An overview presented during the HERMES Conference at BOKU Vienna, July 1999

In line with the general purpose of TNPs to provide fora to study and analyse the state of development of given academic fields of education with a view to developing a European dimension within an academic discipline and to increasing the quality of higher education, the DEMETER project was set up to do this in the context of AGRICULTURE & RELATED SCIENCES (including agricultural sciences, food science, forestry, horticulture, water management, agricultural economics, rural development).
When the Thematic Network was set up in 1996, it addressed a number of educational issues through six activities which were identified as major topics of interest.

• 1.1 Organisation of a European Network for International Relations Officers (IRO) (with Activity 1.3)
• 1.4 Publication and Dissemination of Reports and Books
• 2.2 Language Policy Working Group
• 4.3a Educational Materials in Agricultural Sciences
• 4.3b Educational Materials in Forestry
• 5.1 The Concept of Sustainability Study
• 5.4 Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) for European Higher Education (combined with WP 5.3 below)

One of the activities focused on the situation of foreign language training at Universities and Colleges of Agricultural and Related Sciences. A Working Group was set up to consider the situation of foreign language training for students with a non-philological orientation. In particular at Universities or Colleges of Agricultural and Related Sciences (UCARS), this had not previously been considered in any depth on a European scale, and the Working Group's activities were to be a means of determining what policies are in place, and whether a unified perspective for UCARS could be formulated for the future.

When the Language Policy Working Group within DEMETER was established in 1996, the Universitaet für Bodenkultur Wien (University of Agricultural Sciences, Vienna) was asked to serve as co-ordinating institution for the Group.

The first year of the project, 1996-97, was spent determining which universities and colleges would be interested in supporting the project. Questionnaires were sent out to institutions all over Europe and finally, 16 institutions from 13 European countries joined the working-group.

During the first plenary meeting of the working group in May 1997, it was decided to establish 5 sub-groups which should handle particular topics in closer detail:

• Strategy and Planning (Strategy Core Group)
• Teaching Materials
• Professional Development
• New Information Technologies
• Assessment Levels in Europe

As a means of acquiring information the group had developed several types of questionnaires which were sent to the following groups:

• current students
• lecturers in topic areas
• post-graduates
• employers of UCARS graduates (Austria, UK)
• language teachers (all)

in an effort to have as full consultation as possible, and that our activities would be based on need and popular consent.

Members of the strategy core group took over the responsibility for the various surveys that were conducted and brought forward the following results:
Concerning teaching materials the teachers had told us that they were not satisfied with published materials which were few in number and dull. In addition, the social and cultural side of language training was ignored by such texts. The materials group set out to investigate what was available for teachers and to spread information about possible resources.
The Professional Development group had developed the concept for a short, pilot workshop in Vienna, as a result of the questionnaire which had been circulated to all ICA members. It identified the following key areas of the course:

• methodology
• exploitation of resources in class
• syllabus design
• teaching observation and evaluation
• the use of technology/media
• teaching practice and evaluation

These activities were built into a one-week programme for 12 teachers from 6 different countries which was held at BOKU Vienna in February 1999. There were 20 UCARS students for class observation.The programme was carried out by 3 trainers, one acting as observer to determine how this course, in English language, could be transferred or adapted to other target languages. While this course was given in English, it was strongly emphasised that there was a clear determination to encourage the teaching of all other European languages as well.

The aim in conducting this course was to develop a transferable program that differed from commercial programmes which are currently available for teachers. We wanted to provide a forum for discussion on practical topics and experience. We also wanted to develop an approach which would be relevant and specific for teachers who would be working with UCARS students, given the motivation and resources currently available in UCARS institutions. The course was well received by the participants and it was decided to hold a similar course in the year 2000. The full information on the course can be found on the HERMES homepage.

In the sub-group on New Information Technologies our French colleagues especially from INH Angers made excellent contributions to devising interactive materials using world wide web, concentrating also on the impact which the materials had on the training of teachers, many of whom were untrained and vulnerable to such developments. In fact, the language policy group has been investigating the possibilities of harnessing the Net as a teaching/ learning resource and David Rees from INH Angers has been very active in the development of interactive software and video innovations for language learning purposes.

The language policy working group has been involved in the development of a homepage which was named HERMES. This medium shall serve as a means of information dissemination as well as for Clearing House purposes, developing gradually into an academic 'chat room', a students' forum and producing a special newsletter. Due to the generous financial support from the University of Joensuu we were able to set up the basic structure during the past months and we are now aiming at a professionalisation of this important instrument of communication, including above all it s permanent maintenance and continuous updating.

Finally, the sub working-group on Assessment levels in Europe was concerned with both internal institutional testing and final certification. Their research has led them to the opinion that it will be pragmatic and useful to propose the assessment methods already in current practice and respected, such as UNIcertâ which could be used for all languages not only English, rather than to suggest that a separate format be set up for UCARS students. This was felt to be time wasting and unlikely to receive approval from institutions, all of whom differ so widely. The work was mainly to decide how to classify the levels of performance which UCARS students could achieve and what these levels meant in terms of language proficiency. The idea of 'statement based' levels in the four skills of reading, writing, listening and speaking was adopted and this work still is in progress and will be in our final report.

During our work in the strategy & planning core group we realised that the following questions had to be identified as crucial for the development of language teaching at UCARS:

• What level of competence should UCARS students have reached in target languages on graduation? Further consultation with students and employers is seen as necessary.
• What are the essential ingredients of a modern and successful language teaching programme at UCARS?
• How can information on materials, training, and other relevant subjects be more effectively disseminated and exchanged among language students and teachers at UCARS.

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