Plurilingualism in Higher Education – Opportunities

and Challenges

Waldemar Martyniuk Language Policy DivisionCouncil of EuropeStrasbourg, France

Council of Europe

• intergovernmental organisation • set up 1949 by 10 member states• in August 2005, the Council of

Europe has 46 member states• based in Strasbourg, France• main bodies:

– Committee of Ministers– Parliamentary Assembly – Congress of Local and Regional

Authorities of Europe – European Court of Human Rights.

Guiding principles: democracy, human rights and rule of law.

How it works?• Dialogue between its main bodies

• Secretariat is divided into directorates covering main activities

• Results take many forms: conventions, recommendations, conferences or reports

CONGRESS OF LOCAL AND REGIONAL

AUTHORITIES OF EUROPE

800 MILLION EUROPEANS

PARLIAMENTS GOVERNMENTS LOCAL AND REGIONAL AUTHORITIES

PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY

COMMITTEE OF MINISTERS

RECOMMENDATIONS

DECISIONSCONVENTIONS

CONSULTATIONS

SECRETARIAT

RESULTS

RECOMMENDATIONS

CONSULTATIONS

Council of Europe and Education

• Directorate General IV: Education, Culture and Heritage, Youth and Sport

• 2001: European Year of Languages• 26 September: European Day of

Languages• 2005: European Year of Citizenship

through Education

Council of Europe and Higher Education

• The European Higher Education Area (EHEA)

• Recognition of qualifications• Higher Education governance• Public responsibility for higher

education• Bilateral and regional cooperation

Council of Europe and the EHEA

• European Cultural Convention of 1954 - adopted as geographical framework for the EHEA

• Lisbon Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications concerning Higher Education in European Region (1997)

• Consultative member of the Bologna Follow-Up Group

• „a bridge” between „Bologna” and „non-Bologna” countries

Council of Europe and Languages

• 1971-1977: Unit-credit scheme• Language for Communication 1981-

1988• 1989-1997: Language learning for

European Citizenship• 1998- : Plurilingual Education in Europe • European Charter for Regional and

Minority Languages (1992)• Language Policy Forum (2004): Global

Approaches to Plurilingual Education

Council of Europe Language Education

Policies aim to promote:

• plurilingualism• linguistic diversity• mutual understanding• democratic citizenship• social cohesion

Guiding principles for language learning

• Language learning is for all• Language learning is for the

learner• Language learning is for

intercultural communication• Language learning is for life

Guiding principles for language teaching

• Language teaching is co-ordinated• Language teaching is coherent and

transparent

• Language learning and teaching are dynamic lifelong processes

A plurilingual person living in a multilingual society is able

to draw on:

• a repertoire of languages and language varieties

• competences of different kinds and levels within the repertoire

Plurilingual education promotes:

• An awareness of why and how one learns the language one has chosen

• An awareness of and the ability to use transferable skills in language learning

• A respect for the plurilingualism of others and the value of languages and varieties irrespective of their perceived status in society

Plurilingual education promotes:

• A respect for the cultures embodied in languages and the cultural identities of others

• An ability to perceive and mediate the relationships which exist among languages and cultures

• A global integrated approach to language education in the curriculum

Recommendations to the member states (1998):

• Encourage all Europeans to achieve a degree of communicative ability in a number of languages

• Diversify the languages on offer and set objectives appropriate to each language

• Encourage teaching programmes at all levels that use flexible approach and give them appropriate recognition in national qualification systems

Recommendations to the member states (1998):

• Encourage the use of foreign languages in the teaching of non-linguistic subjects

• Support the application of communication and information technologies to disseminate teaching and learning materials for all European national and regional languages

Recommendations to the member states (1998):

• Support the development of links and exchanges with institutions and persons at all levels of education to offer the possibility of authentic experience of the language and culture of others

• Facilitate lifelong learning of languages

Institutions

• Language Policy Division (Strasbourg, France)

• European Centre for Modern Languages(Graz, Austria)

Policy instruments and initiatives

• Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR)

• Reference Level Descriptions for national/regional languages

• Manual for Relating Language Examinations to the CEFR

• European Language Portfolio (ELP)• Guide for the Development of Language

Education Policies + studies• Language Education Policy Profiles

Implementing plurilingualism in Higher Education means to:

• Raise awareness of the value of being plurilingual in a multilingual European society

• Encourage all students and staff to learn languages

• Encourage students and staff to learn a variety of languages

• Use strategic planning and adopt a global, coherent language policy

Implementing plurilingualism in Higher Education means to:

• Promote and support intercultural mobility of students and staff

• Attract and integrate international students

• Provide good quality CLIL in a variety of languages

• Encourage and educate both language teachers and language students to become plurilingual – not just bi-lingual

Implementing plurilingualism in Higher Education means to:

• Secure good quality of language instruction

• Increase the number of languages on offer

• Support independent learning• Support co-operative learning• Make wise use of technology and

media

Implementing plurilingualism in Higher Education means to:

• Cater for individual needs• Adopt a „positive”, „added value”

approach• Integrate out-of-school experience

and proficiency• Teach how to learn languages• Support learner autonomy

Implementing plurilingualism in Higher Education means to:

• Provide fair and transparent assessment• Secure comparability and compatibility

of outcomes • Use a common framework of reference• Set clear and achievable objectives• Value all linguistic and intercultural

competences, even at modest level

More information on the Council of Europe

language education policies, initiatives and instruments:

www.coe.int/lang

www.coe.int/portfolio www.ecml.at

Thank you for your kind attention!