Multilingual education in the light of diversity: Lessons learned

Abstract

While multilingualism and diversity have always been an integral part of Europe, they also became important characteristics of many national education systems in the past two decades. The linguistic diversity of modern classrooms is shaped by 1. the presence of historical non-dominant language groups, which are being revitalised; 2. The growing mobility between countries which results in a variety of new languages and skills in the classrooms; and 3. changing educational and labour market demands that favour multilingual and multi-literate citizens. Consequently, more and more young learners are growing up with several cultures and languages and may experience multiple transitions between different school systems and school languages. Raised in changing multilingual and multicultural environments, individuals may no longer identify themselves with one language and culture but rather with a range of languages and cultures acquired in different situations. In the context of these social transformations, multilingualism is becoming more a way of life, rather than a problem to be solved. Therefore, the task of education stakeholders is to create school systems that bridge these various linguistic and cultural realities and support the mobility of the pupils across Europe. Schools need to provide an education, which supports the development of learners’ linguistic and cultural resources, whilst balancing these at the same time with social, cultural and political demands. The challenge at hand is therefore, to offer a multilingual schooling system that supports the inclusion of all pupils in which they can develop their full potential linguistically, cognitively and emotionally.