Linguistic and Cultural Diversity in Language Education Through Plurilingualism: Linking the Theory into Practice

<p>The African Union has been committed to the development and promotion of African languages for a long time. This is in cognizance of the fact that, language is the DNA of culture and its vehicle of expression. The Languages Plan of Action which was first adopted in 1986 and reviewed in 2006 outlines clear goals to be achieved by member states in the promotion and recognition of African languages. The Plan for all its intents and purposes has good will for the development and use of African languages in critical social domains such as education, trade, government and media. The Policy Guide on the Integration of African Languages and Cultures into the Education systems adopted in 2010 and Aspirations 3 and 5 on Agenda 2063 are clear examples of such good intentions. On the other hand, practice continues to show very little, if any, improvement in the development and use of African languages in these critical domains. Scholars have explored several reasons why African languages continue to have low socio-economic status (Bamgbose (2011), Batibo (2013), Nyati-Ramahobo (2011), Chebanne, 2010). Globalization and urbanization have been described to be among the many factors responsible for this state of affairs. This paper aims to explore these two factors to see how they contribute to language under-utilization and the inherent loss of African languages. Are globalization and urbanization by nature detrimental to language diversity resulting in language loss? The paper concludes that urbanization and globalization are facilitators of language and cultural diversity. However, it is policy frameworks operating on and in Africa which shape values and attitudes against the use of African languages. These policy frameworks are politically driven by multi-national corporations for economic exploitation of Africa.</p>

Download Full-text

A Multiplurilingual Space for Language Education. How Can Teacher Education Respond to the Linguistic and Cultural Diversity in a Given Place?

Voces y Silencios Revista Latinoamericana de Educación ◽

10.18175/vys10.1.2019.07 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

pp. 80-98

Author(s):

Asunción Bes ◽

Sabine Erhart

Keyword(s):

Teacher Education ◽

Cultural Diversity ◽

Language Education

Download Full-text

Linguistic and Cultural Diversity in Language Education Through Plurilingualism: Linking the Theory into Practice

Handbook of Comparative Studies on Community Colleges and Global Counterparts - Springer International Handbooks of Education ◽

10.1007/978-3-319-38893-9_13-1 ◽

2016 ◽

pp. 1-17

Author(s):

Angelica Galante

Keyword(s):

Cultural Diversity ◽

Language Education

Download Full-text

Implications of Australia’s Bilingual Education of Aboriginal People

Theory and Practice in Language Studies ◽

10.17507/tpls.0607.18 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 6 (7) ◽

pp. 1460

Author(s):

Jie Li

Keyword(s):

Cultural Diversity ◽

Bilingual Education ◽

Language Policy ◽

Aboriginal People ◽

Language Planning ◽

Language Education ◽

Language Policies ◽

Education Policies ◽

The Past ◽

Language Problems

Australia, as a multicultural and multilingual country, has been highly appraised by international linguists and statesmen for its formulation and implementation of language policies. Over the past years, linguists, statesmen, educators and residents have been devoting themselves to the further improvement of language education policies and laws, and the implementation of bilingual education for Aboriginal people. They have gradually resolved language problems, and most importantly, preserved linguistic and cultural diversity. This has set a successful example for China to follow. Under such circumstance, the proposed research, based on sociolinguistic theories concerning language policy and language planning, makes implications, suggesting how our country should proceed from the actual situations to take more practical measures and formulate better policies.

Download Full-text

Veränderungen im Bereich des Lehrens und Lernens von Sprachen und deren Konsequenzen für die Aus- und Fortbildung von Fremdsprachenlehrerinnen

Neofilolog ◽

10.14746/n.2018.51.1.2 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 11-27

Author(s):

Hans-Jürgen Krumm

Keyword(s):

Foreign Language ◽

Cultural Diversity ◽

Family Relationships ◽

Language Education ◽

Language Instruction ◽

Foreign Languages ◽

Foreign Language Instruction ◽

Teaching Competence ◽

The World ◽

Almost All

The world is changing. Is the teaching of foreign languages also bound to change? The answer to the question is not about confirming that almost all learners have their smartphones now. After all, language teaching is not aimed at following all new fashion trends. The decisive factor is the fact that today's learners are different from those 10 or 15 years back. They are characterised by growing linguistic (and usually also cultural) diversity, their network of contacts with the world, family relationships and personal experiences are more diversified and colourful. Also, requirements towards them change: they need to be able to adapt to the rapidly developing world, the world of globalisation and of nationalistic tendencies. How can foreign language education contribute to their finding their place in a society of open borders, linguistic and cultural diversity, and new possibilities offered to each of them? In response to the question, the author encourages everyone to ponder on the following topics:How do learners contribute to the learning process and foreign language instruction: diversity as capitalPlurilingualism is the main principle of language education and school developmentAction-based vs. task-based: how autonomous can learners be?Learning on the Web: foreign languages are learnt not only during lessonsProfessional development and reflection as the essence of teaching competence in a contemporary school

Download Full-text