Introduction to Plurilingualism

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What is plurilingualism? 🧠

Plurilingualism is a key concept in language education that highlights the dynamic linguistic repertoire of individual learners and the fact that languages are not learned in isolation but all language knowledge, even if tiny, shapes learners’ linguistic profiles.

Plurilingualism is distinct from multilingualism, which considers languages in isolation, especially in society, because plurilingualism focuses on the flow in the use and learning of languages and because it goes hand in hand with pluriculturalism, as the linguistic and cultural dimensions are interrelated.The distinction between Multilingualism and Plurilingualism is a core message of the Common European Framework of References for Languages (CEFR), a document that supports language curriculum planning and fosters transparency and coherence in teaching, learning, and assessment throughout the world. In its new 2020 edition, the CEFR foregrounds plurilingual and pluricultural competences by providing specific scales of descriptors that can be used by teachers of different languages.

  1. To have a first idea of plurilingualism, please watch an 8-minute video by clicking on the link Plurilingualism (2023: Council of Europe) 
  2. Once you have watched it, please read this brief infosheet on plurilingualism and pluriculturalism:
    https://rm.coe.int/key-concepts-of-the-cefr-plurilingualism-and-pluriculturalism/1680a8696c

Now that you have an idea of the concept, you can decide to explore more on the plurilingualism/pluriculturalism and on practical applications by going to Plurilingual Pedagogical Practices

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