We are delighted to have launched our newwebsite at www.speaktothefuture.org. It istaking the campaign to the next level,making it easy for visitors to tell othersabout the cause on Twitter, Facebook andLinkedIn, and to find ideas and tools toconvince the wider public of the importanceof languages. We are also profilingindividuals who are speaking out forlanguages - actor Larry Lamb and RichardHardie of UBS, a CIOL Fellow and leader ofour business lobby, to name but two.We are spending time talking to schools,most recently the Anglo-European Schoolat Ingatestone in Essex, whose students arekeen to help in getting the message acrossto their peers. It was great to hear abouttwo of their students competing in therecent Turkish Olympiad, singing songs andreading poems in the language. We wantto feature inspiring individuals and projectsjust like these on our site. As well as publishing a response to theExpert Panel's recommendations on theNational Curriculum, Teresa Tinsley, ofAlcantara Communications, wrote on behalfof the campaign to The Expressnewspaperto voice concern over their article of 15 April,'We Pay Tutors to Teach Immigrants theirown Language'. More to come in our nextupdate, as Dr Terry Lamb introducesObjective 1 of the campaign: 'Everylanguage should be valued as an asset'. Vol/51 No/4 2012AUGUST/SEPTEMBERTheLinguist9SPEAK TO THE FUTUREINSPIRINGPupils from the Anglo-European School inEssex compete in the Turkish Olympiad Data on Teaching Languages in Europe'(2008) gathered information from 30countries, and found that the UK and Slovakiawere the only countries that did not introducecompulsory foreign language learning in theprimary school. In Singapore, languages areintroduced from the first year of primaryeducation and a large proportion ofcurriculum time (31 percent) is designated toforeign language learning. High performingcountries see languages as a key part of theprimary curriculum and so must the UK.  On behalf of STF, I am working withexperienced colleagues from the languagescommunity to ensure 'a coherent experienceof languages for all children in primary school'.While we are extremely encouraged by theplanned reforms, we do not underestimate thechallenges in re-establishing the position oflanguage learning at the heart of the primaryschool experience, and will continue to adviseGovernment on policy and ensure thatdelivery is supported by Initial TeacherEducation (ITE) and professional developmentprogrammes over the coming years. Notes1Languages for All: Languages for life. TheNational Languages Strategy, December 20022NFER (National Foundation for EducationalResearch), 20093Primary Modern Languages: Languagelearning at Key Stage 2, a longitudinal study,January 2010, the Open University, CanterburyChrist Church University and the University ofSouthampton, commissioned by DCSF(Department for Children Schools and Families)4The STF view on teaching primary languages across the whole of Key Stage 2:http://speaktothefuture.org/files/downloads/STF_Primary_View_KS2_May_2012_final_version.pdf 5Nunn, J, 2010, Training and DevelopmentAgencyFIND OUT MOREFor the latest about the campaign forlanguages, or to get involved, visitwww.speaktothefuture.org. We're alsoon Twitter , Facebook() andLinkedIn -search in 'groups' for'Speak to the future'. On the campaign trailDominic Luddylooks at recent developments

10 TheLinguistAUGUST/SEPTEMBERwww.iol.org.ukFEATURESInvaluable advice on how to pass the EU accreditationtest, from David Smithof DG InterpretationTalk to any student interpreter about what thefuture holds, and it won't be long before theword 'test' pops up in the conversation. Likeit or not, testing is something you have to gothrough if you want to become an interpreter,whether during your course or when applyingfor a job, if only because, as an interpreter,you go live from day one, and any mistakesyou might make can't be corrected.In this article I will be talking solely aboutthe way in which the EU institutions testcandidates for accreditation as freelancers.While we are basically looking for the samequalities as any other employer, we have ourown specific requirements and our ownproven methods for selecting staff.So, to begin at the beginning, whom dowe test? Our eligibility rules are explained onour website (http://bit.ly/LlrOFY), but basicallyyou must either have completed a course inconference interpreting or be able todemonstrate sufficient experience in the field.The language requirements will varyaccording to which languages you work into.The current requirement for candidates withEnglish as their main language is that theyshould be able to work from at least twoother official EU languages into English. We are often asked which languages weare most interested in. It's clear that in anorganisation with 24 official languages wewould like our staff to have as manylanguages as possible, but realistically wecannot expect university graduates to offer usfour or five languages including Polish andHungarian. What's more, the languages mostspoken after English - which is the mostfrequently used - are French and German, sowe give highest priority to candidatesoffering at least one of those two languages.Ticket to EuropeApplying for a testAssuming you meet the eligibility criteria, thefirst step is to apply for a test online athttp://europa.eu/interpretation/accreditation_en.htm. You will be asked to submit your CVand copies of any relevant qualifications. Ifyou are following an MA course inconference interpreting and have passedyour final interpreting examinations, you canapply for the test even if you have not yetreceived your diploma, providing that theuniversity supplies confirmation of your results.Your application will then go to a screeningcommittee made up of interpreters from thethree institutions that have interpretingservices: the European Parliament, theEuropean Commission, and the Court ofJustice. The committee, which meets twice ayear, verifies the eligibility of each applicationbefore drawing up a list of candidates toinvite to the next round of tests. Selection isbased, above all, on current priorities withregard to language combinations, as well ason academic record.If you are selected you will receive aninvitation for a specific time and date. If not,you will be informed either that you do notqualify (and why not) or that you are eligibleand may be invited at a later date. Onemight wonder, especially since the EU hasgiven a lot of attention to recruiting Englishinterpreters in recent years, why we don'tsimply test anyone who qualifies. The answeris one of cost - organising tests is anexpensive business and our resources arelimited, so we have to be selective.Once invited to a test you will be givenaccess to the 'speech repository', an onlineresource which offers practice speeches forstudents and exam candidates, if you haven'talready got access through your university.You may also write to the relevant head oflanguage unit to request a few days ofdummy-booth practice in Brussels during therun-up to the test. This is at your own expense,but it can be very useful preparation, notleast because it will enable you to familiariseyourself with the test environment. The test itselfTests are held in Brussels, and consist ofmorning and afternoon sessions. It is usuallya good idea to arrive the day before, evenfor an afternoon exam, to avoid unnecessarystress. On entering the room where the test isWhy don't we simplytest anyone whoqualifies? Organisingtests is expensive, sowe have to be selective