Claude Meisch, Minister of National Education, Children and Youth;
Credit: MENJE
On Friday 9 September 2022, Luxembourg's Minister of Education, Children and Youth, Claude Meisch, and the Director of the Institut National des Langues (INL), Maisy Gorza, launched the new learning platform for Luxembourgish language, www.llo.lu.
The new digital tool for learning Luxembourgish online, not only globally, promotes the importance of Luxembourgish language but also consolidates its future use. Accessible worldwide and free of charge from the start of the next school year in September 2022, LLO.lu will uphold the interest in the Luxembourg language and culture as well as guarantee access to quality learning materials.
Luxembourgish, a popular language
In recent years, the Luxembourgish language has become increasingly popular, both in the Grand Duchy and abroad. Thus, the number of enrolments in Luxembourgish courses at the INL has more than doubled in the last ten years and with 5,707 enrolments for the 2021/2022 school year, even higher than the 5,533 enrolments in French courses.
"The demand for Luxembourgish courses is very high, both at home and abroad. This shows how important Luxembourgish is as a communication and integration language, even for people who do not speak it or do not speak it yet. With the new learning platform, we are now making it possible for interested people to learn the language in a fun and digital way and from anywhere in the world", emphasised Minister Meisch.
An attractive platform for everyday and professional life
The LLO.LU learning platform gives users the opportunity to learn the Luxembourgish language in an interactive way, thanks to various lessons geared towards both private and professional use. The learning platform is accessible via computer and an application designed for iOS and Android. The interface is available in four languages: German, French, English and Luxembourgish.
When signing up, users can complete an assessment test to evaluate the current level of their Luxembourgish skills and consequently create an individual learning programme. However, the test is not compulsory to access the content.
The chapters are organised thematically and each topic is accompanied by videos, explanations and exercises, and at the end, registered users can also check what they have learned with a short test.
Currently, the LLO.LU tool offers courses for levels A1 and A2 (according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages). Each school year, an additional level will be added.
Investment in the virtual and real learning context
The development costs of around €3.4 million for the LLO.lu tool underline the Ministry of Education’s commitment to promote the Luxembourgish language: for two years, a team of five people created the learning material for the online tool, which will be continuously developed over the next few years.
The learning platform can be used privately, but also by Luxembourgish teachers to provide personalised material to their students.
Within the framework of LLO.LU, interesting activities related to the language will be organised, both online and across various locations in the country. An up-to-date agenda, also containing other cultural events is also available on the website.
