The Differences Between Policy and Practice of Multilingualism in the European Context

Abstract

This paper deals with the differences between language policy at the European level and de facto practices at the national level. The findings are derived from the Language Rich Europe project, which is financed by the British Council and the European Commission to promote knowledge sharing about good policy and practice in language learning and teaching across Europe. The project evolved as a result of (1) the need to exchange effective practices in enhancing intercultural dialogue and social inclusion through language learning and teaching; (2) the need for greater European cooperation on improving language policies and practices; and (3) the lack of awareness of the Council of Europe and the European Commission recommendations regarding language policies and practices for promoting language learning and linguistic diversity and the member states’ performance against these recommendations. Making use of a large network of experts and partners from 24 different countries and regions, we have conducted an analysis of language policies and practices in Europe, comparing them to selected European Commission and Council of Europe recommendations. The project is co-financed by the European Commission as a part of its Lifelong Learning Programme, and is managed by the British Council with supervision from a steering group made up of partner organisations. Over 30 partners from across Europe are involved in the project, contributing both funding and expertise. The Babylon Centre for the Study of Superdiversity at Tilburg University led the research. The survey covers 15 EU member states: Austria, Bulgaria, Denmark, Estonia, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain and the United Kingdom, in addition to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Switzerland and Ukraine. In Spain additional research was conducted in Catalonia and the Basque Country. In the UK, research was conducted separately for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. In the Netherlands additional research was conducted in Friesland. The results are published as an official project report, Trends in Policies and Practices for Multilingualism in Europe, edited by Guus Extra and Kutlay Yagmur and published in 18 European national and regional languages as well as in Turkish and Arabic as major immigrant languages in Europe, in both book form (Cambridge University Press 2012) and as part of an interactive website: http://www.language-rich.eu/materials-media. Further, key recommendations for policy makers at the regional, country and European level were presented at the European Parliament in March 2013. Given the space limitations, only the findings related to ‘languages in official documents and databases’ and ‘languages in pre-primary, primary and secondary education’ are addressed in this paper.