Transcript wwww.coe.int Summing-up David Little Rapporteur Language Policy Unit - DG II Council of Europe, Strasbourg, France www.coe.int/lang.

wwww.coe.int
Summing-up
David Little
Rapporteur
Language Policy Unit - DG II
Council of Europe, Strasbourg, France
www.coe.int/lang
Three themes  three principles
• Language development and language learning in
multilingual settings
– “Language support will succeed to the extent that it
follows children’s preferred acquisition or learning
strategies”
• Developing “academic language” from primary to
secondary education
– “Educational success requires proficiency in academic
language, which depends on all teachers of all subjects”
• Linguistic diversity as a resource for learning
– “Schools and teachers should exploit children’s
plurilingual repertoires as a resource for learning”
Principle 1
Language support will succeed to the
extent that it follows children’s preferred
acquisition or learning strategies
Question 1: Features likely to support?
• Public service publishing (not subject to
market pressure)
• Ways of validating/valorising teachers’ skills
• Availability of diagnostic tools
• Growing openness to cultural diversity
Principle 1
Language support will succeed to the
extent that it follows children’s preferred
acquisition or learning strategies
Question 2: Features likely to undermine?
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Assumption that classrooms are monolingual
Lack of teachers from migrant backgrounds
Classes too large
Questionable language skills of teachers
Lack of impetus from above
Lack of financial and other resources
Surfeit of innovation
Principle 1
Language support will succeed to the
extent that it follows children’s preferred
acquisition or learning strategies
Question 3: First step in innovation?
•
•
•
•
•
•
More money and materials
More diversity
More research
Emphasis on mainstream
Raise awareness of teachers
Introduce school language policy
Principle 2
Educational success requires proficiency in
academic language, which depends on all
teachers of all subjects
•
•
•
•
Question 1: Features likely to support?
Resources exist: models of in-service training,
websites, networks
Good practice at tertiary level might filter
down to schools
Curricula that allow for teacher autonomy and
include the language dimension
Förmig: complementarity between top-down
and bottom-up
Principle 2
Educational success requires proficiency in
academic language, which depends on all
teachers of all subjects
Question 2: Features likely to undermine?
• Lack of resources
• Managing diversity is still not central to many
(most?) programmes of pre-service teacher
education  teacher resistance
• Status problem for language of schooling as
L2
• Widespread belief: migrant pupils should
speak the language of schooling at home
Principle 2
Educational success requires proficiency in
academic language, which depends on all
teachers of all subjects
•
•
•
•
Question 3: First step in innovation?
Include CoE tools in teacher education
Include multicultural pedagogy in teacher
education
Give teachers the experience of learning
content through L2
Take measures to develop coherence between
European, national and local levels
Principle 3
“Schools and teachers should exploit
children’s plurilingual repertoires as a
resource for learning”
•
•
•
•
•
Question 1: Features likely to support?
Growing awareness of the importance of
plurilingualism
Supportive curricula and training programmes
Successful involvement of parents
Special projects to recruit teachers from
migrant backgrounds
ELP and AIE already available and used in
some contexts
Principle 3
“Schools and teachers should exploit
children’s plurilingual repertoires as a
resource for learning”
Question 2: Features likely to undermine?
• Society moves very slowly and the “mono-lingual
habitus” is very persistent
• Migrant languages have low status
• Inappropriate emphases in teaching language of
schooling as L2
• Older students might mock teacher’s efforts to engage
plurilingual repertoires
• Adolescent students (1518) pose a particular challenge
• Lack of continuity: educatiional levels/sectors, policy
and financing
Principle 3
“Schools and teachers should exploit
children’s plurilingual repertoires as a
resource for learning”
•
•
•
•
Question 3: First step in innovation?
Take the ELP more seriously
Develop teachers’ understanding
Open schools to migrant communities
Help pupils to develop skills in their home
languages
General question:
In what ways can the Council of Europe
help member states to respond to the
challenges posed by multilingual classes?
• The “platform” already provides support of various
kinds and could be used more widely to exchange
materials, experience, etc.
• Continue to support the development of
– key concepts and policy orientations
– handbooks, guidelines, templates, tools, platforms
(some work under way in Graz)
• Develop a common framework for the teaching of
language of schooling as L2 and minority
languages
• Develop support for assessing migrant pupils’
development in the language of schooling