NPLD weekly briefing on multilingualism

Date: 18/11/2016

• Tacking today’s challenges together: new material on role of languages in education and for immigrant integration published by the Council of Europe 

The Council of Europe has recently published two factsheets on two key issues regarding languages: the role of language in today’s education systems and the importance of language for the successful integration of migrants and refugees. Both factsheets contain links to resources, reports and materials on these two issues. IN terms of immigrant integration the Council of Europe is preparing a toolkit to provide guidance and easy-to-use teaching materials for volunteers working with refugees

Click here to read the factsheet on the linguistic integration of adult migrants

Click here to read the factsheet on the importance of languages in the school system

• Multilingualism in Switzerland. What place for English and the four official languages in education?

The Swiss Federal Government has recently unveiled plans to ensure that all cantons of Switzerland ensure adequate provision of the four official languages of Switzerland: German, French, Italian and Ladin. This decision has been taken due to the increasing presence of English in school, especially in the German-speaking cantons.

Click here to read more

• Multilingualism in Society, Politics and Education. International Conference at the University of Freiburg, 16-17 March 2017

This Conference aims to gather the most relevant stakeholders – researchers, heads of language centres, higher education representatives and decision makers in governments and institutions to discuss the role of languages – and which languages – in schooling, higher education and in society as well as the political and policy responses to managing multilingual societies.

Click here for more information

• Language, Mobility and Belonging Conference. International Conference organized by the University of Oxford, 25-27 March 2017

International Conference aimed at discussing the role of languages in an increasingly mobile population as well as the feelings of belonging in context of migration and global movements. Among other issues, the conference will revolve around the following issues:

• How are national and transnational forms of belonging constructed through legal language? And to what extent can the multiplicity of voices be secured in state-sponsored language policy?
• How do the linguistic practices of different groups challenge existing categories of belonging and how do they participate in the creation of new socio-cultural formations?
• How do forms of ‘citizenship education’ and ‘naturalisation’ language policies further or impede the development of polities within and across borders?

Click here to find out more

Font: Vicent Climent-Ferrando. NPLD’s Policy Advisor. Rue de la Pépinière | Boomkwekerijstraat 1, 3. B-1000. Brussels. Twitter: @NPLDeu