Languages as resources: intercultural and inclusive language education at the BRICS scenario

Abstract

The need to develop language policies capable of resizing the role of languages and their value as a resource in the 21st century has been a central issue in contemporary discussions in different forums in the field of the humanities. In this scenario, understanding languages as resources means giving language education a leading role, since it is one of the privileged strategies for the promotion of information, knowledge and social inclusion for all people, in an equitable and democratic way. Given this, it is necessary to design language education on a new basis, reshaping approaches and principles that constitute it, in order to incorporate it necessary elements for a more effective intervention in multicultural and multilingual societies. To this end, I will discuss three central aspects that constitute important axes for the construction of different approaches to contemporary language education: a) language conceptions and languages as resources and their impacts on the constitutive elements of the process and on the practices of language teaching and learning; b) intercultural approach as a means of intervention and construction of educational experience; c) Digital technologies and their role in promoting free and open language access. To illustrate the discussion, I will present two ongoing projects. The first, already implemented and consolidated, is the project for the promotion and teaching of Portuguese within the scope of the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP) and developed by the International Institute of the Portuguese Language (IILP); the second, still being implemented, aims to promote the teaching of the four official languages of the BRICS, Portuguese, English, Chinese and Russian. Both projects using digital technologies as a privileged environment for access to free and quality language education.