(L-R) Dr Philipp Sonnleitner, LUCET; Alexandre Ecker, ZLS; Eric Thill, Minister for Culture; Claude Meisch, Minister of Education, Children & Youth; Maisy Gorza, INLL; Pierre Reding, commissioner for Luxembourgish language; Luc Schmitz, INLL;
Credit: MCULT/MENEJ
On Monday 11 November 2024, Luxembourg's Minister for Culture, Eric Thill, and the Minister of Education, Children and Youth, Claude Meisch, presented the "Zertifikat Lëtzebuerger Orthographie" (ZLO), a new standardised test that allows interested individuals to assess their Luxembourgish spelling skills and receive an official certified document, issued by the National Institute of Languages Luxembourg (INLL).
As reported by Luxembourg's Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Education, Children and Youth, the ZLO is the result of a collaboration between the Zenter fir d'Lëtzebuerger Sprooch (ZLS), the Luxembourg Centre for Educational Testing (LUCET) and the INLL, which began in July 2021. The ZLS developed the test content and questionnaires, which are based on the main spelling rules of the Luxembourgish language. LUCET provided its expertise to ensure that the test platform meets the scientific criteria guaranteeing the validity of the results for official certification.
The test leading to the ZLO is taken on a tablet at the INLL. It lasts around 40 minutes and includes 90 questions randomly selected from a large catalogue of questions. Each question consists of a sentence in which the person being tested must, for a given word, choose the correct spelling from four proposed spellings. Only one answer is correct.
The test is assessed directly via the application on the tablet. The result is expressed as a percentage of correct answers. Each candidate who completes the test receives an official certificate from the INLL indicating the percentage obtained.
Interested candidates can register from 11 November on myinl.inll.lu and make an appointment to take the test at the INLL. The €30 fee includes taking the test and issuing the ZLO certificate.
After two test phases, which brought together 700 and 170+ people respectively, the ZLO has been deemed a quality tool for assessing spelling skills in the Luxembourgish language and is expected to be an additional means of measuring its popularity and vitality.
During the presentation, Minister Thill stressed that "this test is the culmination of an additional element of the action plan for the promotion of the Luxembourgish language. The test to obtain the ZLO officially recognises the correct spelling, thus contributing to the good understanding and promotion of the Luxembourgish language".
For Minister Meisch, "the launch of the 'Zertifikat Lëtzebuerger Orthographie' underlines once again the importance of the Luxembourgish language in our society and completes the offer of teaching materials and online tools for its learning. It responds to the increased use of written Luxembourgish and constitutes an additional incentive for Luxembourgers and non-Luxembourgers alike to learn to write this language correctly".
