Glossaire multilingue de termes clés de l’éducation aux langues

The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) presents the language user/learner as a “social agent”, acting in the social world, co-constructing meaning in interaction and exerting agency in the learning process. This implies a real paradigm shift in both course planning and teaching, promoting learner engagement and autonomy. Seeing learners as social agents implies involving them in the learning process.

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

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).

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.

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

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

In der Soziologie und Philosophie ist Agency die Fähigkeit einer Entität (einer Person oder einer anderen Entität, eines Menschen oder eines Lebewesens im Allgemeinen), in jeder Umgebung zu handeln. Eine handelnde Person (Agent) engagiert sich in der sozialen Struktur. Agency kann unbewusstes, unwillkürliches oder willkürliches Verhalten sein, Handlung mit einem bestimmten Zweck (vorsätzliche Handlung).

Schlüsselwörter

• Handlung
• Handlung/Aktion
• Sich in der sozialen Struktur engagieren
• Handelnde Person (Agent)
• Bewusste oder vorsätzliche Tätigkeit

Under review

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.

The systematic process of analysing the situation before the curriculum is developed effectively. A thorough analysis of individual as well as collective characteristics in order to optimize the planning of learning and teaching. Analysis of Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats – so called SWOT analysis – is an example of situation analysis.

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

Vulnerable learners are students who “are dependent on school to help them understand and learn the wide spectre of cultural codes embedded in formal language use” (Fleming 2009: 21)^[1]; in this, they are different from the group of children who “benefit from backgrounds which automatically offer socializing into academic uses of language” (ibid.).

Benachteiligte Schülerinnen und Schüler können nur in der Schule das breite Spektrum der kulturellen Codes im Kontext des formalen Sprachgebrauchs lernen (Fleming 2009: 21)^[1]. Darin unterscheiden sie sich von der Gruppe der Kinder, die davon profitieren, in anderen (familiären) Zusammenhängen eine Sozialisation in den akademischen Sprachgebrauch zu erfahren (ibid.).

See Strategies (learning to learn)

Under review

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

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

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

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.

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

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.

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.

The socio-interactional approach places social interactions at the heart of its definition of tasks undertaken by learners. The overall aim is to train learners to take into account these social interactions when they act and interact in the target language. They can then realise how important these interactions are and thus improve their communicative competence. We believe that learners need to undertake tasks where they are exposed to a variety of social interactions (especially real-world tasks) in order to develop a real ability to communicate.

Under review

In Überarbeitung

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.

Combining social and cultural factors; in language learning, for example awareness of level of formality and politeness, register, expressions for particular situations.

A regulatory mechanism which establishes, monitors, assesses, maintains and improves quality processes within an institution on an ongoing basis. Quality assurance is performed during a project to help make sure the results meet the quality standards.

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

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.

A process during which students reflect on and assess the quality of their own work and learning, judge the degree to which they reflect explicitly stated goals or criteria, and identify strengths and weaknesses in their work.

Self-assessment is a judgement made by the learner on his or her own performance, knowledge, strategies etc.

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 to successfully complete the task at hand (including digital resources);
• 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.

Under review

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.

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.

Under review

“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.

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

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.

Under review

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.

“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.”

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.

A group of people with expertise in relevant areas, here regarding (language) curriculum structuring, implementation and evaluation.

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.

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

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.).

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.

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).

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

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).

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.”

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.

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

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.

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).

Under review

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

In Überarbeitung

1.1 „Unter mehrsprachiger und plurikultureller Kompetenz wird die Fähigkeit verstanden, das plurale Repertoire an sprachlichen und kulturellen Ressourcen für Kommunikationsbedürfnisse oder für die Interaktion mit Alterität zu mobilisieren und dieses Repertoire zu entwickeln.

Mehrsprachigkeit bezieht sich auf das Repertoire einer Person, bestehend aus Ressourcen, die in all diesen bekannten oder erlernten Sprachen und Kulturen erworben wurden (Unterrichtssprache, Regional- und Minderheitensprachen oder Migrationssprachen, moderne Fremdsprachen oder klassische Sprache); Multikulturalität bezieht sich auf die Fähigkeit, an vielen sozialen Gruppen und ihren Kulturen teilzunehmen.

Interkulturelle Kompetenz bezieht sich auf die Fähigkeit, Alterität und kulturelle Vielfalt zu erfahren, diese Erfahrung zu analysieren und davon zu profitieren. Die auf diese Weise entwickelte interkulturelle Kompetenz zielt darauf ab, Alterität besser zu verstehen, kognitive und affektive Verbindungen zwischen den Errungenschaften und Beiträgen einer neuen
Erfahrung der Alterität herzustellen, eine Vermittlung zwischen verschiedenen sozialen Gruppen zu ermöglichen und die allgemein berücksichtigten Aspekte zu hinterfragen, die als selbstverständlich innerhalb der eigenen Kulturgruppe und des eigenen Milieus gelten.“

1.2 Mehrsprachige und plurikulturelle Kompetenz wird definiert als die Fähigkeit, sprachlich zu kommunizieren und kulturell mit einer Person zu interagieren, die in unterschiedlichem Maße mehrere Sprachen beherrscht und in unterschiedlichem Maße Erfahrung mit mehreren Kulturen hat, und die in der Lage ist, dieses gesamte sprachliche und kulturelle Kapital zu verwalten.

Schlüsselwörter

Kompetenz, Sprachrepertoire, Kommunication, Sprachen, Unterrichtssprachen, Regionale Sprachen und Minderheitssprachen, Migrationssprachen, Moderne Fremdsprachen und klassische Sprachen, Interkulturelle Interaktion, Alterität, Mediation

“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)

Concerns the functional use of linguistic resources; the ability to use language effectively in a contextually appropriate way.

Refers to the conditions for language use in social situations; the ability to use language appropriately in the given social context (level of formality, register, politeness conventions, etc.).

Competences of a general and transferable kind; acquired competences and skills that can be applied in new surroundings, e.g. language awareness, communicative strategies and learning to learn.

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

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

Under review

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 competences

En cours de révision

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)

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

Defined criteria that are understood and shared by users of different kinds.

A descriptive, educational planning document that defines the content of a course. It usually includes a clear indication of the objectives and expected outcomes, as well as the time to be allocated to main elements.

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

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.

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.

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.

Für weite Verbreitung sorgen.

Verbreitung von Informationen über aktuelle Entwicklungen in der Aus- und Weiterbildung von Lehrkräften, über effektive Kooperation zwischen Sprachenverbänden und über die Tätigkeit des EFSZ (Europäisches Fremdsprachenzentrum des Europarates) durch konkrete Maßnahmen (Arbeitsgruppen, Publikationen, Rundschreiben, Webseiten, Webfora) für interessierte Organisationen und Personen.

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.

Der Begriff „Dimension“ wird verwendet, um eine Unterkategorie eines „Bereichs“ zu bezeichnen. Jede Dimension veranschaulicht die Prinzipien, Ansätze, Verfahren oder konkreten Aktionen, die für die Umsetzung des jeweiligen „Bereichs“ in der Schulpraxis stehen. Sie ermöglichen die Entwicklung eines schulumfassenden Ansatzes zur Förderung der Schulsprache(n). Die „Dimensionen“ werden im Tool zur Selbstevaluation in Form von Aussagen dargestellt, die von den verschiedenen Interessengruppen bewertet werden.

Beispiel: Der Bereich „Bewusstsein für die sprachliche Dimension“ umfasst die folgenden drei „Dimensionen“:

• Betonung des sprachlichen Lernens,
• Als Sprachvorbilder agieren,
• Die Bedeutung von herausfordernden Aufgaben.

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)

Das folgende Zitat hebt hervor, was mit der sprachlichen Dimension in den Fächern gemeint ist:

„[…] jedes Fach in der Schule ist verantwortlich für das Erreichen der Ziele des betreffenden Fachs in Bezug auf den Wissensaufbau und auf die Schaffung von Bedeutung im vollen Sinne des Wortes, aber auch in Bezug auf eine erfolgreiche Schulbildung und eine qualitativ hochwertige Bildung im Allgemeinen. Sprachliche Anforderungen wie das Lesen und Verstehen von Sachtexten, das Hören von Erklärungen, das mündliche Zusammenfassen oder Beantworten von Fragen und die Präsentation von Ergebnissen stehen im Zusammenhang mit dem fachlichen Lernen und werden in jedem Unterricht praktiziert. Die sprachliche Dimension im Lehren und Lernen von Fachgebieten ist ebenso bedeutsam wie die Sprache als Fach selbst.“ (Beacco et al. 2016: S. 21; Übersetzung aus dem Englischen)

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

Presence of different language varieties in the same geographical area.

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.

Im WEGWEISER bezieht sich der Begriff „Bereich“ auf die neun thematischen Aspekte, die eine zentrale Rolle für die Gestaltung und Entwicklung einer Schulkultur spielen, wenn eine schulumfassende Förderung der Schulsprache(n) angestrebt wird. Die „Bereiche“ überschneiden sich teilweise und hängen eng zusammen. Die „Bereiche“ sind wie folgt betitelt: Bewusstsein für die sprachliche Dimension, Entwicklung von sprachlichem Wissen und Fertigkeiten, Metasprachliches Bewusstsein, Rolle der Sprachen beim Lernen, Einstellungen zu Sprachen, Förderung des informellen Sprachenlernens, Sprachenressourcen in der Schule, Orientierung von neu ankommenden Schülerinnen und Schülern und Familien, und Fachliche Weiterbildung.

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.

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.