Convergences and divergences in the language policy of the Council of Europe and the European Commission Jeroen Darquennes (Namur)

Convergences and divergences in the language policy of the Council

of Europe and the European Commission

Jeroen Darquennes (Namur)

Introduction

Language policy (based on Ricento 2000: 23)

a body of ideas, laws, regulations, rules and practices intended to bring about language change in a society, a group or a system.

may be realized at a number of levels, ranging from very formal documents and pronouncements (laws, decrees, ministerial directives, circular letters of school authorities, etc.) to more informal statements of intent (i.e. the discourse of language, politics and society).

Language policy at the level of the EC and the CoE

broad topic approach = restricted, preliminary, parsimonious

based on limited number of recent policy documents

based on own observations & literature bird’s eye-view background: existing theory on individual/

societal multilingualism

Structure

brief historical overview current policy trends related to individual /

societal multilingualism challenges (food for thought)

Historical overview

The early years

EEC CoEOfficial languages enjoy equal status (1958)

Language policy division (1957)

Democratisation of language learning for the mobility of persons and ideas

Use of language at the level of institutions (internal & external communication)

-focus on language learning / teaching (methods, approaches, curriculum, comparative tools such as the unit-credit system, ETL, …)- languages for all citizens (democratic citizenship)- strongly linked to development of applied linguistics (AILA)

The 1980s

EEC CoEIncreased emphasis on mobility programmes

Continued emphasis on language learning and teaching for communication

- < towards free movement of persons, goods, services and capital

- linked to language learning (launch of the Lingua Programme)

Increased attention for minority languages

Minority languages high on the agenda

- < direct election of EP (1979)

- Recommendation 928 (Charter)

- funding of EBLUL + Mercator

- Public hearing 1984

The 1990s

EEC/EU CoEFunding line for minority languages

Charter for Regional and Minority Languages (1992)

Maastricht Treaty (1992) stressing unity/diversity

Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (1995)

White Paper on Education and Traning – Towards the Learning Society (1995)

Establishment of the European Centre for Modern Languages (1994)

- Proficiency in 2 Community Languages next to MT

- Multilingualism as a cornerstone of the knowledge-based society

intercultural communication and plurilingualism = key policy goals

- Multilingualism as a factor of European identity and citizenship

development of reference instruments

Entering 2000

EU CoEEuropean Year of Languages (2001)

encourage / promote multilingualism & lifelong learningraise awareness of wealth & value of linguistic diversity

Lisbon Strategy (2001)- role of languages for competitiveness

Introduction of CEFR and the Language Portfolio + increased attention to language

Increased emphasis on CLIL

Barcelona summit (2002)- Agreement on MT + >2

Guide for the development of language education policies in Europe (draft version2002/2003)

Action Plan (2004-2006) reflect on challenges related to social cohesion and integration

EU CoETowards a more ‘coherent’ language policy (level of the EC)

further elaboration of plurilingual & pluricultural and intercultural education

- Figl: Framework Strategy … (2005)

- Orban: Multilingualism: An asset … (2008)

Materials for the implementation of the CEFR (related to language testing)

Working groups / platforms

- Business …

- High Level Group

- Amin Maalouf, civil society …

Joint declaration 2011 (10th anniversary European day of languages)

Joint declaration …

< informal collaboration < formal collaboration

Year of Languages ( Day of Languages) Agreement between EU and CoE in 2007 for

more cooperation (among other things in the field of education and culture)

Joint declaration ‘lists’ shared values and principles

Respect for linguistic diversity all languages (including less widely used and

taught, migrant & sign languages) Language learning for all

ability to understand & use several languages helps citizens to achieve full social and professional potential

Need to develop plurilingual and intercultural education

< increasing mobility, globalisation of the economy, changing economic trends

Joint declaration: ‘combined discourse’

Are indeed shared values, yet it is clear that …

EC: puts more emphasis on competitiveness, economy, ...

CoE: puts more emphasis on cohesion, democratic citizenship, …

current policy trends

In order to grasp trends: classical distinction between …

individual multilingualism

societal multilingualism

Individual multilingualism

Points of attention (cf. Mackey 2005)

Which languages / language varieties? How many? When, where and how acquired? In what order? How well are they known? How are they used?

Tried to find answers in …

EC’s ‘Framework strategy …’ (2005) & ‘Multilingualism: an asset’ (2008)

CoE’s documents on ‘plurilingual education’

EC CoEWhich? all languages

mutually unintelligible

all languages / language varieties

How many? MT +>2 individual plurilingual repertoires

When, where, how? - very early age- formal education (CLIL)- higher / adult education- business + leisure time- role of media & IT- in short: lifelong learning

- lifelong learning- emphasis on school (plurilingual education)

EC CoEOrder? down for

considerationyet: reference made to comparison of languages

plurilingualism as a competence (related to metalinguistic awareness, acquisition of metalinguistc competences enabling autonomous learning)

How well? no equal competences

no equal competences

practical skills mix (CEFR levels)

Use? comes down to ‘dynamic multilingualism’

covered by the concept of ‘plurilingualism’

Plurilingualism / Dynamic multilingualism means that persons ...

use their languages / language varieties ...

in different contexts for different purposes with different interlocutors

do not need the same level of competence in all situations, let alone all the skills

No need for symmetrical skills in all the languages belonging to one’s repertoire

Multilingual communication cannot only take place between people with identical repertoire but also between people with semi-identical or totally different repertoire

EC document (2008) stresses the possibility to rely on “linguistic nodes”

translators / interpreters professionals / amateurs

« To ease access to services and ensure smooth integration, some communities make basic necessary information available in different languages and rely on multilingual people to act as cultural mediators and interpreters. In particular, metropolitan areas and tourist resorts in Europe have gained considerable experience in coping with the need of foreigners who do not speak the local language. The Commission attaches great importance to this and will support the dissemination of good practices in this area. » (EC 2008: 6)

raises questions on ‘societal multilingualism’

Societal multilingualism

According to Mackey (2005) it covers …

Multilingual institutions

families, schools, companies, … organized by more structured forms of multilingualism

Multilingual communities

distribution, function, status of languages / language varieties

Issue of societal multilingualism is touched upon in consulted documents

‘institutions’: promotion of CLIL / plurilingual education in schools

‘communities’: endorse the need to promote European linguistic diversity (RMLs, immigrant languages) + recognize the transversal nature of multilingualism and need to find ways to manage linguistic (hyper)diversity

Role of the ECRML and the FCPNM at the CoE-level

What should be added …

no power to interfere with state affairs (field of languages & education)

take the trouble to develop policy guides (certainly at level of the CoE, increasingly so at level of the EC)

put considerable financial means at the disposal that can be used to develop initiatives that could contribute to the development of a multilingual society

Challenges

challenges

mainly to be understood as research challenges that could fuel future policy

Societal multilingualism

need to find clever ways of managing the linguistic (hyper)diversity in and beyond education

Jørgensen/ Kristiansen (2000: 167): role of sociolinguistics for the 21st century is “to formulate the agenda for the discussion über den Status und die Funktion der Volkssprachen. … More precisely die Aufgabe de la sociolinguistique sera de formuler les thèmes de discussion concerning linguistic rights in everyday practice.”

at least two challenges (related to ‘language conflict’):

find clever ways of remodelling the role of languages in the administrative functioning of member states that were mostly given shape in the era of nationalisation

think about / rethink the role of multilingualism in the life of the population of a state – a population that in very broad terms can be subdivided into the majority and the (indiginous, immigrant, affluent) minority/ies.

Who is supposed to adapt his/her language use to whom, in which domains of (private, semi-official, official) language use, why, and in which way?

No ‘one size fits all’ answer. Catalogue of solutions?

The EC’s MT +>2 objective

‘theory’ vs. real life less than half of the EU’s inhabitants know two

languages next to their mother tongue most dominating ‘foreign’ language is English

(which seems to hamper the learning of other second languages, cf. Kelly 2010)

blame English or use English (L3 acquisition, trilingual education)?

(further?) attune CLIL and Plurilingual Education?

…

To conclude

Many of the ideas expressed are in need of further elaboration

other policy documents need to be consulted

things need to be scrutinized in the light of other similar approaches

Contact

Pluri-LL – Groupe de Recherche sur le Plurilinguisme

Université de Namur

Rue de Bruxelles 61

B-5000 Namur

http://www.fundp.ac.be/lettres/pluri-ll/