The Liechtenstein method

Luxembourg faces a constant linguistic challenge. With a population that is over 47 per cent foreign, and tens of thousands of cross-border commuters who come to work every day, the country has always drawn its strength from multilingualism. Juggling from one language to another is a daily exercise that commands admiration abroad. Here, speaking four languages is considered commonplace, and expressing oneself in the language of one's interlocutor a form of politeness. But with the constant influx of newcomers, the migration crisis and population growth in general, the need for language learning is exploding, particularly for Luxembourgish and French.

That's why professionals in the sector are always on the lookout for new ways to improve language learning. That's how Pierre Reding, Luxembourg's language commissioner, came up with a method for learning German to A2 level in just six weeks, from… Liechtenstein. We spoke to Luc Schmitz, deputy director of the Institut national des langues Luxembourg (INLL), who is stepping up his meetings and contacts with the local LieLa association. The Luxembourg team is due to return to Liechtenstein in June to consolidate links: "We went to Liechtenstein for the first time about a year and a half ago, to visit the classes, see the equipment and get an idea of what a course is like in practice. At the INLL we emphasise the communicative aspect of languages, but not as much as with this method." The LieLa team recently spent two weeks in Luxembourg to pass on its method to half a dozen teachers from the Institut national des langues (INLL) and the Department of Adult Education (SFA), an unprecedented collaboration between the two administrations in this field.