Transcript GUIDE FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF LANGUAGE EDUCATION POLICIES IN EUROPE Chapter 5: Creating a culture of plurilingualism ENSEMBLE workshop ECML, Graz, 14-17 December 2005 [email protected] IUFM d’Alsace Groupe d’Etudes.

GUIDE FOR THE DEVELOPMENT
OF LANGUAGE EDUCATION
POLICIES IN EUROPE
Chapter 5: Creating a culture of
plurilingualism
ENSEMBLE workshop
ECML, Graz, 14-17 December 2005
[email protected]
IUFM d’Alsace
Groupe d’Etudes sur le Plurilinguisme Européen, Laboratoire LILPA (EA1339),
Université Marc Bloch, Strasbourg, France
Why create a culture of plurilingualism?
To manage cultural diversity
 To balance universalist standardisation
and identity-centred isolationism
 To recognise the value of languages,
despite differences in status
 To promote linguistic tolerance

Creating a culture of plurilingualism

How can we
– promote plurilingual education?
– show its political, social and educational
relevance?
– make it feasible?

No need to start from scratch

But need to rethink teaching objectives
Goals of plurilingual education

Developing speaker awareness of
own repertoire

Education for plurilingual
awareness, mutual comprehension,
increased motivation and curiosity
about language
Developing a plurilingual repertoire





Make speakers aware of their own repertoire
(mother tongue, standard, regional/standard
variety, foreign/second language etc.)
Demonstrate intrinsic equal dignity of all
varieties (appropriate to functions)
Demonstrate their changing nature
Increase competences, levels of proficiency,
numbers of varieties known
Develop transversal competences
Why education for plurilingual
awareness

Development of language skills ->
– X change speakers’ attitudes
– X curious about languages
– X respectful of other communities

< possibility to develop plurilingual
repertoire, > education for plurilingual
awareness

> dominant the language(s) taught, > place
of language education in the curriculum
Pluricultural awareness & intercultural
communication



Plurilingual +/- pluricultural
Move away from prejudice, stereotypes and
ethnocentrism
Need to develop
– education in cultural differences, accepting other ways of
behaving or doing things
– capacity for critical distance, to decentre or detach self
from own culture
– intercultural competence, being able to adapt to other
cultures
– cross-curricular approach: history, geography,
philosophy, literature, citizenship education
Transforming curricula





Decompartmentalise languages (mother tongues,
national, regional, minority, foreign & other)
Concerted language policy, greater coordination, in
parallel
Structure according to competences & proficiency
Homogenous, diversified education on language &
languages (cf educazione linguistica, Italy;
Language Awareness, UK 1980s; European
EVLANG project; Education et Ouverture aux
Langues à l’Ecole, Switzerland, 2003)
Gradual process, transforming curricula &
mentalities
Explaining plurilingualism



Not the dominant representation of language
education
Not the direct experience of many European citizens
(often monolingual vision)
Need to challenge common misconceptions such as:
–
–
–
–

one language hinders acquisition of another
you have to be gifted to learn languages
it takes a long time to learn a language (perfection)
you have to learn language young
Needs to be explained
European citizenship education




The formation of public space in which everyone
may play a part and be recognised as belonging
to this community of citizens
Rights and duties which are identical for
everyone, common values
Recognising and accepting the diversity of all
speakers
Common linguistic ideal, a shared culture of
languages
Social cohesion




Adapting language education to increasingly
multilingual & multicultural European
society
Enabling both majorities and minorities to
have a better understanding of the nature of
their relationships
Feeling of common belonging to a political &
cultural space, inclusive
Combating racism, education for tolerance
Raising awareness of stakeholders


Identify opinions on language issues (teachers,
heads, parents’ associations, local government
representatives, members of municipal councils,
education authorities…)
Convince them of validity of plurilingualism
– Recognise & capitalise on linguistic varieties
learners already speak or hear around them (at
home, at school, in the local environment)
– Show their roles in the formation of identity
– Introduce early language learning in primary
– Learn to think about language
On the road to plurilingualism





European language portfolio
Common European Framework of Reference for
Languages
Increased student and teacher mobility thanks to
European programmes
The Guide
State education establishments play a
crucial role in creating linguistic affiliation
to a community broader than national,
regional or ethnic community