Supported by the National Bank of Greece and Olympic Airlines

Stathis Efstathiadis is Professor Emeritus of General and Applied Linguistics at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH) and Director of the Department for the Support and Promotion of the Greek Language of the Centre for the Greek Language. He has published seventy-eight (78) articles and is the author of thirteen (13) books and co-author of four (4) books all on the theory and application of linguistics and related disciplines.

He received his education at AUTH where he got his BA in English Studies (1957, honours). He got his MLitt in Applied Linguistics (1967, honours) and his PhD in Theoretical Linguistics (1972, distinction) both from the University of Edinburgh.

In 1977 he was unanimously elected full professor in the School of English Studies where he has taught most aspects of General Linguistics and Applied Linguistics at under- and post-graduate level. In the capacity of Visiting Professor he has also taught at the universities of: Edinburgh (Aspects of Modern Greek syntax); Leeds, Lancaster, Westminster-London, (Applied Linguistics); Kent State-USA (Introduction to Theoretical Linguistics, post-graduate level); Montpellier III (Methodology, Syllabus Design, Testing and Evaluation, 1992, 1993, 1995). He has given a series of lectures, has participated in 86 conferences and symposia and has read 82 papers on topics of General and Applied Linguistic at the Universities of Indiana (USA), Jyväskylä (Finland), Poznan (Poland), Sofia (Bulgaria), Karlovi (Prague), Kiev (Ukraine), Oslo, Bergen (Norway), Pecs (Hungary), Aoyama Gakuin-Tokyo (Japan), Florence, Siena, Venice (Italy), Granada, Barcelona (Spain), Brussels, Leuven, Antwerp (Belgium), Stockholm, Boräs (Sweden).

He has organised eighteen (18) International Congresses (including the AILA ’90-World Congress). He has co-ordinated various European educational projects in the framework of LINGUA, ERASMUS, TEMPUS, SOCRATES and, recently, EUROMIGRANET programmes As representative of AUTH he has participated in many European Union academic activities.

He has been awarded fifty-eight (58) scholarships, grants and fellowships by the Greek State, the British Council, the Fulbright-Hays Foundation, the UNESCO, the Council of Europe, the European Commission, European, American and Japanese universities and other institutions.

He has repeatedly served as: Chairman of the School of English of AUTH; Head of the Department of Theoretical and Applied Linguistics; member of various Departmental committees; representative of the Department in many AUTH committees; as member and President of the Board of the School of Modern Greek of AUTH till 2000; Director of the Department for the Support and Promotion of the Greek Language of the Centre for the Greek Language since 1996.

He is involved in many academic activities. He served as: Chairman of the Supervisory Committee of the School of Modern Greek of AUTH (1990-2000); President of the Greek Applied Linguistics Association (GALA) (1980-1998); Vice-President of the International Association of Applied Linguistics (AILA) (1987-1993); Analyst-Assessor of UNESCO language programmes (LINGUAPAX). He is a member of I.A.T.E.F.L., L.A.G.B., Indiana University Linguistics Club, Linguistic Society of America, Linguistic Society of Chicago, T.E.S.O.L., Executive Board and International Committee of AILA. He is the Representative of Greece at the Council of Europe, UNESCO and the European Commission projects.

The Centre for the Greek Language was established in 1994 in Thessaloniki, Greece. It operates under and is supervised by the Greek Ministry of National Education and Religions. It is the place where information on all matters concerning the Greek language and its teaching is collected and from which it is disseminated. As defined in its statutes the aims of the Centre are the following: the overall support and promotion of the Greek language in Greece and abroad, the subsequent reinforcement of Greek national identity in the Greeks of the diaspora, the organisation of teaching Greek to foreigners in Greece and abroad, the support to teachers of Greek in Greece and abroad and whatever else contributes to the promotion and spread of the Greek language.

The four academic divisions of the Centre (Lexicography, Linguistics, Promotion and Support of the Greek Language, Language and Literature) work on a number of projects which aim at covering actual needs in the field of language education.

In their attempt to promote and support the Greek language, the Greek Ministry of National Education and the Centre for the Greek Language have responded to the common request of all Greek-speaking and Greek-learning individuals by establishing a national certificate of attainment in Greek.

The Centre for the Greek Language, specifically the Division for the Promotion and Support of the Greek Language, has been assigned the overall responsibility for the examination procedure through which the certificate is awarded.

The exams take place in examination centres established by the Centre inside and outside Greece. Candidates are tested on four levels of linguistic proficiency and are assessed in four skills, namely, production and comprehension of written language and production and comprehension of spoken language.

The four levels correspond to communicative situations and Greek language needs that progressively become more complex. Each level has the following characteristics:

For further information please contact the Education Office of the Greek Embassy in London 
on 020 7221 0093 or visit: www.greekembassy.org.uk