This programme supports Member states that are planning to integrate a plurilingual and intercultural dimension into their education system, at all levels and for all learners, in or outside the school system according to the principles that have been developed by the “Guide for the development and implementation of curricula for plurilingual and intercultural education” (Council of Europe 2016).
Recently, the "Companion Volume" of the CEFR ("Companion Volume", Council of Europe, 2018) has introduced descriptors that also refer to these dimensions and, therefore, many questions arise:
How can the objectives of plurilingual and intercultural education - especially those mentioned in the "Companion Volume" - be achieved? How to define the required competencies by introducing all their dimensions (educational, cognitive, linguistic, cultural dimensions; contribution to the development of learning competence...)? How can they be taken into account in the curriculum? What are the school subjects concerned? How can teachers be trained in this perspective?
The range of instruments developed by the FREPA team over the past several years provides answers for learners of all ages, from the youngest to adults, for all types of educational institutions and concerning both the languages frequently taught and minority languages.
Plurilingual and intercultural education does not replace existing language learning. It completes and facilitates language learning by helping learners to establish links with what they already know or can already do, giving them confidence and motivation to learn..
- teachers of languages and other subjects;
- teacher trainers;
- curriculum developers;
- textbook writers;
- policy makers, decision takers.
Results and benefits
The immediate result/benefit will be that the participating education professionals are supported in their effort to review existing practice in (language) teaching and to identify areas where materials and approaches presented by the team will be of use.
The impact/long term-benefit will be that
- the need for coherent development of plurilingual and intercultural education is understood and widely accepted by relevant stakeholders;
- priorities are set for areas of development and
- practical instruments are made available to implement the new approaches.