Multilingual glossary of key terms in language education

The ability to observe and participate in new experiences and to incorporate new knowledge into existing knowledge, modifying the latter where necessary. It may involve varying degrees and combinations of aspects of social and communicative competence and linguistic knowledge.

Academic language is the type of language necessary to successfully participate in, comprehend, and communicate in cognitively demanding and context-reduced, age-appropriate activities (Himmele & Himmele, 2009^[1]). It is not usually learned outside the classroom setting (Chamot & O’Malley, 1994^[2]).

The quality or state of being accountable, liable, or answerable; especially an obligation or willingness to accept responsibility or to account for one's actions.

Research methodology carried out in the course of an activity or occupation, typically in the field of education, employed by teachers who wish to improve their approaches and practices.

A teacher decides to systematically investigate an aspect of his/her practice and take action to change it.

“A form of self-reflective inquiry by participants, undertaken in order to improve understanding of their practices in context with a view to maximizing social justice” (Carr & Kemmis, 1986, p. 162).

An approach to language education focusing on active real-life oriented use of language in learning and teaching as well as in assessment; builds on and goes beyond the communicative approach proposed in the 1970s. An action-oriented approach also takes into account the cognitive, emotional and volitional resources and the full range of abilities specific to and applied by the individual as a social agent (CEFR, 2001: 9)

Action-oriented tasks are real-life tasks that implies a clear and tangible goal. Learners engaged in an action-oriented task strategically perform actions using their own specific competences to achieve a given result.

To adapt – without changing the core content – the CEFR descriptors to make them appropriate for a particular context.

Support for a particular policy or action.

In sociology and philosophy, agency is the capacity of an entity (a person or other entity, human or any living being in general) to act in any given environment. An agent is an individual engaging with the social structure. Agency may either be classified as unconscious, involuntary behaviour, or purposeful, goal directed activity (intentional action).

Key words

• Act
• Activity / Action
• Engaging with the social structure
• Agent
• Directed activity

Refers to a situation where a word, phrase, or sentence has multiple possible interpretations or meanings. Ambiguity can be lexical (e.g. a word with multiple meanings) or syntactic (e.g. a sentence structure that can be parsed in different ways).

From a sociocultural perspective, ambiguity refers to situations where language or communication can be interpreted in multiple ways due to cultural, social, or contextual factors. In this view, ambiguity arises not just from linguistic structures (like words with multiple meanings or complex sentences) but also from differences in cultural norms, values, and expectations. For example, a phrase or gesture that is clear in one cultural context may carry different or unclear meanings in another, leading to misunderstandings or multiple interpretations.

Analytic discourse allows an action researcher to increase awareness of the important characteristics of a situation. It is usually carried out in a group. The action researcher provides the group with information on the situation and then the group members pose questions to gain a comprehensive understanding of the situation. Critical comments should not be allowed (Feldman, Altrichter, Posch & Somekh, 2018: 100-101).

Set of principles guiding the educator’s choices. Examples include:

• the “holistic approach”, which views the child’s natural functions in their globality and their complementarity and prioritises activities which allow children to combine the use of speech, the other senses and motor or perceptual functions;
• the “play-oriented approach”, which sees play as crucial to the growth of young children and the development of their abilities, including the development of linguistic competences;
• the “communicative approach”, which posits that the most effective methods for developing competences in a language consist in setting learners communicative tasks which they must perform, alone or in groups, with the educator’s assistance.

In the ROADMAP, area refers to the nine thematic aspects which are seen essential in designing and developing a school culture that aims to develop the whole school approach to support language/s of schooling. These areas are partially overlapping, and certainly interrelated. The areas are as follows: Awareness of language dimension, Developing language knowledge and skills, Metalinguistic awareness, Role of languages in learning, Attitudes towards languages, Promoting informal language learning, Language resources at school, Orienting newcomer students and families, and Professional development.

Within the conceptual framework of an action-oriented approach, different aspects of language use need to be defined, taught and analysed, for example fluency, flexibility, coherence, appropriacy, and precision.

Assessment in education is the systematic process of documenting and using empirical data on knowledge, skills, attitudes, and beliefs to refine programs and improve students’ learning. Assessment data can be obtained from directly examining student work to assessing the achievement of learning outcomes, or can be based on data from which one can make inferences about learning.

Assessment is the purposeful gathering of data on student learning for an appropriate administrative or pedagogical purpose. Some assessments are diagnostic and/or formative, aimed at tuning adaptive teaching strategies or offering supportive feedback on written assignments. More formal assessment is likely to be periodic perhaps in the form of an examination or a standardized test. Testing can either be norm – referenced (ranking students) or criterion-referenced (assessing against benchmarks). The purposes of assessment vary, but will include feedback on assignments, verifying learning achievements, meeting certification needs, and ‘gate-keeping’ -- managing the progress of individuals through the system. Assessment cannot, therefore, be a politically or morally neutral activity.

The use of a task or an activity to allow students the opportunity to use assessment to further their own learning. Self and peer assessments allow students to reflect on their own learning and identify areas of strength and need. These tasks offer students the chance to set their personal goals and advocate for their own learning.

Commonly referred to as formative and/or diagnostic assessments. Assessment for learning is used to check student progress during a unit or block of instruction. Teachers build on the outcomes of this type of assessment to adjust their teaching objectives, practices and classroom instruction to suit the needs of the students. Similarly, students are provided valuable feedback on their own learning.

A document that articulates the expectations for an assignment, lists the aspects important for successful completion, and describes levels of quality. Rubrics usually contain evaluative criteria, quality definitions for those criteria at particular levels of achievement, and sometimes a scoring system. They are often presented in table format and can be used by teachers when marking, and by students when planning their work.

Commonly referred as summative assessment, assessment of learning is used to measure, record and report on a student’s level of achievement in regards to specific learning expectations. It is generally used at the end of a unit or module.

Not false or copied; genuine; real. In language education, reflecting genuine situations of language use; may refer to situations as well as texts (spoken or written) and tasks.

The quality of being authentic, i.e. genuine; real (see authentic).

Having the freedom and ability to act independently, for example in education. The autonomous language learner takes responsibility for the totality of his/her learning situation. S/He does this by determining his/her own objectives, defining the contents to be learned and the progression of the course, selecting methods and techniques to be used, monitoring this procedure, and evaluating what s/he has acquired.

Independence. Learner autonomy refers to a student’s ability to set appropriate learning goals and take charge of his or her own learning.

The ability to:

• be aware of and understand the learning objectives of a set task as well as its parameters (for example the constraints ensuing from the type of interaction learners engage in);
• define personal objectives (within the institutional framework);
• choose how to implement these learning objectives: working options, activities and resources are selected to create an action plan. This will be supported by:
  
  • evaluating existing knowledge, skills and resources at hand;
  • identifying resources to overcome any personal shortfall;
  • being able to use these resources (including digital resources) to successfully complete the task at hand ;
• implement this action plan;
• critically assess the process and resources used;
• reflect on how the whole process contributed to the development of autonomy both as language learners to complete the set tasks and as language users to interact in real life.

A detailed description of a specific level of student performance, often represented by samples of student work; used as a point of reference for decisions regarding students’ educational attainment.

Building up a common understanding of qualitative levels of performance through discussion and the comparison of work samples in relation to standardised definitions and examples (benchmarks). (See, for example, the CoE Manual, Supplement D.)

“The acronyms BICS and CALP refer to a distinction introduced by Cummins (1979) between basic interpersonal communicative skills and cognitive academic language proficiency. The distinction was intended to draw attention to the very different time periods typically required by immigrant children to acquire conversational fluency in their second language as compared to grade-appropriate academic proficiency in that language. Conversational fluency is often acquired to a functional level within about two years of initial exposure to the second language whereas at least five years is usually required to catch up to native speakers in academic aspects of the second language.”

“The coexistence of two languages within a community or a person.”

“A bilingual person is not two monolinguals, but a whole person with a particular linguistic competence, who should be analyzed as such.” (Grosjean, 1993, p. 16)

An individual’s capacity to communicate in two languages, at whatever level of proficiency.

An opportunity for classroom practitioners to make changes and enhance practice on the ground. Action research is an example of a bottom-up approach. It stands in opposition to top-down approaches where changes to practice are decided on by people in positions of power, i.e. management.

Starting with one’s own professional values, developing his/her research question and then testing and developing it further.

A list of descriptors for one level of proficiency and/or different communicative activities, for use in learners’ self-assessment and/or teachers’ continuous assessment.

The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) is an internationally recognized system for describing language proficiency. The CEFR is designed to provide a transparent, coherent and comprehensive basis for the elaboration of language syllabuses and curriculum guidelines, the design of teaching and learning materials, and the assessment of foreign language proficiency.

A comprehensive overview of the philosophy of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), describing its general and communicative language competences, communicative language activities and strategies.

Teachers gain control of their own change processes and become innovators in their teaching practice with the help of action research.

CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning) has established itself as the generic term for content and language integrated learning.

CLIL is a dual focused educational approach in which an additional language is used for the learning and teaching of content and language with the objective of promoting both content and language mastery to predefined levels (Maljers, Marsh, Wolff, Genesee, Frigols, Martín, Mehisto, 2010).

This broad term includes a number of approaches that A. Geiger-Jaillet, G. Schlemminger, and C. Le Pape Racine have set forth more precisely (see A. Geiger-Jailet, G. Schlemminger & C. Le Pape Racine (2016), Teach a subject in another language: Methodology and professional practice: CLIL-EMILE approach, 2^nd edition, Peter Lang GmbH, Frankfurt, chapter 1).

An educational approach where the additional language is used for the learning and teaching of content and language with the objective of promoting both content and language learning.

In linguistics, cognates are words that have a common etymological origin; words in languages that share a similar meaning, spelling and/or pronunciation. (The word cognate derives from the Latin noun cognatus, which means “blood relative”.)

“patterns that have arisen from the demand that participants within the institution school orient towards explicit or implicit learning goals and the fact that they have the repeated need for communicating about ways of handling and acting upon curricular content, concepts, and facts (cf. cognitive process dimension of Anderson et al. 2001). It is their very nature to provide speakers with schemata (discoursal, lexical and grammatical) for coping with standard situations in dealing with the task of building knowledge and making it intersubjectively accessible.” (Dalton-Puffer 2013: 16)

The quality of parts meshing together to make up a holistic entity. For example, parts of a programme (objectives, teaching, assessment) or parts of a text (beginning, middle, end). Joined-up thinking.

In the context of this project, collaboration in teachers’ work is seen as an essential component for transforming educational practices, because it breaks teachers’ isolation and facilitates change. Collaboration involves professional interactions that are more or less interdependent, determined by common tasks or objectives (Dochy et al., 2015: p. 23), such as the desire to co-construct a school culture marked by pluralistic approaches to languages and cultures. Here we adopt a strong interpretation of the concept of collaboration as a fundamental means of transforming teaching knowledge and practices. This includes cooperation between teachers and/or with other actors within the educational community, and is reflected in actions of assistance, support, and capable of leading to a plurilingual and intercultural education.

Further information

As explained by Villavicencio, Jaffe-Walter & Klevan (2021), “The literature on teacher collaboration emphasizes that effective collaboration involves a ‘deprivatization’ of practice (Little, 1990) as teachers come together to reflect on and share information related to teaching and learning, engage in inquiry into students’ needs, and learn new pedagogical strategies (Cochran-Smith & Lytle, 1999; Datnow, 2011; Little, 2003; McLaughlin & Talbert, 2001)” (pp. 103-227). In this sense, collaboration is considered essential if teachers want to change established teaching methodologies and act to make plurilingual and intercultural education a reality in language and culture teaching/learning contexts.

To facilitate the organisation of courses and to describe progress, the Common European Framework of Reference for languages (CEFR) presents six Common Reference Levels. The six levels are not intended to be absolute. Firstly, they can be grouped into three broad categories: Basic user (A1 and A2), Independent user (B1 and B2) and Proficient user (C1 and C2). Secondly, the six reference levels, which represent very broad bands of language proficiency, are very often subdivided.

The ability to use one or more language varieties to communicate according to the context.

The distinction between the ability of getting a message across and the level of quality of the language used. Often referred to as fluency versus accuracy, the opposition highlights the need for targeted focus on either element at different moments of the teaching/learning process.

The communicative language activities proposed by the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) are based on the action-oriented philosophy of the document and are close to real-life language use, grounded in interaction in which meaning is co-constructed. Activities are presented under four modes of communication: reception, production, interaction and mediation.

Communicative language competence refers to the qualitative aspect of an individual’s overall language proficiency. In the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), the communicative language competence comprises linguistic, sociolinguistic and pragmatic competences.

Can be defined as the ability to use language accurately, effectively and appropriately in a specific social context.

According to the CEFR, communicative language competence consists of three elements:

1. linguistic competences (refer to knowledge of and ability to use language resources, e.g. vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation, to form well structured messages);
2. sociolinguistic competences (that is the ability to use language appropriately in different social contexts);
3. pragmatic competence (is concerned with the knowledge of how messages are organised, structured, arranged and sequenced, and used to perform communicative functions)

A means learners use to mobilise and balance their resources (general and communicative competences) in order to carry out activities and accomplish tasks. The use of communication strategies in the different kinds of communicative activities generally includes Planning, Execution, Monitoring, and Repair. Communication strategies are distinct from learning strategies.

Objectives of the educational action that target the enhancement of learners’ active use and further development of their language(s) in a situation of real-life communication.

“A genre comprises a class of communicative events, the members of which share some set of communicative purposes. These purposes are recognized by the expert members of the parent discourse community and thereby constitute the rationale for the genre. This rationale shapes the schematic structure of the discourse and influences and constrains choice of content and style.” (Swales 1990: 58)

A community of practice (CoP) is a group of people who share a craft and/or a profession, or a concern or interest for something they do, and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly. This definition reflects the fundamentally social nature of human learning.

“Communities of practice are groups of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly” (Wenger, http://wenger-trayner.com/introduction-to-communities-of-practice/). “Learning occurs in communities of practice through legitimate peripheral participation”* (Lave & Wenger 1991: 98); “for this to happen, learners must participate in a practice; learners must be allowed to play at least a peripheral role - at least temporarily... learners’ practice must be accepted as being a legitimate form of practice within the profession.&rdquo (Feldman, Altrichter, Posch & Somekh 2018: 48).
*Legitimate peripheral participation is one component in the model of situated learning proposed by Lave & Wenger (1991) and involves newcomer learning (Cox 2005).

The ability to do something successfully or efficiently by applying one’s knowledge and skills.

The sum of knowledge, skills and characteristics that allow a person to perform actions.
Grammatical competence = knowledge of/and ability to use the grammatical resources of a language.
Language competence = a combination of:

• Linguistic competence: includes lexical, phonological, syntactical knowledge and skills and other dimensions of language as a system.
• Sociolinguistic competence: refers to the sociocultural conditions of language use.
• Pragmatic competence: concerned with the functional use of linguistic resources, the mastery of discourse, cohesion, coherence, the identification of text types and forms, and such intentional devices as irony and parody.

The capacity to call upon one’s personal resources, consisting of knowledge, attitudes and skills, to perform a task. In the use of languages, communicative competence draws on linguistic (lexicon and functioning of the language), sociolinguistic (social rules in use of the language) and pragmatic components to perform a communicative task. Communicative competence is therefore based on knowledge about the functioning and use of languages, skills in implementing that knowledge and the capacity to adopt a favourable attitude to communication (e.g. ability to listen, desire to exchange with others, etc.).

In many countries, competence goals or aims are defined for subject curricula. Competence goals express what students are expected to learn or be able to do at certain stages in their education.

As with the Framework of reference for pluralistic approaches to languages and cultures (FREPA) (see the entry Pluralistic approaches to languages and cultures in this glossary), we have adopted the following theoretical framework, drawing from various works in the field of educational sciences:

Competence refers to “the ability of a subject to mobilise, in an integrated way, internal resources (knowledge, skills and attitudes) and external resources to effectively address a set of complex tasks” (Beckers, 2002: p. 57).

Candelier et al. (2012) give an example of the link between a competence (adaptation) and the internal resources set out by FREPA (pp. 84-91). As for external resources, we might think of a dictionary, or a person with competence in a language whom we can ask for help.

Further information

As Le Boterf (1994: p. 16) points out: “While it is clear that a competence can only mobilise internal resources if the individual disposes of these resources, and that therefore working towards mastery of a competence presupposes working towards mastery of the internal resources that it mobilises, most authors insist that "competence does not reside in the resources (knowledge, abilities, etc.) to be mobilised, but in the actual mobilisation of these resources”.

It is worth noting that another Council of Europe reference framework uses the distinction between competences and resources, the Reference Framework of Competences for a Culture of Democracy (www.coe.int/en/web/reference-framework-of-competences-for-democratic-culture/rfcdc).

A principle used for devising teaching and learning activities, and assessment tasks, that directly address the intended learning outcomes (Biggs and Tang 2011). Coherence between assessment, teaching strategies and intended learning outcomes in an educational programme.

A constructivist approach to language education that is applied throughout the curriculum, i.e. in teaching, learning and assessment.

“Constructive” reflects the constructivist view on learning, which underlines that meaning is not transmitted from the teacher to the learner, but the learners need to take an active role in the learning process; they need to be given tasks that allow them to construct meaning; “alignment” stresses that teaching methods and assessment tasks therefore need to be aligned with the learning activities in order to achieve the intended outcomes.

Teaching the content of subjects in a foreign language (e.g. geography, history).

“Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) occurs when ‘subject’ teaching and learning (e.g. in Physics, Geography or Integrated Humanities) takes place concurrently with language teaching, particularly with respect to a foreign language. In English Language Teaching (ELT), forms of CLIL have previously been known as ‘content-based instruction’, 'English across the curriculum' and 'bilingual education.”

The context of implementation includes the circumstances and conditions which influence the decisions and actions taken during the process.

Context in language use can mean either (a) the text in which a spoken or written item is embedded or (b) the dimensions of the communicative situation (e.g. social) in which discourse is produced or understood.

Refers to events and situational factors (physical and others), both internal and external to a person, in which acts of communication are embedded.

The evaluation of a student’s progress throughout a course of study, as distinct from a summative, final assessment.

Co-operation is the process of working or acting together with others for mutual benefit.

There are four main conditions that tend to be necessary for cooperative behaviour to develop between two individuals:

• an overlap in desires;
• a chance of future encounters with the same individual;
• memory of past encounters with that individual;
• a value associated with future outcomes.

One of LACS’ aim is to further co-operation between language associations accross countries and languages.

The capacity, based on knowledge acquired about the history, civilisation and culture of a country or a group of countries with at least a partly shared history, to identify, understand and respect references shared by the inhabitants of a cultural area, their collective behaviour and the ways of living together which are prevalent there. When people have cultural competences related to several different areas, they possess a pluricultural competence which also enables them to put this knowledge into a relative perspective.

A cognitive and communicative activity which involves, on the one hand, seeking to reduce any possible tension between several individuals or groups of individuals possessing different cultural references and, on the other, promoting mutual knowledge and understanding of these references to foster cohesion and co-operation between these individuals or groups.

An overall description of the aims, content, and organisation of courses in an educational institution (ministry, school, etc.) generally providing a framework of objectives for different levels and sometimes defining methodologies to be used.

Cyclical is used to describe things that are regularly patterned or that occur in regular intervals.

A cyclical approach to language learning means that you come back to things at regular intervals to develop them further.

To identify, collect and evaluate different types of data for an action research project (e.g. memos, questionnaires).

Methods and/or instruments used to investigate something from different angles, for example questionnaires, interviews or observations.

Declarative knowledge is the awareness and understanding of factual information about the world. Such information must be true; the person must believe it to be true, and the person must be in a position to know it. Typical items of declarative knowledge might include: that A is the first letter of the Roman alphabet, that Liisa Kauppinen was formerly the President of the World Federation of the Deaf, and that there is an organisation called the European Network of Sign Language Teachers (ENSLT).

The descriptors, or illustrative descriptors, in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) are stand-alone statements used to clarify and characterize different aspects of language proficiency.

A type of systematic but flexible research methodology, based on the collaboration between researchers and practitioners, aimed to improve educational practices through iterative analysis, design, development, and implementation.

The systematic study of designing, developing, and evaluating instructional programmes, processes, and products that must meet criteria of internal consistency and effectiveness.

Diagnostic assessment is a type of assessment which examines what a student knows and can do prior to a learning programme being implemented. Assessment of students’ skills and knowledge upon entry to the programme helps the teacher meet individual students’ needs, optimize his/her planning and teaching, and provides a baseline against which to assess progress.

The evaluation of children’s competences may pursue very different aims and, therefore, vary in form and content. Diagnostic assessment is a form of evaluation which serves to identify what children have learnt, their needs and the most suitable learning methods. The results of the assessment necessarily influence subsequent work with the children and the goals pursued.

“The competent and positive engagement with digital technologies (creating, working, sharing, socializing, investigating, playing, communicating and learning); participating actively and responsibly (values, skills, attitudes, knowledge) in communities (local, national, global) at all levels (political, economic, social, cultural and intercultural); being involved in a double process of lifelong learning (in formal, informal and non-formal settings) and continuously defending human dignity.”

Digital literacy results from the intertwining of three main sets of competences within an ethical and critical framework: technology literacy, meaning-making literacy and interaction literacy.

Digital tools, resources and practices.

The concept dimension is used to indicate a subcategory of an area. Each dimension illustrates the principles, approaches, procedures or concrete actions manifesting the implementation of the particular area into the school practices. They enable the development of the whole school approach to support language/s of schooling. The dimensions are expressed as statements in the self-assessment tool, to be evaluated by different stakeholders.

Example: Awareness of language dimension covers the three following dimensions:

• Emphasis on language learning,
• Being language models,
• Importance of challenging activities.

“literacy skills specialized to history, science, mathematics, literature or other subject matter” (Shanahan & Shanahan 2008). Also called secondary literacy.

Discourse (from Latin discursus, “running to and from”) denotes written and spoken communications of different kinds with a focus of co-construction and negotiation of meaning between interlocutors.

“The use of the term ‘discourse community’ testifies to the increasingly common assumption that discourse operates within conventions defined by communities, be they academic disciplines or social groups. The pedagogies associated with writing across the curriculum and academic English now use the notion of ‘discourse communities’ to signify a cluster of ideas: that language use in a group is a form of social behaviour, that discourse is a means of maintaining and extending the group’s knowledge and of initiating new members into the group, and that discourse is epistemic or constitutive of the group’s knowledge.” (Herzberg B. 1986)

The act of spreading something, especially information, widely; circulation.

To scatter or spread widely.

To spread information on the latest achievements in teacher education, effective language association collaboration and ECML (European Centre for Modern Languages of the Council of Europe) work through practical interventions (workshops, publications, newsletters, web sites and web fora) to interested organisations and individuals.

Sharing and communicating what has been learnt, e.g. presenting at a conference or writing an action research report.

The use of outside sources, documents, to support the viewpoint or argument of an academic work. The process of documentary research often involves some or all of conceptualising, using and assessing documents.

A collection of samples or examples of language use either in a real (e.g. work) or simulated (e.g. classroom) context.

Real-world tasks have a dual focus or grounding, combining real life and educational contexts. While carrying out such a task, a contributor is both a learner (within a teaching and learning context) and a user (inter)acting with people outside the educational context.

The teaching and learning of (additional) languages for children age 3 to 12 in educational contexts.

“The process whereby education is changed and becomes different. Action research involves teachers in making and creating worthwhile educational change.” (Elliott 2015: 19)

In this publication this term denotes any person in charge of groups of children under seven years of age in a school or pre-school institution.

Authority or power given to someone to do something. The process of becoming stronger and more confident, especially in controlling one’s life and claiming one’s rights.

A document in three parts (Language Passport, Language Biography and Language Dossier) in which an individual may voluntarily record his or her linguistic achievements (including intercultural competence) to date. It has both a ‘reporting’ and a ‘pedagogic’ function, which is to say that it provides not only evidence of achievement, but also key information about the learning characteristics and preferred learning style of the user.

The reporting function addresses the concern of the Council of Europe to promote individual mobility.

The pedagogic function is of value to the teacher, by indicating approaches most likely to be effective with the user in question and to the learner, by raising his or her awareness of what is happening in the learning process. It addresses the Council of Europe’s concern to foster the development of learner autonomy and to promote lifelong learning.

A tool promoted by the Council of Europe since 2002 enabling users to record their experiences and competences in the different languages they know or are learning in a comprehensive and internationally comparable manner. This personal document invites users to take stock of their experience, conduct self-assessments, plan their future learning and document all their linguistic competences – whether or not they were acquired in a formal educational setting. The European Language Portfolio is developed locally, on the basis of the guidelines set out by the Council of Europe, to take account of the needs of particular target groups and the distinctive features of different education and training systems.

A document in three parts (Language Passport, Language Biography and Language Dossier) in which an individual may voluntarily record his or her linguistic achievements (including intercultural competence) to date. It has both a ‘reporting’ and a ‘pedagogic’ function, which is to say that it provides not only evidence of achievement, but also key information about the learning characteristics and preferred learning style of the user. 

The process of observation and measurement for the purpose of determining ‘effectiveness’ (see fit for purpose). Sometimes used synonymously with assessment, however usually includes a wider perspective (e.g. programme evaluation). In the current context, evaluation thus includes the processes of (a) ongoing monitoring to check that progress is being made, (b)  establishing whether the target is reached and (c) determining whether the programme itself optimises progress.

Kirkpatrick's four levels of training evaluation

This grid illustrates the basic Kirkpatrick structure at a glance. It relates specifically to training programmes not aimed specifically at educational contexts, but can be used more broadly as a tool for reflection in the LACS project (bearing in mind that there are many other models available).

Drawing on and adapting the definition of ‘evaluation’ on the Public Policy website (accessed 2 October 2009), evaluation is designed to judge the benefits of a policy, intervention or activity. It involves the systematic collection, analysis and interpretation of data concerning the need, design, implementation and impact of the intervention or activity. Data can be quantitative and qualitative in nature. There is no single way of carrying out an evaluation, as it depends on the purpose, context and the desired impact. The methodology should therefore be justified, with due regard for ethical issues. One example of evaluation, based on Kirkpatrick’s (1994) evaluation theory¹, suggests that it can operate at four levels:

• reaction, or thoughts and feelings;
• learning, or increased knowledge or capability;
• behaviour, or the extent of implementation or application;
• and results, or the effects of the changed behaviour.

In the case of action research it is the collection of data (observation protocols, photos, questionnaires, conversations), which help the teacher-researchers to increase understanding of, and improve their teaching.

(Also known as physical mobility) involves moving to a different environment, for a short or long period, for different reasons and in different directions. For instance, students move to another learning environment to participate in a course, to complete teaching/vocational practice or to work on a project with partners from different learning contexts. They may move on their own, as in the case of university students who study for one or a few semesters at a university in a different city or country. Children and adolescents more often move in groups with their teachers; for instance, one or more classes from one school travel to meet their peers in a partner institution.

The state or degree of being easily or conveniently done. Something that is possible to do; capable of being done or carried out.

Language or language variety which children acquire in their family environment and which they use for their first verbal interactions with other family members and the outside world. In some cases a child may have several first languages.

“First language: language variety(ies) acquired in early childhood (approximately before the age of two or three years) in which the human language faculty was first acquired. This term is preferred to mother tongue, which is often inaccurate as the first language is not necessarily that of the mother alone.”

First language learned.

Well-suited, appropriate for its designated role or purpose; shown to work.

Language with which a child has no regular contact in his/her family environment and which is not used in relations with peers or adults in his/her immediate environment or to regulate everyday life in the institution.

Language varieties used within a specific geographical area for a language which is not used as a language of communication in that area.

Form of assessment that focusses on learning and learning processes and shapes the direction and content of further learning.

This term refers to all the regular patterns which may be observed in the phonology, morphology, syntax and pragmatic and sociolinguistic uses of a particular language.

Competences not specific to language, called upon for actions of all kinds, including language activities; defined in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) as savoir (declarative knowledge), savoir-faire (skills and know-how), savoir-être (‘existential’ competence) and savoir-apprendre (ability to learn).

“A genre is a culturally determined way of getting things done, with patterns that can be predicted, to varying degrees, by members of a particular culture. It is a social activity that has a purpose, is enacted through stages and is realised through language. In terms of the school subjects, the genres are the ‘practices’ (actions combined with visual and verbal texts) that the teacher and students engage in.” (Polias 2006: 49).

“A genre is a culturally determined way of getting things done, with patterns that can be predicted, to varying degrees, by members of a particular culture. It is a social activity that has a purpose, is enacted through stages and is realised through language. In terms of the school subjects, the genres are the ‘practices’ (actions combined with visual and verbal texts) that the teacher and students engage in.” (Polias 2006: 49)

Goal setting involves the development of an action plan designed to motivate and guide a person or group toward a goal. Goal setting can be guided by goal-setting criteria (or rules).

A good practice is not only a practice that is good, but a practice that has been proven to work well and produce good results, and is therefore recommended as a model. It is a successful experience, which has been tested and validated, in the broad sense, which has been repeated and deserves to be shared so that a greater number of people can draw on it.

A representation giving a clear and effective picture to illustrate a concept or procedure. Graphic design is the process of visual communication and problem-solving through the use of typography, space, image and colour.

See Assessment grids/rubrics.

Organisation by the educator of a group of children to establish procedures conducive to learning. This includes the different strategies used by the educator to get and keep the children’s attention, maintain discipline and allow them to contribute in an orderly fashion. It also includes planning and management of activities and the transitions between them, the start and end of sequences, and the organisation of individual work, work in pairs and group work. Good group management presupposes effective use of teaching aids, resources (IT facilities and software etc.) and classroom space.

Learning which “seeks to fully activate all aspects of the learner’s personality (intellect, emotions, imagination, body) for more effective and comprehensive learning.”

One of the on-going processes throughout ELP use is the self-assessment of work and progress in learning, and recording this on a chronological basis. It is important to remember that self-assessment is valid both as a form of assessment and as an instrument of learning. With the support of teachers, learners can develop their skills of self-assessment and will become increasingly aware of learning demands, personal learning styles and how they may achieve success.

All ELP pages prompt learners to think, assess and record. The support of teachers is essential in the early stages of a language course but over time learners become empowered to carry out these procedures themselves. The ability to self-assess is a key transferable skill and, as such, will support learners far beyond the language class. (Lazenby Simpson 2012: 32)

“Immersion refers to the teaching of content exclusively through a foreign language. The emphasis is placed on subject teaching, and the language serves only as a means of delivering that instruction. We evaluate students’ knowledge of the subjects taught and not their proficiency in the foreign language.”

The effect created by an approach or idea, model or procedure, including tests or assessment processes. Impact is considered both in terms of the influence on teaching and education in general, and on the individuals who are affected by the actions and results.

The influence of a teacher on learners; the influence of action research on classroom practice.

A type of research that focuses on impact/effects of different approaches to language learning, teaching and assessment in different contexts and at different levels (individual, pedagogical, and structural).

To put something, for example an agreement or a plan, into effect.

The process of turning planning into action in a supportive, learner-focused environment. This also involves adapting the planned course flexibly and appropriately to circumstances and learner needs.

The process whereby an ELP is brought into systematic use by learners. It can be a complex process, incorporating planning, securing resources, promotion of the ELP concept among target teachers, learners and others, dissemination of advice and information, monitoring and evaluation.

The European Ministers of Education recommend that the governments of member states, in harmony with their education policies, create conditions favourable for the implementation and wide use of the ELP according to the Principles and Guidelines laid down by the Education Committee. Successful implementation depends on clear goals, commitment, effective structures and support, and a sustained effort.

Opportunities offered to learners or teachers to get involved, acquire perspective, make choices.

Facts and quantifiable data which can be measured and which will provide evidence about whether certain quality standards have been achieved. Very often, indicators are formulated as statements to which it is possible to answer Yes or No.

“Information Literacy encompasses knowledge of one’s information concerns and needs, and the ability to identify, locate, evaluate, organize and effectively create, use and communicate information to address issues or problems at hand; it is a prerequisite for participating effectively in the Information Society, and is part of the basic human right of lifelong learning” (Prague Declaration, UNESCO, 2003, p. 1).

Something that is put in, taken in and/or operated on; texts proposed to learners to hear, read or see, and/or texts they themselves deliver for the use of others.

The core feature of oral or written communication between two or more people; requiring both receptive and productive competence but also social and pragmatic skills. In interaction, meaning is co-constructed.

Interaction involves two or more parties co-constructing discourse.

“Interpersonal interaction is considered to be the origin of language, with interpersonal, collaborative and transactional functions.” (CEFR CV, 2020: 70)

Ability to exchange and collaborate efficiently and appropriately while using all the available technologies at hand.

The process of intercomprehension refers to speakers’ making links between two or more linguistic systems that they are familiar with to varying degrees in order to communicate.

Note:
The intercomprehension process is based on the interaction of the following two principles: the exploitation of the language contact phenomenon and the strategies of convergence and divergence during intergroup contact.
In Council of Europe (European Centre for Modern Languages) (2013), Glossary: ECML programme 2008-2011 “Empowering language professionals”, p. 182.

Knowledge, awareness and understanding of the relation – similarities and distinctive differences – between the ‘world of origin’ and the ‘world of the target community’ and beyond; intercultural awareness is enriched by awareness of a wider range of cultures than those carried by the learner’s L1 and L2.

The ability to communicate and interact effectively and appropriately with people of other national, regional or social cultures.

Intercultural competence can be defined as “the capacity to experience cultural otherness and use it to:

• reflect on matters that are usually taken for granted within one’s own culture and environment;
• evaluate one’s own everyday patterns of perception, thought, feeling and behaviour in order to develop greater self-knowledge and self-understanding;
• act as mediators among people of different cultures, to explain and interpret different perspectives.”

Capacity to interact positively, i.e. critically and empathetically, with any form of otherness. This competence is based essentially on skills and attitudes, but is developed through verbal interaction with educators and peers on the occasion of encounters with manifestations of otherness in the immediate or more distant environment. It is distinct from cultural competence and pluricultural competence (cf. cultural competence).

Words or expressions having the same meaning, being used in several languages in more or less adapted forms. (See also Cognates)

Thinking about a complicated issue in a holistic way that includes all the important aspects and elements (e.g. thinking of planning, teaching, resources, teacher development and assessment when planning a curriculum)

There are multiple areas of knowledge. i.e. declarative knowledge (savoir) is understood as knowledge resulting from experience (empirical knowledge) and from more formal learning (academic knowledge).

Sociocultural knowledge is knowledge of the society and culture of the community or communities in which a language is spoken.

The capacity to call upon one’s personal resources, consisting of knowledge, attitudes and skills, to perform a task. In the use of languages, communicative competence draws on linguistic (lexicon and functioning of the language), sociolinguistic (social rules in use of the language) and pragmatic components to perform a communicative task. Communicative competence is therefore based on knowledge about the functioning and use of languages, skills in implementing that knowledge and the capacity to adopt a favourable attitude to communication (e.g. ability to listen, desire to exchange with others, etc.).

See competence

First language known and signed/spoken/written by a person.

Second language known and signed/spoken/written by a person.

Third and/or further foreign language which is not identical with the L2. The L2 and the experience of learning a first ‘foreign’ language seems to play a specific role in a learner’s language repertoire in being a kind of model for subsequent ‘foreign’ language learning. Plurilingual individuals tend to have varying degrees of competencies in their various ‘foreign’ languages so that there is justification for labelling the languages differently and not all as “L2”.

Autochthonous = the original language spoken in a particular region / area.

Dominant = pertaining to the majority of people of a particular country.

Foreign = external, different from the spoken language of a particular nation.

Migrant = pertaining to people who have arrived in a foreign nation.

Minority = pertaining to only a part of the population of a particular country.

National = pertaining to a particular nation.

Official = chosen by the government to represent the whole nation.

Regional = pertaining to a particular region / area.

Second = pertaining to a particular nation, but not the first and not chosen as official.

“Systemic Functional Linguistics sees language as a means for learning about the world. It models learning as a process of making meaning, and language learning as building one’s meaning making potential to make meaning in particular contexts. Knowledge is viewed as meaning, a resource for understanding and acting on the world. All knowledge is constituted in semiotic systems with language as the most central.” (Mohan et al. 2010: 221).

This term denotes the communicative context in which individuals’ communicative, linguistic, pragmatic and sociolinguistic competences are called upon to perform communicative tasks (understanding written or oral texts, participating in oral exchanges, drafting a text, etc.). Based on the Council of Europe’s Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, a distinction is drawn between reception activities (oral and written comprehension) and production activities (spoken production, oral interaction, writing independently or in interaction).

This approach to language education involves putting in place activities to stimulate observation, analysis and reflection in relation to a plurality of languages, including languages which are neither spoken nor being learnt by the children. It helps children to acquire positive, open-minded attitudes towards linguistic and cultural diversity and to feel confident about their own repertoires.

« Language awareness refers to the kind of knowing when we step back from the direct experience of using language and develop a systematic meta-cognition concerning its codes and conventions, in short how language „works‟. Although at one level this consists of explicit know-ledge about language as an apparatus both in everyday life and specific social contexts, it also supports critical deconstruction of texts (i.e. facilitates rhetorical criticism) enabling the learner to see through language that manipulates or discriminates ».

Language awareness refers to the ability to adopt a reflective attitude towards linguistic elements and their use, otherwise stated as the ability to reflect on language ... in order to develop metalinguistic abilities (according to www.unipress.dk/media/3546132/srogforum_58__moore3.pdf).

This term is broad, and it may focus on different elements in different contexts. Hawkins (1999) sees language awareness as a “pentagon” of five elements: mastering the mother tongue; language awareness in the curriculum; education of the ear; ouverture aux langues; and learning how to learn the foreign language. (Boeckmann et al. 2011: 73)

A record of personal, language-learning history, typically including background information and accounts on intercultural encounters and language use.

The Language Biography is the second section of the European Language Portfolio (ELP). It facilitates the learner’s involvement in planning, reflecting upon and assessing his or her learning process and progress. It provides scope for recording at greater length than in the Language Passport various experiences that have been influential in the user’s learning, both in the formal learning of languages and in unstructured and informal encounters with foreign languages and cultures.

Concept proposed in 1993 (with further development in 2002) by J. Boutet. It refers to the role played by language (written or spoken) in a specified occupational task, as well as in more informal communicative practices at work – which, if ignored, may hinder proper integration at work. Linked to this are the issues of occupational culture and workplace sociability.

For more on informal aspects of workplace communication, see Teiger Catherine (1995), “Parler quand même : les fonctions des activités langagières non fonctionnelles”, in Borzeix Anni and Fraenkel Béatrice (eds.) (2001), Langage et travail, communication, cognition, action, CNRS Éditions, Paris, 379 .

The following citation highlights what is meant by the language dimension in subjects:

“[…] each subject in school is responsible for achieving the goals of that particular subject in terms of knowledge building and meaning-making in the full sense of the term, but also in terms of meeting the goals of successful schooling and of quality education in general. Language requirements such as reading and understanding expository texts, listening to explanations, summarizing or answering questions orally and presenting results are present in all classrooms, in connection with content work. The language dimension in teaching and learning subject-matter is of equal importance as in language as subject itself.” (Beacco et al. 2016: 21)

Presence of different language varieties in the same geographical area.

The terms FOS, ESP, etc. refer to a teaching approach aimed at developing language competences/skills required in frequently recurring, standard situations in a given occupation (e.g. indicating the location of landmarks on a city plan for an employee of a tourist office). In the French context, this acronym can be written French for a Specific Purpose (singular) and constitutes a teaching and curriculum design methodology who proposed a detailed needs analysis, followed by selection of typical interactions and written texts. These items are then transformed into teaching and learning material for use in the language classroom, with consideration given to learner assessment.

In the plural form, i.e. Français sur Objectifs Spécifiques, FOS refers to the entire area of French language teaching and learning for professional and pre-professional audiences, without specification of methodology¹.

Nuances in English spoken context:

‘Language(s) for Special Purposes, also Languages for Specific Purposes (LSP)’:

An area of enquiry and practice in the development of language teaching programmes for people who need a language (or variety of a language) to meet a predictable range of communicative needs. Examples include courses for scientists, doctors, lawyers, and air traffic controllers².

“In interactive activities the language user acts alternately as speaker and listener with one or more interlocutors so as to construct conjointly, through the negotiation of meaning following the co-operative principle, conversational discourse.
Reception and production strategies are employed constantly during interaction.”

“Foreign or second language (L2) learning strategies are specific actions, behaviors, steps, or techniques students use -- often consciously -- to improve their progress in apprehending, internalizing, and using the L2.”

In the field of language use “mediation” has come to mean how someone assists people to communicate effectively with one another when they sign or speak different languages, do not understand certain terms or concepts, or when they are dealing with situations or ideas that are new to them.

Language variety, often the first language, of persons or groups who have moved to live in other States. These speakers must adapt linguistically to the new environment and learn, at least partially, the language (or languages) of the host country.

Gérard Vigner was the first to define language of instruction. This term refers to a “language used to teach subjects other than the language itself and which can, in certain countries, also be present in the students’ social environment”. Language of instruction is often the L1 but it can also be an L2: for example, when it is the official language in a multilingual society, among migrant populations, or in a CLIL classroom.

The language used as the main medium for teaching and learning (French in France, German in Germany, etc.).

“Language of schooling” denotes the language used for teaching the various school subjects and for the functioning of schools. This language is usually the official language(s) of the State or the region, for example Polish in Poland or Italian in Italy, but may also concern officially recognised regional or minority languages, foreign or migrant languages. Depending on the national or regional context, several languages of schooling are used. (Rec(2014)5)

“From a functional linguistic perspective, the language of schooling is a special case of the interpenetration of language and social context. It can differ significantly from the everyday language of the student (see CALP) and this gap could become particularly problematic for language minority students whose language repertoire may need to be extended (…).”

In the context of the Language for Work Network the term “language for work” embraces three different strands of language development for adult migrants in the context of their linguistic integration into the labour market and into the society at large.

1. Pre-employment language provision

This aims to equip learners with the language skills they need for generic work tasks, common to different sectors and trades. Such as telephoning, explaining a procedure, dealing with forms. It is also likely to include job-search activities, including CV and cover letter and/or email writing, application form filling and job interviews. Lerner groups are typically mixed, e.g.

• unemployed, employees, students/trainees;
• different occupational expertise and work experience;
• different educational backgrounds, personal histories and levels of education.

2. Language provision for specific occupational areas

Targets specific work tasks identified through needs analysis. The training takes place either in the workplace or in a training centre.

Learner groups are more homogeneous regarding for example:

• from the occupational area;
• focused on the same areas of competence, including the same certification, but
• have different cultural backgrounds, personal histories and levels of education.

3. Provision in the workplace covers

• formal language learning provision tailored to the needs of specific groups of employees of a specific company taking place either in the company or in a training centre. It can take the form of classroom provision, coaching, etc.;
• non-formal language learning provision in the company, for example through mentorship or the designation of a specific member of staff to act as a “language champion” within the organisation;
• informal language learning support, e.g. ad hoc language support offered by managers and staff to migrant colleagues.

In some instances, provision in the workplace seeks to make the workplace a space for learning and language development. In these cases it adopts a systemic approach that takes into account the interests and perspectives of the relevant stakeholders/actors involved in the interaction, including the learners, co-workers, management (mainly HR and L&D), trade union representatives, etc. The learning provider acts not only as language teacher, but also as language consultant, advising the different actors on various language and communication issues that arise around the language skills at work.

Learner groups reflect the composition of the staff re age, gender, etc. The learners are colleagues in the same organisation, although they may come from different parts of the organisation. They may also have different personal, cultural, linguistic and educational backgrounds.

The Language Passport is the initial section of the European Language Portfolio (ELP) provides an overview of the individual’s proficiency in different languages at a given point in time. It is the key record of current proficiency and qualifications, related wherever possible to levels of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR).

“The European Language Portfolio was ‘launched as a tool to support the development of plurilingualism and multiculturalism. Follow-up projects were dedicated to training teachers to use the portfolio as an instrument for monitoring language development in individual learners in formal and non-formal settings, but also to record and document progress in language learning and cultural experiences in general.”

The variety of language used for a particular purpose and in a specific context (e.g. formal and informal register).

3.1. A language policy is a statement of action [...] It is concerned not so much with where the children in a school [...] are going but more with how they are going to get there. […] A language policy is “a document compiled by the staff of a school, ... [that] identifies areas in the school’s scope of operations and programs where language problems exist that need the commonly agreed approach offered by a policy ... It is a dynamic action statement that changes along with the dynamic context of a school”.

3.2. A whole-school language policy will recognize the existing strengths of both school and community, and will give clear guidelines for further reflecting and improving abilities and values. […] developing a whole-school language policy can be of benefit to pupils, staff, parents and others associated with your school.

[…] A whole-school language policy is a dynamic action statement consisting of principles, aims and strategies. It is a shared document for all stakeholders and expresses a common vision of the role and status of all languages relevant to life within a school. It is ideally developed following organised discussions, a school language audit and a profiling exercise. A healthy policy would be authored and owned by all stakeholders. It should include a rationale for its aims, as well as a declaration about who is responsible to carry out which tasks by when.

3.3. Language policy [...] is shaped by three main factors: language practices, the actual-related behaviour of individuals and institutions; language management, the official and unofficial rules regarding the choice and nature of language codes; and language ideologies [...] the understandings, beliefs and expectations that influence all choices made by language users.

Hornberger and McKay, 2010

KEY WORDS

4.1. Having a school language profile is seen as an initial step to developing a whole-school language policy. Having a means of developing a whole-school profile is one way of declaring “a policy about policy making” (Corson 1990: 62), allowing for transparency and giving cohesion and purpose to the school’s language development activity.

4.2. “It is therefore recommended that schools compile a comprehensive language profile of the school community that identifies the following points:

• the diversity of language needs for students following the IB programme(s). This should include:
  • information on the languages of teaching and learning
  • the languages of communication used in the school and outside the classroom
  • the range and types of mother tongue and other languages in the community
• the other language needs of the community (including any legal requirements as a result of government legislation)
• current practices relating to language teaching and learning, for example:
  • practices relating to the choice and planning of language courses for learners
  • spelling and referencing protocols
  • preferred bibliographic styles
  • rules and expectations about language use around the school
• beliefs held about language teaching and learning
• other policies that relate directly to language teaching and learning such as admissions and assessment policies.

KEY WORDS

language needs, current practices in language teaching and learning, beliefs, policies

The teaching of a language in school or outside.

Generic, neutral term which describes a specific form of language and which avoids a value judgement and labelling a particular language.

Official language(s) used as language(s) of instruction in school which is/are not always the children’s family language(s).

“‘Languaging’ occurs when plurilingual individuals make flexible use all the linguistic resources they have in different ‘languages’ to communicate with one another, without strict adherence to the conventions of any particular language in their repertoire.”

The capacity of learners to take charge of their own learning, including a choice of aims, content, approaches, etc. based around individual needs and interests.

The ability to take charge of one’s own learning (Holec, 1981). Expanding on this definition, David Little (1991) states that learner autonomy includes a ‘capacity for detachment, critical reflection, decision-making and independent action’.
(María Jesús Frigols Martín et al., 2011)

Is the capacity learners have to take charge of their own learning. This implies choice of aims, content, approaches and/or forms of evaluation based on reflection related to individual needs and interests.

Ability to “take charge of one’s own learning is to have, and to hold, the responsibility for all the decisions concerning all aspects of this learning, i.e.:

• determining the objectives;
• defining the content and progressions;
• selecting methods and techniques to be used;
• monitoring the procedure of acquisition properly speaking (rhythm, time, place, etc.);
• evaluating what has been acquired.

The autonomous learner (Holec 1981, Little 1995):

• makes effective use of the learning opportunities;
• cooperates effectively in pair and group work;
• uses available materials for independent learning;
• organises and uses materials for self-directed learning;
• uses effective learning strategies;
• identifies his/her own needs and goals;
• plans and carries out tasks that help to accomplish the goals;
• is aware of his/her own strengths and weaknesses as a learner.

Learner autonomy is the capacity learners have to take charge of their own learning. This implies choice of aims, content, approaches and/or forms of evaluation based on reflection related to individual needs and interests.

There are two ways we can approach the notion of “learning environments”, i.e learning culture(s) including methods, contents, goals, etc. and the learning structures with spaces, contexts, locations, etc.

2.1. “Developing a total learning environment for students in a particular course or program is probably the most creative part of teaching. While there is a tendency to focus on either physical institutional learning environments (such as classrooms, lecture theatres and labs), or on the technologies used to create online personal learning environments (PLEs), learning environments are broader than just these physical components. They will also include:

• the characteristics of the learners;
• the goals for teaching and learning;
• the activities that will best support learning;
• the assessment strategies that will best measure and drive learning;
• the culture that infuses the learning environment.”

2.2. “Learning environment refers to the diverse physical locations, contexts, and cultures in which students learn. [...] The term also encompasses the culture of a school or class – its presiding ethos and characteristics, including how individuals interact with and treat one another – as well as the ways in which teachers may organize an educational setting to facilitate learning...”.

Key words

learners, teaching and learning, goals, activities, assessment, strategies, locations, contexts, cultures, educational setting

Can be defined as “specific actions taken by the learner to make learning easier, faster, more enjoyable, more self-directed, more effective, and more transferable to new situations.” (Oxford 1990: 8)

These are the different strategies used by learners to facilitate learning. They may be techniques or behaviours to which children have recourse – consciously or sometimes unconsciously – to improve their performance in the use of a language other than their first language.

“Learning strategies are mental steps or operations that learners use to learn a new language and to regulate their efforts to do so.” (Wenden 1991: 18)

See Strategies (learning to learn)

In language education the term “level” usually refers to language proficiency level (e.g. B1). However it can also refer to different stages of the educational system (e.g. secondary level, tertiary level).

The level of competence in a foreign language is usually measured with reference to the common scale of levels of proficiency proposed in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages adopted by the Council of Europe in 2001. This scale, which includes six different levels and is valid for all foreign languages, can be used to evaluate skills in a language separately for each language activity (see Language activities). It is based on a positive evaluation of competences, i.e. it takes account of what an individual is actually capable of doing with the language.

The set of languages and language varieties, including first language(s), regional language(s), language(s) learned in the education system and in other contexts, acquired by an individual.

The levels of competence as well as the function of in these languages and language varieties can vary and change over the course of an individual’s life.

Includes lexical, grammatical (morphological, syntactic), semantic, orthographic/orthoepic and phonological knowledge and skills.

Linguistic insecurity corresponds to a feeling of uncertainty and depreciation that some speakers experience in relation to their own ways of expressing themselves, which are compared unfavourably to other forms of expression deemed more legitimate. Closely linked to representations, the notion is built on the parallel between the norm (correct usage according to the speaker) and self-evaluation (personal usage according to the speaker). It also plays an essential role in exchanges between languages, as Aude Bretegnier explains:

“Feelings of linguistic security and insecurity both appear to be linked precisely to the representations that speakers construct of boundaries, boundaries between languages, norms and groups, boundaries between what is within the norm and what is excluded from it, between the legitimate and the illegitimate, between the Same and the Other, between the inside and the outside” (2002: p. 12, our translation). Indeed, linguistic insecurity results from cross-linguistic relations arising from the comparison of one’s own way of speaking with legitimate language, or the status accorded to it, internalised by the speaker through comparison with the status of another language, or another way of speaking (Calvet, 1999, our translation).

Further information

More recently (Klinkenberg, 2020) explains that linguistic insecurity should be treated less as a state and more as a process to be considered from an experiential perspective. This author suggests expanding the concept of insecurity to all semiotic behaviours, not just language. Acknowledging that understanding languages requires considering their social backgrounds, the author also proposes re-evaluating the importance of existential and social variables that condition the notion of insecurity and play a role in the adjustment processes between the individual and the world.

Another metaphor that can be applied usefully to the study of the Linguistic Landscape in metropolitan areas is the notion of cities as texts (Mondada 2000). Viewed in this light, cities are dense with signs that must be deciphered, read and interpreted by citizens who participate in the consumption of the moving, literary spectacle of the metropolis. Calvet (1994) signaled that the texts of cities are not equally accessible to all; they are relatively cryptic and readers must be culturally and linguistically informed to decipher their meanings. The texts of cities define and delimit who their readers are since they address particular audiences. […] Drawing children’ s attention to layered readings of texts in different languages of the linguistic landscape thus entails developing critical literacy so that they learn to listen to the multiple voices in their communities (Barton et al. 2000; Comber and Simpson 2001; Gutiérrez and Rogoff 2003). Critical literacy activities bring to the fore a reading of texts that makes more explicit to young readers the tensions between unity and discord in society and helps them situate the socio-historical contexts of written communication.¹

Children are encouraged to ask:

• What are the interests of the writers and readers of texts?
• What is at stake for them in producing and decoding texts?
• Who has power to determine what languages appear in texts?

The study of linguistic landscape aims to add another view to our knowledge about societal multilingualism by focusing on language choices, hierarchies of languages, contact-phenomena, regulations, and aspects of literacy. […] There is a clear link between identity theory, linguistic landscape theory and language learning.²

Key words

visibility, cities as texts, the readers of the texts of cities, layered readings of texts in different languages, critical literacy activities, language choices and hierarchies of languages, identity and languages

The abilities and knowledge that an individual possesses in the languages that he/she knows.

“Plurality of linguistic resources, representations, contexts, strategies and abilities, which are distributed and which evolve over space and time” (Castellotti & Moore 2005: 109).

“The concepts of linguistic repertoire and communicative competence are intimately linked: The first refers to the linguistic and cognitive resources that a social actor disposes of, as well as their organization, and the second refers to the way that an individual uses their linguistic knowledge and abilities to interact appropriately in society” (Dufour 2014: 19).

Capacity to employ a graphic system and to use this to produce and interpret written texts in different contexts.

“Literacy is control of secondary discourses and uses of language” (Goldoni Francis 2008: p. 70; quoting Gee 1989), and “being literate in a wide range of private and public discourses and contexts is closely related to the notion of advancedness in a foreign language” (Goldoni 2008: p. 70).

“Literacy is control of secondary discourses and uses of language” (Goldoni Francis 2008: p. 70; quoting Gee 1989), and “being literate in a wide range of private and public discourses and contexts is closely related to the notion of advancedness in a foreign language” (Goldoni 2008: p. 70).

Some researchers adopt the term “M1/L2 signers” for individuals who are learning a second sign language versus “M2/L2 (second modality second language) signers” for those who are learning their first sign language. In addition to standard L2 effects, this second group might be subject to additional effects of learning language in a new modality. (Chen Pichler 2012: p. 676)

The first language(s) of the majority of the population in (a defined region of) a country – in many cases this/these will also be the national/official language(s) of the State and the language(s) of instruction in schools.

“The first language(s) of the majority of the population in (a defined region of) a country” – in many cases this/these will also be the national/official language(s) of the state or a region.

Language both constructs and interprets the meaning of content in the curriculum. The act of teaching a particular part of the curriculum content can be understood as a communication process, in which meaning realised by the use of language is the most salient.

Likewise, for students to learn any part of curriculum content means, first and foremost, to make sense of the language used by the teacher and other students in classroom activities, and in the teaching materials involving both spoken and written language. Thus learning curriculum content on the one hand cannot be accomplished effectively without learning and using the language that communicates the meaning of the content, while at the same time curriculum content learning can be used as a powerful means for language development (cf. EUCIM-TE project and IALT).

Note:

European Core Curriculum for Mainstreamed Second Language Teacher Education (EUCIM-TE), www.eucim-te.eu.

European Core Curriculum for Inclusive Academic Language Teaching (IALT)

To get a survey on a situation.

To get information on how a wide range of language associations are organised, how they support their own networks of members and what impact do they have on policy reform supporting multilingualism.

Structured arrangement of an ensemble of elements, in form of a double entry table usually comprising lines and columns. A policy implementation matrix, also called an action plan matrix, shows how each item in a policy will be implemented in practice.

The process of developing knowledge and understanding by drawing on all linguistic resources.

Combines several elements such as information literacy, media literacy and visual literacy.

Knowledge of how information is produced and disseminated, ability to create new forms of messages on various media (e-mails for example) and to understand how these messages are generated and perceived on the chosen platforms.

Mediation is one of the four modes of communication, it combines reception, production and interaction.

“[…] when we use language it is not just to communicate a message, but rather to develop an idea through what is often called ‘languaging’ (talking the idea through and hence articulating the thoughts) or to facilitate understanding and communication.” (CEFR CV, 2020: 35)

In the field of language education, mediation has been described as a language activity in its own right by the CEFR (2001): “In both the receptive and productive modes, the written and/or oral activities of mediation make communication possible between persons who are unable, for whatever reason, to communicate with each other directly. Translation or interpretation, a paraphrase, summary or record, provides for a third party a (re)formulation of a source text to which this third party does not have direct access.” (p.&nbps;14)

For the Guide for the development and implementation of curricula for plurilingual and intercultural education (2016) “In modern language teaching, presented as an emblematic example, mediation may be defined as an interface between comprehension and production. The strong emphasis on both the plurilingual and the cultural dimension in foreign language mediation activities means that mediation is an important part of any curriculum for plurilingual and intercultural education.” (pp. 11-12)

Further information

The Companion Volume to the CEFR (2020) stresses that cross-linguistic mediation “involve[s] social and cultural competence as well as plurilingual competence” (p. 91). Given the variety of situations in which mediation is mobilised and the complexity of the ways in which it is carried out, the descriptor scales are presented here in three groups, which implies a broader definition:

'Mediating concepts' refers to the process of facilitating access to knowledge and concepts for others, particularly if they may be unable to access this directly on their own. […]

'Mediating communication' aims to facilitate understanding and shape successful communication between users/learners who may have individual, sociocultural, sociolinguistic or intellectual differences in standpoint.” (p. 91)

Mediation is one of the four modes of communication alongside reception, production and interaction. Mediation can happen within one language ‐ for instance summarising and paraphrasing texts  – or involve different languages or dialects (cross-linguistic mediation). The Companion Volume of the Common European framework of reference for languages operationalizes mediation into: mediating communication, mediating concepts and mediating a text. Mediation is a broad concept that involves different dimensions (e.g. relational, cognitive, emotional, cultural, pedagogic) and aims to build bridges and connections.

Mediation combines receptive, productive and interactive activities; mediation activities involve mediating texts, concepts and/or communication itself.

A cognitive and communicative activity which involves, on the one hand, seeking to reduce any possible tension between several individuals or groups of individuals possessing different cultural references and, on the other, promoting mutual knowledge and understanding of these references to foster cohesion and co-operation between these individuals or groups.

See Cultural mediation

Short open questions or entries about experiences written in a research journal.

A method of action research in which short notes are written on the selected aspect of teaching, for example after class.

“Awareness and management of one’s own thought.” (Kuhn & Dean 2004: 270)

Metalinguistics is concerned with the analysis of facts and data of the language with the aim to investigate the structure of the language, its history as well as its implications (social, literary, cultural, philosophical, etc.)

The ability to consciously reflect on the nature and use of language.

This term denotes the activity of describing the functioning of language and the terminology used for that purpose. Terms such as syntax, morphology, phonology, lexical field etc. belong to the field of metalinguistics.

A person who has moved to a place (usually a country) different than the one s/he used to live before and has been settled in the new place for a certain period usually (more than 12 months).

This change of residence is based on choice, rather than the constraints and threats that explain certain population movements (refugees, exiles). “Migrant” is the most encompassing term, while immigrant refers to the entry in the host country, and emigrant marks the movement outward from a country. Depending on the country, there are different terms for migrants. In France, the word “immigrant” (see this entry) competes with the word “migrant”.

Official definition at the European Level/Examples

In the global context, a person who is outside the territory of the State of which they are nationals or citizens and who has resided in a foreign country for more than one year irrespective of the causes, voluntary or involuntary, and the means, regular or irregular, used to migrate. In the EU context, a person who either:

(i) establishes their usual residence in the territory of a Member State for a period that is, or is expected to be, of at least 12 months, having previously been usually resident in another Member State or a third country; or

(ii) having previously been usually resident in the territory of a Member State, ceases to have their usual residence in that Member State for a period that is, or is expected to be, of at least 12 months.¹

This term denotes a language spoken in a region or country by a community of people who do not form the majority of the population. This language is part of the cultural heritage of the region or country. The importance of taking care to preserve and promote the use of any minority language is emphasised in the Council of Europe’s European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages.

Language which may be spoken by a majority in a section of a national territory, which may have official status there, but may not necessarily have official language of legal status.

Refers to educational experiences in new contexts that are explicitly aimed at enhancing the development of the plurilingual and intercultural (and professional) skills of students. The length of learning mobility activities typically ranges from a few days or weeks for primary and secondary school learners to a longer period, such as one or two university semesters in the case of young adults attending teacher training colleges or universities. Mobility can refer not only to cross-border contacts, but also to cooperation within one country, especially in the case of multilingual countries.

All languages currently used.

In education, the term “module” refers to an instructional segment of a certain length with a durable learning impact. It usually comprises a series of (teaching) units. It has a final summative assessment.

The checking of a process, action or product. In the context of the ELP it can span the entire life history of a project, from initial implementation to the various evaluative measures taken to check its effectiveness in practice.

The European Ministers of Education recommend that the governments of member states, in harmony with their education policies, monitor the dissemination and impact of the ELP and report their findings to the Council of Europe regularly, and at least once every three years.

Various tools can prove useful during the monitoring process
a) conference notes
b) portfolio notes
c) teacher journals
d) checklists
e) rating scales
f) student journals
g) student anecdotal records
h) student profiles
i) classroom log books
j) questionnaires

Questionnaires should also be used for both qualitative and quantitative research for the purpose of future dissemination.

This term refers to all the regular patterns which may be observed in the phonology, morphology, syntax and pragmatic and sociolinguistic uses of a particular language.

See Functioning of language

Multilingual education aims at including pupils with many language backgrounds in one education system. Students shall have the possibility to develop their multilingualism, and not be forced in abandoning their mother tongue in favour for a majority language. As the Unesco points out, multilingual education can be necessary in very different situations: on the one hand there are many regions with the existence of many language groups that share education facilities, on the other hand many (especially urban) areas experience the effects of globalisation and where schools have to face the reality of sometimes up to 30 different languages in a classroom (Education in a multilingual world. UNESCO education position paper, 2003, p. 13).

“Cummins has proposed the model of "Transformative Multiliteracies Pedagogy (TMP)" (Cummins, 2006) as an educational approach to help students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds (CLD) to use their knowledge in their language spoken at home in order to improve their production in the target language (of schooling). Cummins describes the TMP in five basic principles. This is to promote:

1. The image of the learner as being intelligent, imaginative and with language resources.
2. The use of knowledge and linguistic and cultural resources of students and their communities.
3. The cognitive engagement and personal investment of each student.
4. Opportunities to allow students to build their knowledge, create literary and artistic works, and act on social realities through dialogue and critically.
5. The use of information technology and communication (ICT) as support for the construction of knowledge and literary and artistic works and the presentation of their work to various audiences through the creation of texts promote the development of multicultural identities ("identity texts").

The presence of several languages in a given area or domain; it refers to plurilingual people as well as to monolingual persons with different languages living in a same area.

Multilingualism is the use of two or more languages, either by an individual speaker or by a community of speakers. Multilingual speakers outnumber monolingual speakers in the world’s population.

A multilingual person, in a broad definition, is one who can communicate in more than one language, be it actively (through speaking, writing, or signing) or passively (through listening, reading, or perceiving).

Multilingual speakers have acquired and maintained at least one language during childhood, the so-called first language (L1).

“Multiliteracy is a meaningful social and collaborative experience where students can work together with and learn from their peers and more experienced mentors. Multiliteracy is determined by social and cultural conventions that can be used and adapted based on specific purposes, modes and audiences. Therefore, a multiliteracy-based curriculum […] prepar[es] students to analyse multiple forms of text, discourses […] in multiple contexts and modes for multiple pursposes and multiple audiences” (Goldini 2008: 67, after Kern 1995, 2000, 2004, 2005).

Meaning-making and meaning-taking in social communication (including communication in school) make use of symbolic resources which include verbal as well as non-verbal (including gestures and bodily expressions) communication, visual/audio material, graphic representations and actions. In other words, communication is multi-modal.

Knowledge representation nowadays is in no way limited to written texts, it is multimodal, e.g. visual representations on paper and on the screen increasingly play an important role (Kress 2010). All content subjects have their ways of using multimodality and it is important that teachers are aware of the multimodal nature of classroom communication, and that students learn how to use the various modalities effectively. This should be an important part of teacher education and continuous professional development.

Young children do not acquire languages in a linear way. The ability to understand a language usually develops faster than the ability to speak it. Oral expression develops in stages which need to be respected. Children detect regular patterns in the morphology or syntax of the language which they then use, sometimes applying them in an overly general way. It is only at a later stage that they learn to restrict the scope of these patterns. These characteristic stages in a child’s acquisition of the first language can also be seen in situations of second language acquisition, but there may be longer latency periods between the different stages or between the development of the ability to understand and the emergence of a capacity for self-expression.

Procedures preceding the planning and/or revision of curricula and courses, used to collect information about learners' needs.

A group of existing and new contacts which can come together to collaborate on a shared interest, e.g. action research.

This involves the development or maintenance of informal relationships, especially among people for whom such connections and collaboration could bring advantages such as improved work performance or enhanced results. It provides opportunities with a focus on enabling participants to exchange information or to share access to a central store of information or common knowledge bank.

In education, learning objectives are brief statements that describe what students will be expected to learn by the end of school year, course, unit, lesson, project, or class period. In many cases, learning objectives are the interim academic goals that teachers establish for students who are working toward meeting more comprehensive learning standards.

Conscious examination and scrutiny of teaching, usually involves watching teaching.

Non-verbal elements of communication that accompany the main text and contribute to meaning. These include things like:

• illustrations (photographs, drawings, etc.),
• charts, tables, diagrams, figures, etc.,
• typographic features (fonts, pitch, spacing, underlining, layout, etc.).
  (CEFR, 2001: 90)

Tasks, which are “only indirectly related to real-life tasks and learner needs”. They “aim to develop communicative competence”. The Common European framework of reference for languages (CEFR) also specifies that “learners engage in a ‘willing suspension of disbelief’ and accept the use of the target language rather than the easier and more natural mother tongue to carry out meaning-focused tasks". (CEFR, Council of Europe, 2001: 157)

A collaborative learning technique, in which students assess their peers’ work and have their own work assessed by peers; giving other students feedback on the quality of their work, often with ideas and strategies for improvement. At the same time, evaluating peers’ work can enhance the evaluators’ own.

This term denotes learners of a similar age or persons following the same training or doing the same job (e.g. educators or teachers).

A set of tools and resources that a learner develops to facilitate his or her learning.

Different points of view and ways of regarding the same phenomena.

See Functioning of language

This term refers to all the regular patterns which may be observed in the phonology, morphology, syntax and pragmatic and sociolinguistic uses of a particular language.

To test a scheme, project, assessment activity etc. before introducing it more widely. (A pilot usually refers to something less extensive than pre-testing).

According to the authors of the Framework of Reference for Pluralistic Approaches to Languages and Cultures (FREPA), pluralistic approaches are “didactic approaches which use teaching-learning activities involving several (i.e. more than one) varieties of languages or cultures” (FREPA website, Pluralistic approaches section>).

These approaches follow on from the concept of plurilingual and intercultural competence adopted by the Council of Europe and constitute a tool for the implementation of plurilingual and intercultural education (see these entries in this glossary).

In the history of language teaching, the four pluralistic approaches usually described (Awakening to languages, Integrated didactic approach, Intercomprehension between related languages, Intercultural education – ibid.) pre-existed the concept under which the authors of FREPA brought them together at the beginning of this century. Their grouping under a common umbrella has facilitated their dissemination and highlighted the synergies that can be established between them within a curriculum.

Further information

Pluralistic approaches can be seen as a proposal for structuring and giving concrete form to what is also known as the Didactics of plurilingualism. In principle, they encompass the same teaching-learning approaches (Candelier & De Pietro, forthcoming).

Each of the pluralistic approaches aims at specific goals that correspond to diverse and complementary educational needs (e.g. introducing linguistic and cultural diversity, assisting in the teaching of a given language, cf. FREPA website, Pluralistic approaches section). However, due to their common characteristic expressed by the very definition of pluralistic approaches, they often develop competences, knowledge, attitudes and skills (see the entry Competences and resources in this same glossary) of a similar nature among learners. This led to the groupings of these competences, knowledge, attitudes and skills into a single framework, FREPA.

FREPA aims to contribute to the dissemination of pluralistic approaches, whether in terms of curricula, teaching tools, teacher education or classroom implementation. Its website also offers teaching materials and information on its use.

The ability of an individual to interact in different cultural milieux. This ability may imply both knowledge of likely differences in customs and values in a range of communities and the empathy required to respect and place value on beliefs and practices other than one’s own.

The ELP is a tool to promote plurilingualism and pluriculturalism and it is designed to take account of all of the learner’s language and intercultural learning, whether it takes place inside or outside formal educational contexts.

1.1. “Plurilingual and intercultural competence is the ability to use a plural repertoire of linguistic and cultural resources to meet communication needs or interact with other people, and enrich that repertoire while doing so.

Plurilingual competence refers to the repertoire of resources which individual learners acquire in all the languages they know or have learned, and which also relate to the cultures associated with those languages (languages of schooling, regional / minority and migration languages, modern or classical languages); pluriculturality denotes the ability to participate in different cultures, inter alia by acquiring several languages.

Intercultural competence, for its part, is the ability to experience otherness and cultural diversity, to analyse that experience and to derive benefit from it. Once acquired, intercultural competence makes it easier to understand otherness, establish cognitive and affective links between past and new experiences of otherness, mediate between members of two (or more) social groups and their cultures, and question the assumptions of one’s own cultural group and environment.”

1.2 Plurilingual and pluricultural competence refers to the ability to use languages for the purposes of communication and to take part in intercultural interaction, where a person, viewed as a social actor has proficiency, of varying degrees, in several languages and experience of several cultures.

KEY WORDS

Competence, Repertoire, Communication, Languages, Languages of schooling, Regional and minority languages, Migration languages, Modern and classical languages, Intercultural interaction, Otherness, Mediation

“A global language education that bridges all of the school’s languages of instruction and all of the academic subjects, which forms the basis of an identity that is open to plurality and to linguistic and cultural diversity, in which languages are seen as the expression of different cultures and of differences that lie at the heart of a culture. All of the academic subjects contribute to this language education, through their content and the manner in which they are taught. This global language education aims to develop a plurilingual and intercultural competence.”

Example

One major challenge for education systems is to give learners, during their school education, language and intercultural competences which will enable them to operate effectively as citizens, acquire knowledge and develop open attitudes to otherness: this vision of the teaching of languages and cultures is referred to as plurilingual and intercultural education.

Definition

Plurilingual and intercultural education is defined in the Council of Europe’s papers as “a global language education, across all languages of the school and in all disciplinary domains, which provides a basis for an identity open to linguistic and cultural plurality and diversity, insofar as languages are the expression of different cultures and of differences within the same culture. All disciplines contribute to this language education through the contents which they carry and the ways in which they are taught. This global language education aims to develop plurilingual and intercultural competence.”

Comment

Secondly, it promotes personal development, so that individuals can realise their full potential: this involves encouraging them to respect and accept diversity of languages and cultures in a multilingual and multicultural society, and helping to make them aware of the extent of their own competences and development potential.

[...] Effective learning of one or more languages, awareness of the value of diversity and otherness, and recognition of the utility of any (even partial) competence are necessary for anyone who, as an active member of the community, has to exercise his/her democratic citizenship in a multilingual and multicultural society.” (Guide for the development and implementation of curricula for plurilingual and intercultural education, p. 15-16)

For this concept, we will use the definition given in Recommendation CM/Rec (2022)1 of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe to member states:

“'Plurilingual and intercultural education' is a holistic concept that has an impact on all areas of education policy and practice. Setting out to foster the development of integrated linguistic repertoires in which languages interrelate and interact, it takes explicit account of and seeks to bring into interaction with one another:

i. the languages and cultures that learners bring with them, including sign, minority and migrant languages and cultures;

ii. the language/s of schooling, which vary in genre and terminology according to the different subjects taught and differ in significant ways from the language of informal everyday communication;

iii. regional, minority and other languages and cultures that are part of the curriculum;

iv. foreign languages (modern and classical);

v. other languages and cultures that are not present in school and not part of the official curriculum. “(Council of Europe 2022, p. 13)

Further information

Among the many functions of plurilingual and intercultural education, the same text stresses that it is “essential to education for democratic culture”, “respects and values linguistic and cultural diversity” and “supports the inclusion of disadvantaged and marginalised learners on an equal footing with other learners”.

Pluralistic approaches to languages and cultures constitute a global tool for the implementation of plurilingual and intercultural education (Candelier, 2019).

“Plurilingual and pluricultural competence refers to the ability to use languages for the purposes of communication and to take part in intercultural interaction, where a person, viewed as a social agent has proficiency, of varying degrees, in several languages and experience of several cultures. This is not seen as the superposition or juxtaposition of distinct competences, but rather as the existence of a complex or even composite competence on which the user may draw.” (CEFR, p. 168).

Plurilingual competence involves “the ability to call flexibly upon an interrelated, uneven, plurilinguistic repertoire” (Council of Europe 2020: 30). According to the CEFR (Council of Europe 2001), plurilingual competence may involve (among others) the ability to:

• switch from one language to another;
• express oneself in one language and understand the other;
• call upon the knowledge of a number of languages to understand a text;
• bring the whole of their linguistic equipment into play;
• play with alternative forms of expression in different languages;
• mediate across languages.

“Plurilingual and pluricultural competence refers to the ability to use languages for the purposes of communication and to take part in intercultural interaction, where a person, viewed as a social agent has proficiency, of varying degrees, in several languages and experience of several cultures. This is not seen as the superposition or juxtaposition of distinct competences, but rather as the existence of a complex or even composite competence on which the user may draw.” (CEFR, p. 168)

“Plurilingual and pluricultural competence refers to the ability to use languages for the purposes of communication and to take part in intercultural interaction, where a person, viewed as a social agent has proficiency, of varying degrees, in several languages and experience of several cultures. This is not seen as the superposition or juxtaposition of distinct competences, but rather as the existence of a complex or even composite competence on which the user may draw.

The customary approach is to present learning a foreign language as an addition, in a compartmentalised way, of a competence to communicate in a foreign language to the competence to communicate in the mother tongue. The concept of plurilingual and pluricultural competence tends to:

• move away from the supposed balanced dichotomy established by the customary L1/L2 pairing by stressing plurilingualism where bilingualism is just one particular case;
• consider that a given individual does not have a collection of distinct and separate competences to communicate depending on the languages he/she knows, but rather a plurilingual and pluricultural competence encompassing the full range of the languages available to him/her;
• stress the pluricultural dimensions of this multiple competence but without necessarily suggesting links between the development of abilities concerned with relating to other cultures and the development of linguistic communicative proficiency.”

The plurilingual approach values and draws upon learners’ linguistic trajectories and funds of knowledge to boost their capacity to learn the target language and to develop their attitude of linguistic sensitivity and curiosity. The plurilingual approach allows and encourages a conscious and targeted use of multiple languages in the class.

Example

“Plurilingual and pluricultural competence refers to the ability to use languages for the purposes of communication and to take part in intercultural interaction, where a person, viewed as a social actor has proficiency, of varying degrees, in several languages and experience of several cultures. This is not seen as the superposition or juxtaposition of distinct competences, but rather as the existence of a complex or even composite competence on which the social actor may draw”.

Definition

The notion of plurilingual competence stands for the full range of an individual’s ability to express themselves in and across the different languages which form part of their linguistic repertoire. This includes phenomena of plurilingual discourse such as code-switching, and the notion of partial competences in different languages or varieties.

Comment

The term plurilingualism is in general use to refer to the entire linguistic repertoire of individuals, while multilingualism, traditionally a more widely used term in English, is used for the (mere) coexistence of more than one language in any given context (e.g. a society, a country). A similar distinction can be made between pluriculturalism, the extent to which individuals may identify with different cultural backgrounds (e.g. heritages), and multiculturalism, the coexistence of different cultures within a society. The notion of intercultural competence (see below) goes one step further than pluriculturalism, though, in that it involves the ability “to experience and analyse cultural otherness” (Language Policy Division 2009: 6).

An individual’s capacity to call upon the different resources represented by his/her knowledge and skills in different languages in order to handle as effectively as possible the communication tasks with which he/she is confronted. The levels of competence in the different languages may be unbalanced, but they complement one another to form a single competence which should be built upon and of which it is important to be fully aware.