The action-orientated approach focuses on what learners can do in the language(s) concerned, on acting in the language in the pursuit of a personally meaningful goal, rather than learning about the language with decontextualized exercises. It promotes syllabuses based on tasks, ideally a succession of collaborative tasks contextualised with a scenario, rather than linear syllabuses based on grammatical progression. The concrete situated nature of the collaborative learning activities develops learner agency and responsibility and facilitates the inclusion of all learners. The action-oriented approach has been pioneered by the CEFR and CEFR Companion Volume....

“Additional language” refers to any language a person learns after their home language(s) (Rec. Definition 3h). These languages are often called “foreign” or “regional” languages, but the expression “additional languages” can be confusing in diverse societies. It is important that learners from an early age acquire skills in at least two languages in addition to the language(s) of schooling – and their home language if these are not the same. Education systems should also offer teaching in more than just English, to support real plurilingual development...

“Assessment” is the process of purposefully and systematically gathering and interpreting information about competences gained in relation to learning objectives in order to monitor progress, diagnose difficulties, measure achievement and offer opportunities to reflect on learning. In both policy and practice, different forms of assessment are fundamental to evaluate learners’ progress in achieving plurilingual and intercultural competences and to encourage their critical reflection, agency and autonomy (CM/Rec 2022)1, Principles iv – vi). Assessment literacy is an important aspect of teacher education (CM/Rec 2022)1, measures c vii) ...

Plurilingual and intercultural education depends not only on teachers’ skills but also on their attitudes and beliefs about linguistic and cultural diversity. Teachers need support to recognise the educational value of diversity, understand how it shapes classroom learning, and reflect on how their own linguistic and cultural backgrounds influence their practice. Without this awareness, learning activities risk remaining superficial, and the full potential of plurilingual and intercultural education cannot be realised...

Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) is a form of bilingual and plurilingual education in which learners study curricular subjects through an additional language, different from the language of schooling. CLIL is part of a continuum of approaches ranging from immersive models where learning takes place largely through an additional language to more flexible forms of bilingual teaching.

In line with the Recommendation, these approaches combine language learning and subject learning, strengthen learners’ plurilingual repertoires and foster intercultural understanding. They also require explicit attention to the language dimension of all subjects, including subject-specific discourse genres, academic practices and ways of building knowledge (see also toolbox entry “The language(s) schooling”). By integrating cognitive challenge with language development, they enable learners to engage in critical and creative thinking across disciplines...

Complex learning environments (CLE) refer to vibrant spaces where many languages and cultures thrive. CLEs involve dynamic real-world interactions and cater to diversity by being adaptable. Students are not forced to fit the room or activity; the room or activity changes (physically, socially, and digitally) to fit the student. Digital tools empower learners to step outside the physical classroom walls, giving them access to real-world resources and opportunities to experience different language encounters not available locally. Learning languages is about connecting with different cultures in a meaningful way. By integrating different technologies, including AI, different learning spaces and multimodal, adaptable learning activities, CLEs address the reality of today’s classrooms, i.e. their linguistic and cultural heterogeneity and the resulting need for flexible teaching methods. In this way, CLEs reflect and best prepare learners for the real plurilingual, complex world outside the classroom...

A curriculum is a coherent set of plans and practices with regard to educational vision, goals, content, learning activities, learning environment, assessment, grouping, learning time, role of the teacher, and learning resources with reference to a learning period. All elements of a curriculum are interrelated to operationalise an educational vision. A curriculum can be considered in terms of plans, implementation, experiences and outcomes. It is a multi-layered system involving various levels from international guidelines and national policy through school and classroom to the individual learner, with all levels influencing each other. A curriculum must meet learners’ needs (relevance); be logically structured into a coherent whole (consistency); be usable in the situation for which it is intended (usability); and lead to the desired outcomes for learners (effectiveness)...

The Recommendation CM/Rec (20022)1 sees the democratic classroom as a key facilitator of plurilingual and intercultural education and a learning environment which encourages learner autonomy, fosters critical thinking and values the learner’s voice.

A democratic classroom can be characterised by:

• equal opportunities: all learners are encouraged to participate actively and have equivalent access to resources and support;
• respect for diversity: different languages, cultures, and perspectives are acknowledged and valued by both teachers and learners in the classroom;
• shared governance: learners participate in negotiating and making decisions including about learning activities and classroom rules;
• learner agency: learners can reflect critically on their own learning and make meaningful and informed choices about their own priorities and ways of learning, competences essential for effective (life-long) learning;
• collaborative learning: learning activities encourage powerful, autonomous group learning opportunities, which involve critical reflection, negotiation, peer evaluation and mutual support.

Developing a democratic culture in classrooms needs to be part of – and will be enhanced by – a democratic culture in the whole school. Teachers who work in an environment where there is collaborative reflection on the attitudes, values and skills intrinsic to democratic culture, where different opinions are listened to and there are positive views of diversity are more likely to develop the attitudes and skills necessary to establish such a culture in their classrooms...

Home languages are understood as the languages used for communication in the home and those acquired in early childhood, including sign languages. The term refers to any language or languages used in a domestic context. The Council of Europe advises that these languages, especially those spoken by linguistic minorities or migrants, should be acknowledged in schools as an integral part of learners’ linguistic repertoires. Plurilingual and intercultural education benefits from recognising and valuing home languages within the school community.

These languages can be incorporated into the school environment by encouraging their use throughout the school, by offering them as subjects of study (e.g. in CLIL) or as media of instruction in other subjects, and by drawing on them as resources for learning additional languages. They can also be included within initiatives that link formal and non-formal learning, in which learners and their families are invited to participate actively...

“Intercultural competence” is the complex set of attitudes, knowledge, skills and values on which we draw when we engage in intercultural dialogue; and intercultural dialogue is how culturally diverse societies create and maintain social cohesion. The learning and teaching of intercultural competence are essential for democratic culture.

As an educational goal, intercultural competence is closely linked to plurilingualism because it enables plurilingual individuals to engage with the cultural diversity they encounter when they use the different languages in their repertoire. Intercultural competence allows them to respond to cultural diversity with respect, argue for and justify their own point of view responsibly and sensitively, and subject to critical scrutiny aspects of their own culture that are commonly taken for granted.  (CM Rec (2022)1, Explanatory Memorandum, 3.d)...

Languages of schooling are the dominant languages used for teaching and learning, for extra-curricular activities, and for the management of educational institutions. This concept includes both language taught as a subject in its own right, such as literacy and literature, and the language used to teach other subjects such as history, mathematics, or science. In many contexts, the language of schooling is a national or officially recognised regional language, and sign languages may be used in the education of deaf learners.

Language is central to the acquisition of knowledge and to success in school. It is therefore essential that all learners develop sufficient proficiency in the languages used to teach all subjects, since these differ from everyday language. Education prepares individuals to participate actively in democratic society, and this depends in part on developing appropriate competences in the languages of schooling as well as in other languages included in the curriculum...

Plurilingual and intercultural education considers learners as social agents who are empowered through the development of the following abilities:

Learner autonomy: the ability to take charge of one’s own learning, identifying needs, setting goals, planning learning, managing their study and monitoring results, all in a process of learning to learn.

Learner agency: the willingness and ability to make choices, take and act on decisions, evaluate their outcomes and, as a result, reflect and self-regulate.

Critical thinking: the ability to analyse, evaluate, and interpret information logically and objectively. It involves questioning assumptions, considering different perspectives, and making reasoned judgments to solve problems or understand complex ideas...

Mediation often refers to activities that facilitate communication between individuals or groups who, for whatever reason, are unable to communicate with each other directly. More generally, mediation refers to the role of schools and education systems in supporting learners’ trajectories by reducing distances related to language, knowledge, social belonging and perceived otherness (Rec 2022, p. 13).

In the classroom, mediation tends to arise spontaneously when groups of learners use all the languages at their disposal to engage with, explore and explain curriculum or discipline content. Such activities typically lead to mediation in an extended sense, embracing a wide range of collaborative procedures by which teachers and learners negotiate diverse attitudes and beliefs as they construct knowledge. Mediation in this broader sense, whether within or between languages, is fundamental to teaching approaches that aim to harness and extend learners’ individual and collective agency and create a democratic classroom culture by making space for the learner’s voice. Rec. 2022 EM - 3.e. (p.23)...

Everyone has the potential to develop a plurilingual repertoire. This repertoire consists of the full range of interrelated language skills a person can draw on to communicate effectively in multilingual situations.

A plurilingual repertoire encompasses all the languages an individual is able to use. These languages may have been learned in different settings, such as at home, through social interaction, or in school, and they may serve different purposes, including communication with family, interaction with neighbours, or study in educational contexts. In some situations, two or more languages may be used simultaneously. Plurilingual repertoires are dynamic because the languages within them influence and interact with one another, and they are fluid in that they evolve throughout a person’s life. It is also normal for individuals to have varying levels of competence across the different languages in their repertoire...

Professional development primarily concerns providing teachers with time and opportunities to reflect on their practice and to develop the awareness, competences, and approaches needed to implement plurilingual and intercultural education effectively. As the Recommendation states, institutions responsible for initial and in-service teacher education should focus on pedagogies that support inclusive plurilingual and intercultural learning across the whole curriculum.  Opportunities should also be provided for school principals, directors, managers and other staff to engage in collaborative reflection within the institution...

A whole-school approach is a holistic way of creating language-aware schools and learning environments in which languages play a central role across all aspects of school life.  Through the creation of coherent curricular policies and environments, all members of the school community work together to realise the vision of plurilingual and intercultural education...