use your language skills and the virtual magnifying glass to find hints in the picture. Good luck!
Send us your own pictures for this game here!

Send us your own pictures for this game here!

Where am I?

You'll be shown 20 random images from all over Europe. Can you find out, where those images where taken? Use your language skills and the virtual magnifying glass to find hints in the picture. Good luck!

And: Add your own images to the game!

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Bake a cake!

For the 20th anniversary of the European Day of Languages we asked you to send us your best birthday cake recipes. We now have chosen 20 amazing recipes and put them into a colourful booklet.

Celebrate with us by baking one of these truly European birthday cakes!

Download the book

Famous quotes

We are all familiar with quotes from famous personalities in our own languages and cultures - but how many do we know from elsewhere in different languages? Here is a chance to discover the wisdom, truths (or half-truths!), creativity, humour and sometimes downright cynicism from a range of cultures and languages as well as their origins. Do you have a favourite? We would be delighted if you would also contribute some of your own!

Famous quotes

We are all familiar with quotes from famous personalities in our own languages and cultures - but how many do we know from elsewhere in different languages? Here is a chance to discover the wisdom, truths (or half-truths!), creativity, humour and sometimes downright cynicism from a range of cultures and languages as well as their origins. Do you have a favourite? We would be delighted if you would also contribute some of your own!
Quote of the day:

Alles gerettet Majestät! All is saved your Majesty!

By the Chief of police to Kaiser Franz Joseph of Austria
This initial assessment of the outcome of a fire in Vienna's Ringtheater turned out to have been overly optimitisic. A keen- to-please chief of police reputedly issued this report to Austria's emperor Franz Joseph, after the outbreak of the fire in December 1881. In fact, the Ringtheater was burned to the ground and 386 opera-goers to Hoffmanns Erzählungen tragically died as a result. The quote is now used to show-up 'half-truths' designed entirely to please the target audience, rather than to convey reality.


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Which language is it?

We all know this situation: on a bus, in a café, on the street we hear two people talking in a foreign language. And we wonder what language it is. Let's do some training here and next time this happens to you you will easily recognise it!
 
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The EDL handbook of language challenges

  
The 51 challenges contained within the handbook encourage learners to go a little outside their comfort zone and take advantage of the plentiful opportunities available to practice or learn more about a language beyond a classroom context. Find out more

Questions you never dared to ask about languages

For this year’s European Day of Languages we have produced a series of short video clips focusing on ‘Questions you never dared to ask about languages’ with experts covering a range of backgrounds and specialisations responding.
As the title suggests, the questions are ones that we might not wish to ask in front of an audience but, in fact, highlight important issues and address some popular misconceptions about languages and language learning. Do you have a question you would like to ask an expert?

To see subtitles on the videos, please activate this feature by clicking on ‘subtitles’ in the YouTube menu below the video. To change languages, click on the gear wheel and select subtitles>’automatically translate’ and select the desired language (the machine translation is provided by YouTube).

Questions you never dared to ask about languages

For this year’s European Day of Languages we have produced a series of short video clips focusing on ‘Questions you never dared to ask about languages’ with experts covering a range of backgrounds and specialisations responding.

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You can learn languages, too!


Download the brochure!

Newest Events

11/10/2023 - 28/11/2023
GR
GYMNASIUM OF SKALA
22/11/2023 -
GR
Aftenergo Private High School
26/9/2023 -
GR
4e collège de Glyfada-Pinelopi Delta
26/9/2023 - 10/11/2023
GR
school
25/9/2023 - 27/9/2023
GR
Araklovou 12(9ο Νηπιαγωγείο Τρίπολης)

View all events

20 ideas for this year's European Day of Languages

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20 ideas for this year's European Day of Languages

Struggling to find ideas for an event for this year’s European Day of Languages? It can be challenging to organise events that are fun, inclusive, have an educational element and motivate a large number of people. Below are a few ideas to get your creative thoughts flowing, most of which are based on the principle of “starting small to go big”! 20 ideas for activities that can be carried in celebration of this year's EDL.

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Statistics for 2023 

1398
events

43
countries

223371
participants

 

 More...

Myth or fact?

1. My mother tongue is all I need.

Myth   Fact
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2. I’m not bilingual/multilingual. I can only speak one language.

Myth   Fact
Skip

3. Most people in the world use more than one language.

Myth   Fact
Skip

4. English is the only language children need.

Myth   Fact
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5. Children get confused if they learn more than one language at the same time.

Myth   Fact
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6. I can’t help a child to learn or use a language I don’t know (well enough) myself.

Myth   Fact
Skip

7. If learners don’t know the language of schooling, they’ll learn it best by being exposed to that language only - and by using that language only.

Myth   Fact
Skip

8. Continued use of the home language(s) will interfere with children’s learning of the language of schooling.

Myth   Fact
Skip

9. My job is to teach X as a foreign language and not to deal with other languages in my classroom.

Myth   Fact


ICT language tool of the week

Future Learn ()

Future Learn is a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) platform based in the UK. It is owned by The Open University and offers a variety of free online short courses and degrees taught by universities fr... view details

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Did you know that...

The European Day of Languages is being supported and coordinated by the European Centre for Modern Languages of the Council of Europe? The Council of Europe is the continent’s leading human rights organisation. It comprises 46 member states, including all members of the European Union.


 

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Self-evaluate your language skills

The 'Self-evaluate your language skills' tool helps you to assess your level of proficiency in the languages you know according to six reference levels described in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR).

Start now!