The erroneous use of L1 features, in constructing a foreign language, that do not belong to that language, e.g. in L1, a speaker says ‘I am thirsty’, whereas in L2, a native speaker would say, ‘I have thirst’.
Source: ECML resource website ELP implementation support (2004-2007)
Third and/or further foreign language which is not identical with the L2. The L2 and the experience of learning a first ‘foreign’ language seems to play a specific role in a learner’s language repertoire in being a kind of model for subsequent ‘foreign’ language learning. Plurilingual individuals tend to have varying degrees of competencies in their various ‘foreign’ languages so that there is justification for labelling the languages differently and not all as “L2”.
Source: ECML resource website Sign languages and the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (2016-2019)
Autochthonous = the original language spoken in a particular region / area.
Dominant = pertaining to the majority of people of a particular country.
Foreign = external, different from the spoken language of a particular nation.
Migrant = pertaining to people who have arrived in a foreign nation.
Minority = pertaining to only a part of the population of a particular country.
National = pertaining to a particular nation.
Official = chosen by the government to represent the whole nation.
Regional = pertaining to a particular region / area.
Second = pertaining to a particular nation, but not the first and not chosen as official.
Source: ECML resource website ELP implementation support (2004-2007)
“Systemic Functional Linguistics sees language as a means for learning about the world. It models learning as a process of making meaning, and language learning as building one’s meaning making potential to make meaning in particular contexts. Knowledge is viewed as meaning, a resource for understanding and acting on the world. All knowledge is constituted in semiotic systems with language as the most central.” (Mohan et al. 2010: 221).
Mohan B. & Leung C. & Slater T. (2010), “Assessing language and content: A functional perspective”, in Amos Paran, Sercu Lies (eds.), Testing the untestable in language education, Multilingual Matters, Clevedon, pp. 217-240.
Source: ECML resource website A pluriliteracies approach to teaching for learning (2012-2015)
This term denotes the communicative context in which individuals’ communicative, linguistic, pragmatic and sociolinguistic competences are called upon to perform communicative tasks (understanding written or oral texts, participating in oral exchanges, drafting a text, etc.). Based on the Council of Europe’s Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, a distinction is drawn between reception activities (oral and written comprehension) and production activities (spoken production, oral interaction, writing independently or in interaction).
Source: ECML resource website European portfolio for pre-primary educators (2012-2015)
The exercise of one’s communicative language competence in a specific domain in processing (receptively and/or productively) one or more texts/utterances in order to carry out a task.
Source: ECML resource website ELP implementation support (2004-2007)
language awakening
The term language awakening refers to teaching practices wherein part of the activities concern languages that the school does not intend to teach (which may or may not be the mother tongues of some pupils) (Candelier 2017).
Source: ECML resource website Fostering the plurilingual wellbeing of language teachers (2024-2026)
This approach to language education involves putting in place activities to stimulate observation, analysis and reflection in relation to a plurality of languages, including languages which are neither spoken nor being learnt by the children. It helps children to acquire positive, open-minded attitudes towards linguistic and cultural diversity and to feel confident about their own repertoires.
Source: ECML resource website European portfolio for pre-primary educators (2012-2015)
"[Language awareness is] concerned with fostering communicative ability, increasing people’s knowledge and sensitivity about how language is used in a variety of contexts and environments, and raising levels of positive, informed tolerance. (…) It seeks to promote the ability, through education, not only to use language effectively but also to assess the use and abuse of language in the context of everyday life; it emphasises what is appropriate rather than what is perceived to be correct or incorrect" (Harvey, 1988).
Harvey, P. (1988) Language awareness. English Today. The International Review of the English Language 13 (1), 23-26." "Language awareness is a broad term, and it may be appropriate to focus on different elements in different contexts. Hawkins (1999) sees language awareness as a ‘pentagon’ of five elements: mastering the mother tongue; language awareness in the curriculum; education of the ear; ouverture aux languages; and learning how to learn the foreign language.
In the publication, "Language and cultural awareness: practical ideas for classroom use" (Evans et al. 2005), Lamb identifies three main aims of language awareness programmes:
- Investigating language: developing an awareness of language
- Learning how to learn: developing an awareness of language learning
- Enjoying diversity: intercultural awareness and multilingualism
<br>
Evans, J., Wicksteed, K. and Chambers, P. (2005) Language and cultural awareness: practical ideas for classroom use. (London: Specialist Schools and Academies Trust).
Hawkins, E.W. (1999) Foreign Language Study and Language Awareness. Language Awareness 8 (3&4), 124-142."
"Twenty-five years ago, in the UK, the different kinds of language teacher (of foreign languages, of English mother tongue, English as a second language, ethnic minority languages and the classics) remained sealed off from each other, in schools, universities and training colleges. Teachers of these subjects never went into each other’s classrooms to hear what their colleagues were saying about language. They had not even tried to agree a common vocabulary in which to talk about language. In the years that have elapsed, little has changed in this respect, though there have been isolated advances. Pomphrey and Moger (this issue) report on a pioneering project in the parallel training of foreign language and English teachers. Our ALA journal Language Awareness has been influential in promoting discussion of the issues. But the absence of collaboration still blocks the development of a coherent language apprenticeship in the schools” (Hawkins, 1999: 124).
Hawkins, E.W. (1999) Foreign Language Study and Language Awareness. Language Awareness 8 (3&4), 124-142."
Term in German:
Sprachbewusstheit
"[Sprachbewusstheit ist] bemüht darum, Kommunikationsfähigkeit zu fördern, das Wissen und die Sensibilität von Menschen darüber zu erhöhen, wie Sprache in verschiedenen Kontexten und Lebenswelten gebraucht wird, und schließlich, das Niveau positiver, einsichtsvoller Toleranz zu heben. (...) Sie will durch Bildung nicht nur die Fähigkeit fördern, Sprache effektiv zu verwenden, sondern auch den Gebrauch und Missbrauch der Sprache im Kontext des Alltagslebens zu erkennen; sie betont eher, was angemessen ist und weniger, was als korrekt oder inkorrekt angesehen wird"" (Harvey, 1988).
Harvey, P. (1988) Language awareness. English Today. The International Review of the English Language 13 (1), 23-26. [Übersetzung ins Deutsche: K.-B. Boeckmann]"
Source: ECML resource website Majority language in multilingual settings (2008-2011)
Language awareness refers to the ability to adopt a reflective attitude towards linguistic elements and their use, otherwise stated as the ability to reflect on language ... in order to develop metalinguistic abilities (according to www.unipress.dk/media/3546132/srogforum_58__moore3.pdf).
This term is broad, and it may focus on different elements in different contexts. Hawkins (1999) sees language awareness as a “pentagon” of five elements: mastering the mother tongue; language awareness in the curriculum; education of the ear; ouverture aux langues; and learning how to learn the foreign language. (Boeckmann et al. 2011: 73)
Boeckmann Klaus-Börge, Aalto Eija, Abel Andreas, Atanasoska Tatjana, and Lamb Terry (2011),
Promoting plurilingualism: Majority language in multilingual settings, Council of Europe (European Centre for Modern Languages), Graz, p. 73, available at
www.ecml.at/Resources/ECMLPublications/tabid/277/ID/22/language/en-GB/Default.aspx, accessed 23 February 2017.
Hawkins Eric W. (1999), “Foreign language study and language awareness”,
Language awareness, 8 (3 & 4), pp. 124-142.
Moore Danièle (2014), “Sproglig opmærksomhed
– en tilgang til at styrke sproglæring fra den tidlige barndom”,
Sprogforum, 58, June 2018, available at
www.unipress.dk/media/3546132/sprogforum_58_d_moore3.pdf.
Source: ECML resource website Developing language awareness in subject classes (2016-2019)
« Language awareness refers to the kind of knowing when we step back from the direct experience of using language and develop a systematic meta-cognition concerning its codes and conventions, in short how language „works‟. Although at one level this consists of explicit know-ledge about language as an apparatus both in everyday life and specific social contexts, it also supports critical deconstruction of texts (i.e. facilitates rhetorical criticism) enabling the learner to see through language that manipulates or discriminates ».
Source: ECML resource website Teaching the language of schooling in the context of diversity (2012-2015)
A record of personal, language-learning history, typically including background information and accounts on intercultural encounters and language use.
Source: ECML resource website A quality assurance matrix for CEFR use (2016-2019)
The Language Biography is the second section of the European Language Portfolio (ELP). It facilitates the learner’s involvement in planning, reflecting upon and assessing his or her learning process and progress. It provides scope for recording at greater length than in the Language Passport various experiences that have been influential in the user’s learning, both in the formal learning of languages and in unstructured and informal encounters with foreign languages and cultures.
Source: ECML resource website Sign languages and the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (2016-2019)
Concept proposed in 1993 (with further development in 2002) by J. Boutet. It refers to the role played by language (written or spoken) in a specified occupational task, as well as in more informal communicative practices at work – which, if ignored, may hinder proper integration at work. Linked to this are the issues of occupational culture and workplace sociability.
For more on informal aspects of workplace communication, see Teiger Catherine (1995), “Parler quand même : les fonctions des activités langagières non fonctionnelles”, in Borzeix Anni and Fraenkel Béatrice (eds.) (2001), Langage et travail, communication, cognition, action, CNRS Éditions, Paris, 379 .
Boulet J. (2002), “La part langagière du travail, bilan et perspectives”, Langage et société, 98, Paris, pp. 17-42.
Source: ECML resource website Language for work – Tools for professional development (2016-2018)
The following citation highlights what is meant by the language dimension in subjects:
“[…] each subject in school is responsible for achieving the goals of that particular subject in terms of knowledge building and meaning-making in the full sense of the term, but also in terms of meeting the goals of successful schooling and of quality education in general. Language requirements such as reading and understanding expository texts, listening to explanations, summarizing or answering questions orally and presenting results are present in all classrooms, in connection with content work. The language dimension in teaching and learning subject-matter is of equal importance as in language as subject itself.” (Beacco et al. 2016: 21)
Source: ECML resource website A roadmap for schools to support the language(s) of schooling (2016-2019)
The terms FOS, ESP, etc. refer to a teaching approach aimed at developing language competences/skills required in frequently recurring, standard situations in a given occupation (e.g. indicating the location of landmarks on a city plan for an employee of a tourist office). In the French context, this acronym can be written French for a Specific Purpose (singular) and constitutes a teaching and curriculum design methodology who proposed a detailed needs analysis, followed by selection of typical interactions and written texts. These items are then transformed into teaching and learning material for use in the language classroom, with consideration given to learner assessment.
In the plural form, i.e. Français sur Objectifs Spécifiques, FOS refers to the entire area of French language teaching and learning for professional and pre-professional audiences, without specification of methodology1.
Nuances in English spoken context:
‘Language(s) for Special Purposes, also Languages for Specific Purposes (LSP)’:
An area of enquiry and practice in the development of language teaching programmes for people who need a language (or variety of a language) to meet a predictable range of communicative needs. Examples include courses for scientists, doctors, lawyers, and air traffic controllers2.
1 Mangiante Jean-Marc and Parpette Chantal (2004), Le Français sur Objectif Spécifique, de l’analyse des besoins à l’élaboration d’un cours, Hachette, Paris.
2 Crystal David (1992), An encyclopaedic dictionary of language & languages, Blackwell, Oxford, p. 217.
Source: ECML resource website Language for work – Tools for professional development (2016-2018)
“In interactive activities the language user acts alternately as speaker and listener with one or more interlocutors so as to construct conjointly, through the negotiation of meaning following the co-operative principle, conversational discourse.
Reception and production strategies are employed constantly during interaction.”
(CEFR, 2001, p. 73)
Council of Europe (2001),
Common European framework of reference for languages: Learning, teaching, assessment, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, p. 73, available at
https://rm.coe.int/1680459f97.
Source: ECML resource website Digital literacy for the teaching and learning of languages (2016-2018)
“Foreign or second language (L2) learning strategies are specific actions, behaviors, steps, or techniques students use -- often consciously -- to improve their progress in apprehending, internalizing, and using the L2.”
Oxford R.L. (1990), Language learning strategies: What every teacher should know, Heinle & Heinle, Boston.
Source: ECML resource website Teaching the language of schooling in the context of diversity (2012-2015)
In the field of language use “mediation” has come to mean how someone assists people to communicate effectively with one another when they sign or speak different languages, do not understand certain terms or concepts, or when they are dealing with situations or ideas that are new to them.
Source: ECML resource website Sign languages and the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (2016-2019)
Language variety, often the first language, of persons or groups who have moved to live in other States. These speakers must adapt linguistically to the new environment and learn, at least partially, the language (or languages) of the host country.
Source: ECML resource website Language for work – Tools for professional development (2016-2018)
Gérard Vigner was the first to define language of instruction. This term refers to a “language used to teach subjects other than the language itself and which can, in certain countries, also be present in the students’ social environment”. Language of instruction is often the L1 but it can also be an L2: for example, when it is the official language in a multilingual society, among migrant populations, or in a CLIL classroom.
Schleppegrell M.J. (2001), “Linguistic features of the language of schooling”, in Linguistics and Education, Volume 2, Issue 4.
Vigner G. (1992), “Le français langue de scolarisation”, in Études de linguistique appliquée, “Français langue seconde”, no. 88, Didier Érudition, Paris.
Source: ECML resource website Developing language awareness in subject classes (2016-2019)
“Language of schooling” denotes the language used for teaching the various school subjects and for the functioning of schools. This language is usually the official language(s) of the State or the region, for example Polish in Poland or Italian in Italy, but may also concern officially recognised regional or minority languages, foreign or migrant languages. Depending on the national or regional context, several languages of schooling are used. (Rec(2014)5)
Beacco J.-C., Fleming M., Goullier F., Thürmann E. & Vollmer H. (2016),
A handbook for curriculum development and teacher training – The language dimension in all subjects, Council of Europe, Strasbourg, available at
https://rm.coe.int/a-handbook-for-curriculum-development-and-teacher-training-the-languag/16806af387.
Council of Europe, Recommendation CM/Rec(2014)5 of the Committee of Ministers to member States on the importance of competences in the language(s) of schooling for equity and quality in education and for educational success (Adopted by the Committee of Ministers on 2 April 2014 at the 1196th meeting of the Ministers’ Deputies) Strasbourg, 2014, available at
https://search.coe.int/cm/Pages/result_details.aspx?ObjectID=09000016805c610b.
Source: ECML resource website A roadmap for schools to support the language(s) of schooling (2016-2019)
Official language(s) used as a language of instruction in school.
Term in French:
langue d’enseignement
Langue(s) officielle(s) dans laquelle/lesquelles sont effectués les/des enseignements de disciplines dans le système scolaire.
Source: ECML resource website Young children’s language learning pathways (2020-2023)
“From a functional linguistic perspective, the language of schooling is a special case of the interpenetration of language and social context. It can differ significantly from the everyday language of the student (see CALP) and this gap could become particularly problematic for language minority students whose language repertoire may need to be extended (…).”
Source: ECML resource website Teaching the language of schooling in the context of diversity (2012-2015)
In the context of the Language for Work Network the term “language for work” embraces three different strands of language development for adult migrants in the context of their linguistic integration into the labour market and into the society at large.
1. Pre-employment language provision
This aims to equip learners with the language skills they need for generic work tasks, common to different sectors and trades. Such as telephoning, explaining a procedure, dealing with forms. It is also likely to include job-search activities, including CV and cover letter and/or email writing, application form filling and job interviews. Lerner groups are typically mixed, e.g.
- unemployed, employees, students/trainees;
- different occupational expertise and work experience;
- different educational backgrounds, personal histories and levels of education.
2. Language provision for specific occupational areas
Targets specific work tasks identified through needs analysis. The training takes place either in the workplace or in a training centre.
Learner groups are more homogeneous regarding for example:
- from the occupational area;
- focused on the same areas of competence, including the same certification, but
- have different cultural backgrounds, personal histories and levels of education.
3. Provision in the workplace covers
- formal language learning provision tailored to the needs of specific groups of employees of a specific company taking place either in the company or in a training centre. It can take the form of classroom provision, coaching, etc.;
- non-formal language learning provision in the company, for example through mentorship or the designation of a specific member of staff to act as a “language champion” within the organisation;
- informal language learning support, e.g. ad hoc language support offered by managers and staff to migrant colleagues.
In some instances, provision in the workplace seeks to make the workplace a space for learning and language development. In these cases it adopts a systemic approach that takes into account the interests and perspectives of the relevant stakeholders/actors involved in the interaction, including the learners, co-workers, management (mainly HR and L&D), trade union representatives, etc. The learning provider acts not only as language teacher, but also as language consultant, advising the different actors on various language and communication issues that arise around the language skills at work.
Learner groups reflect the composition of the staff re age, gender, etc.
The learners are colleagues in the same organisation, although they may come from different parts of the organisation. They may also have different personal, cultural, linguistic and educational backgrounds.
Source: ECML resource website Language for work – Tools for professional development (2016-2018)
The Language Passport is the initial section of the European Language Portfolio (ELP) provides an overview of the individual’s proficiency in different languages at a given point in time. It is the key record of current proficiency and qualifications, related wherever possible to levels of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR).
Source: ECML resource website Sign languages and the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (2016-2019)
“The European Language Portfolio was ‘launched as a tool to support the development of plurilingualism and multiculturalism. Follow-up projects were dedicated to training teachers to use the portfolio as an instrument for monitoring language development in individual learners in formal and non-formal settings, but also to record and document progress in language learning and cultural experiences in general.”
Source: ECML resource website Teaching the language of schooling in the context of diversity (2012-2015)
3.1. A language policy is a statement of action [...] It is concerned not so much with where the children in a school [...] are going but more with how they are going to get there. […] A language policy is “a document compiled by the staff of a school, ... [that] identifies areas in the school’s scope of operations and programs where language problems exist that need the commonly agreed approach offered by a policy ... It is a dynamic action statement that changes along with the dynamic context of a school”.
3.2. A whole-school language policy will recognize the existing strengths of both school and community, and will give clear guidelines for further reflecting and improving abilities and values. […] developing a whole-school language policy can be of benefit to pupils, staff, parents and others associated with your school.
[…] A whole-school language policy is a dynamic action statement consisting of principles, aims and strategies. It is a shared document for all stakeholders and expresses a common vision of the role and status of all languages relevant to life within a school. It is ideally developed following organised discussions, a school language audit and a profiling exercise. A healthy policy would be authored and owned by all stakeholders. It should include a rationale for its aims, as well as a declaration about who is responsible to carry out which tasks by when.
3.3. Language policy [...] is shaped by three main factors: language practices, the actual-related behaviour of individuals and institutions; language management, the official and unofficial rules regarding the choice and nature of language codes; and language ideologies [...] the understandings, beliefs and expectations that influence all choices made by language users.
Hornberger and McKay, 2010
KEY WORDS
common vision, action, change, guidelines, school and community, dynamic action statement, shared document, language practices, language management, language ideologies
Camilleri Grima Antoinette (2007),
Promoting linguistic diversity and whole-school development, “Developing a whole-school policy”, Council of Europe (European Centre for Modern Languages), Graz, available at
http://archive.ecml.at/mtp2/ENSEMBLE/results/School-policy.htm.
Corson David (1999),
Language policy in schools – A resource for teachers and administrators, LEA publishers, New Jersey.
Hornberger Nancy H., McKay Sandra Lee (2010),
Sociolinguistics and language education, Multilingual Matters, Bristol.
Source: ECML resource website Learning environments where modern languages flourish (2016-2019)
4.1. Having a school language profile is seen as an initial step to developing a whole-school language policy. Having a means of developing a whole-school profile is one way of declaring “a policy about policy making” (Corson 1990: 62), allowing for transparency and giving cohesion and purpose to the school’s language development activity.
4.2. “It is therefore recommended that schools compile a comprehensive language profile of the school community that identifies the following points:
- the diversity of language needs for students following the IB programme(s). This should include:
- information on the languages of teaching and learning
- the languages of communication used in the school and outside the classroom
- the range and types of mother tongue and other languages in the community
- the other language needs of the community (including any legal requirements as a result of government legislation)
- current practices relating to language teaching and learning, for example:
- practices relating to the choice and planning of language courses for learners
- spelling and referencing protocols
- preferred bibliographic styles
- rules and expectations about language use around the school
- beliefs held about language teaching and learning
- other policies that relate directly to language teaching and learning such as admissions and assessment policies.
KEY WORDS
language needs, current practices in language teaching and learning, beliefs, policies
Source: ECML resource website Learning environments where modern languages flourish (2016-2019)
Language sensitivity involves a range of skills and competencies related to understanding, interpreting, and using language effectively in various contexts, while also being aware of the impact of this use on individuals and groups. It “refers to acknowledging and understanding the role of languages in learning, identity growth, and well-being at both individual and collective levels. Among the various perspectives of learning languages, learning through languages, and learning about languages” (Dražnik et al., 2022: 14).
Dražnik T., Llompart-Esbert J. & Bergroth M. (2022), “Student teachers expressions of ‘fear’ in handling linguistically diverse classrooms”,
Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, pp. 1-16, available at
https://doi.org/10.1080/01434632.2022.2086258.
Source: ECML resource website Fostering the plurilingual wellbeing of language teachers (2024-2026)
Generic, neutral term which describes a specific form of language and which avoids a value judgement and labelling a particular language.
Beacco Jean-Claude, Byram Michael (2007),
From linguistic diversity to plurilingual education – Guide for the development of language education policies in Europe, Council of Europe, Strasbourg, p. 115, available at
http://rm.coe.int/CoERMPublicCommonSearchServices/DisplayDCTMContent?documentId=09000016802fc1c4, accessed 10 May 2019.
Creese Angela and Blackledge Adrian (2015), “Translanguaging and identity in educational settings”, Cambridge University Press, published online 13 March 2015, available at
www.cambridge.org/core/journals/annual-review-of-applied-linguistics/article/translanguaging-and-identity-in-educational-settings/E52D4C1844328A0E1534B16145B5EF4D, accessed 10 May 2019.
Source: ECML resource website Inspiring language learning in the early years (2016-2019)
Generic, neutral term which avoids a value judgement and labelling a particular language.
Term in French:
variété linguistique
Terme générique et neutre qui évite de porter un jugement de valeur et de dénommer une langue particulière.
Source: ECML resource website Young children’s language learning pathways (2020-2023)
The concept of language visibility refers to the prominence and perceptibility of languages in public spaces, particularly through signs and displays. This is related to the idea of linguistic landscapes, or the visibility and salience of languages in public in a given territory or region. This can serve as a rich source of data for understanding language dynamics, power relations, and identity negotiation within a given locale. It offers glimpses into the complex interplay between languages, social hierarchies, and urban environments.
López Vera M. & Dooly M. (2023), “Languages around us: (In)visibility matters”, in
Linguistic landscapes in language and teacher education: Multilingual teaching and learning inside and beyond the classroom, Multilingual Education, Springer Science and Business Media B.V., Vol. 43, pp. 21-37,
available at
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-22867-4_2.
Source: ECML resource website Fostering the plurilingual wellbeing of language teachers (2024-2026)
"There are (…) many programmes in which the official language is used as the language of instruction: in situations in which learners who are speakers of a minority language are, as it were, immersed in the official school language, their first language will, if it is not in use in the community, tend to die out (…) or, conversely, acquisition of the linguistic variety used in the host country (...) will not lead to the loss of the first language“ (Language Policy Division (2003), Guide for the development of language education policies in Europe - from linguistic diversity to plurilingual education. Main Version, Council of Europe. Strasbourg, 56. Download here. (Access date: March 30, 2009). "This supposes that in private communication citizens may use any linguistic varieties“ (…)
<br>
"National language does not (…) coincide with citizenship (...), even if some knowledge of the official variety is expected or required of those applying for citizenship“ (Beacco & Byram 2003, 52). "
„Receiving newly arrived migrants involves setting up language education structures for them and their children, in the absence of which the acquisition of the national or official language will take place spontaneously only with respect to oral forms. This would lead to later handicaps as a result of an inability to write the language. (…) The need to maintain the stability of official languages leads dominant social groups and the state apparatus to set norms which are disseminated by education systems, in particular by the teaching of the so-called mother tongue and the teaching of other subjects in that language“ (Language Policy Division (2007), Guide for the development of language education policies in Europe - from linguistic diversity to plurilingual education. Main Version. Council of Europe. Strasbourg, 21. Download here. (Access date: March 30, 2009).
Term in German:
Unterrichtssprache(n)
„Um andere Gegenstände als die Sprache selbst zu unterrichten, benützen Schulen eine linguistische Varietät, die in der Regel die (oder eine der) Amtssprachen(n) ist. Für Migrantenkinder (deren Erstsprache nicht die Sprache ist, die in der Schule verwendet wird, wurden Angebote entwickelt, in denen die Muttersprache diese Rolle übernimmt, um ihnen die Dinge zu erleichtern, obwohl einige Familien dies als Hindernis für ihre Integration im Aufnahmeland ansehen können“ (Beacco & Byram 2003, 56, Übersetzung: K.-B. Boeckmann).
Source: ECML resource website Majority language in multilingual settings (2008-2011)
“Language of origin: language variety, often the first language, of persons or groups who have moved to live in other States. These speakers must adapt linguistically to the new environment and learn, at least partially, the language (or languages) of the host country.” (Language Policy Division (2007), Guide for the development of language education policies in Europe - from linguistic diversity to plurilingual education. Main Version. Council of Europe. Strasbourg, 115. Download here. Access date: June 18, 2009). "The language of origin is the individual => first language [or mother-tongue] of people who reside in a host country with a different language from the language or language variety of their home country. The term is mainly used in connection with processes of migration due to the fact that it expresses the spatial, cultural and linguistic distance between the place of origin and the receiving country. The acquisition of the language of origin for migrants takes place directly in their country of origin. The Language of origin basically contributes to the signalling of group identity (Extra/Verhoeven, 1999, 9). For the next generations the Language of origin will be transmitted in the country of immigration within the family (so called “intergenerational transmission” after Brizić, 2007, 197).
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Therefore language of origin mostly occupies the domain of family or group language in contrast to the language of the host country as the language of education or the language of environment. Especially as far as the second generation we can use the term family- or parental language, or heritage language, precisely because the language of origin is the language used by immigrant family members of the speakers; however, it does not reveal anything about the real birthplace of the following generation.
Other terms used in a similar or partly synonymous sense for language of origin are: family- or parental language, immigrant language, immigrant-family-language, source language, native language, mother-tongue, first language. Like the words heritage language (in terms of language of familiar and cultural heritage) or home language (in terms of language of homeland and used language at home) these terms are not the same as the term language of origin, but bring with them a range of diverse connotations or underline different aspects of meaning.
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Sources: Brizić, Katharina (2007): Das geheime Leben der Sprachen. Gesprochene und verschwiegene Sprachen und ihr Einfluss auf den Spracherwerb in der Migration. Münster [u.a.]: Waxmann; Extra, Guus & Verhoeven, Ludo (1999): Bilingualism and migration. Berlin [u.a]: Mouton de Gruyter.
[Comment by Franziska Plathner]"
"But this also raises the question of recognising the mother tongues of the migrants’ children in a manner comparable to those of established national minorities. These languages are likely to be lost and, by the third or fourth generation, to be merely a heritage language. ‘Ethnic mobilisation’ around cultural identities does not necessarily focus on the transmission of original languages.” (Language Policy Division (2007), Guide for the development of language education policies in Europe - from linguistic diversity to plurilingual education. Main Version. Council of Europe. Strasbourg, 23. Download here. Access date: June 18, 2009)
“[…] language varieties of the countries of origin are often learnt as a first language (L1) in the process of primary socialization, and they are used for in-group communication.” (Extra, Guus & Verhoeven, Ludo. (1999), Bilingualism and migration. Mouton de Gruyter. Berlin [u.a.], 14).
"More typical are those families in which the language of origin takes the bulk of communication while alongside the usage of German language is also applied in some scale, whereas generally the migrants’ children tend to a more comprehensive use of German language [note: Ex. for Germany]. […] It means for small children growing up in family in many cases the language of origin is taken as basis of their language development"" (Ehlich, Konrad. (2005), Anforderungen an Verfahren der regelmäßigen Sprachstandsfeststellung als Grundlage für die frühe und individuelle Förderung von Kindern mit und ohne Migrationshintergrund. Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung. Bonn [u.a.], 131). [Translation by Franziska Plathner]"
Term in German:
Herkunftssprache(n)
"Herkunftssprache: Sprachvarietät, vielfach die Erstsprache, von Personen oder Gruppen, die migrieren, um in einem anderen Staat zu leben. Sie müssen sich sprachlich an ihre neue Umgebung anpassen und sie müssen, zumindest teilweise, die Sprache oder die Sprachen des Aufnahmelandes erlernen". (Language Policy Division (2007), Guide for the development of language education policies in Europe - from linguistic diversity to plurilingual education. Main Version. Council of Europe. Strasbourg, 115. Hier herunterladen. Zugriff: 18. Juni 2009). [Übersetzung ins Deutsche von Franziska Plathner].
Source: ECML resource website Majority language in multilingual settings (2008-2011)
All languages/ language varieties present in school: mother tongue(s)/native/ home languages, regional/migrant/minority languages, second/ majority languages and foreign languages. This term does not only refer to "taught" varieties or "Bildungssprachen", but also to all of the languages that pupils bring to school, even if they are not part of the curriculum. The <a href="https://www.ecml.at/Portals/1/3MTP/MARILLE/LE.jpg?ver=2020-09-03-111438-577" target="_blank"> image </a> illustrates the contents of the concept. FR: Langue(s) de l‘éducation - (LE)
Michael Fleming: Languages of schooling within a European framework for languages of education: Learning, teaching, assessment. Intergovernmental Conference. Prague, 8-10 November 2007. Report. Strasbourg 2008.
Term in German:
Sprachen (in) der Bildung
Alle Sprachen bzw. Sprachvarietäten, die in der Schule vorkommen: Mutter-/Herkunftssprachen, Regional-/MigrantInnen-/ Minderheitssprachen, Zweit-/ Mehrheitssprachen und Fremdsprachen. Dieser Terminus bezieht sich also nicht nur auf "Bildungssprachen", sondern eben auch auf "mitgebrachte Sprachen" der SchülerInnen, auch wenn sie im Schulcurriculum keinen Platz finden.
Source: ECML resource website Majority language in multilingual settings (2008-2011)
“‘Languaging’ occurs when plurilingual individuals make flexible use all the linguistic resources they have in different ‘languages’ to communicate with one another, without strict adherence to the conventions of any particular language in their repertoire.”
Source: ECML resource website Teaching the language of schooling in the context of diversity (2012-2015)
Independence. Learner autonomy refers to a student’s ability to set appropriate learning goals and take charge of his or her own learning.
Council of Europe (European Centre for Modern Languages), Multilingual glossary of key terms in language education, available at
www.ecml.at/glossaries.
Fischer Johann, Laurent Rouveyrol, Sawicka Barbara, Zabala-Delgado Julia, CEFR Companion Volume implementation toolbox,
“Innovative aspects of the CEFR Companion Volume”, Council of Europe (European Centre for Modern Languages), 2023, available at
www.ecml.at/companionvolumetoolbox.
Source: ECML resource website CEFR Companion Volume implementation toolbox (2020-2022)
Learner autonomy is the capacity learners have to take charge of their own learning. This implies choice of aims, content, approaches and/or forms of evaluation based on reflection related to individual needs and interests.
Newby David, Allan Rebecca, Fenner Anne-Brit, Jones Barry, Komorowska Hanna and Soghikyan Kristine,
European Portfolio for Student Teachers of Languages (EPOSTL) – A reflection tool for language teacher education, Council of Europe (European Centre for Modern Languages), Graz, 2007, p. 76, available at
www.ecml.at/Resources/ECMLresources/tabid/277/ID/51/Default.aspx.
Term in German:
Selbstständigkeit der Schüler / autonomes Lernen
Vermögen der Schüler, ihr eigenes Lernen zu verantworten. Dies umfasst die Auswahl von Zielen, Inhalten, Ansätzen und Formen der Evaluierung auf der Basis von Reflexion in Bezug auf die individuellen Bedürfnisse und Interessen.
Source: ECML resource website From Profile to Portfolio: A Framework for Reflection in Language Teacher Education (2004-2007)
The capacity of learners to take charge of their own learning, including a choice of aims, content, approaches based around individual needs and interests.
Council of Europe (European Centre for Modern Languages (2013), Glossary – ECML programme 2008-2011 “Empowering language professionals” / Glossaire – Programme 2008-2011 du CELV “Valoriser les professionnels en langues” / Glossar – Programm des EFSZ 2008-2011 “Sprachlehrende in ihrer Rolle stärken”, available at
www.ecml.at/Portals/1/20140130_Glossary_ECML%20MTP3_EmpoweringLanguageProfessionals_with%20index_FINAL.pdf, p. 46.
Newby David, Allan Rebecca, Fenner Anne-Brit, Jones Barry, Komorowska Hanna and Soghikyan Kristine (2007),
European Portfolio for Student Teachers of Languages (EPOSTL) – A reflection tool for language teacher education, Council of Europe (European Centre for Modern Languages), p. 76, available at
www.ecml.at/Resources/ECMLresources/tabid/277/ID/51/Default.aspx.
Term in French:
autonomie de l’apprenant
Aptitude des apprenants à prendre en charge leurs propres apprentissages, y compris un choix d’objectifs, de contenus et d’approches basé sur les besoins et les intérêts individuels.
Source: ECML resource website Young children’s language learning pathways (2020-2023)
Ability to “take charge of one’s own learning is to have, and to hold, the responsibility for all the decisions concerning all aspects of this learning, i.e.:
- determining the objectives;
- defining the content and progressions;
- selecting methods and techniques to be used;
- monitoring the procedure of acquisition properly speaking (rhythm, time, place, etc.);
- evaluating what has been acquired.
The autonomous learner is himself capable of making all these decisions concerning the learning with which he is or wishes to be involved.” (Holec 1981: 3)
The autonomous learner (Holec 1981, Little 1995):
- makes effective use of the learning opportunities;
- cooperates effectively in pair and group work;
- uses available materials for independent learning;
- organises and uses materials for self-directed learning;
- uses effective learning strategies;
- identifies his/her own needs and goals;
- plans and carries out tasks that help to accomplish the goals;
- is aware of his/her own strengths and weaknesses as a learner.
Holec H. (1981), Autonomy in foreign language learning, Pergamon, Oxford.
Little D. (1995), Learning as dialogue: the dependence of learner autonomy on teacher autonomy, System 23(2), pp. 175-181.
Source: ECML resource website Plurilingual and intercultural learning through mobility (2012-2015)
The capacity of learners to take charge of their own learning, including a choice of aims, content, approaches, etc. based around individual needs and interests.
Condat Sophie (March 2010), Bibliographie Bilinguisme et enseignement bilingue, CIEP, Sèvres, available at
www.france-education-international.fr/ressources/bilinguisme-enseignement-bilingue-pdf-318-ko-mars-2010, accessed 10 May 2019.
Council of Europe (European Centre for Modern Languages (2013), Glossary – ECML programme 2008-2011 “Empowering language professionals” / Glossaire – Programme 2008-2011 du CELV “Valoriser les professionnels en langues” / Glossar – Programm des EFSZ 2008-2011 “Sprachlehrende in ihrer Rolle stärken”, available at
www.ecml.at/Portals/1/20140130_Glossary_ECML%20MTP3_EmpoweringLanguageProfessionals_with%20index_FINAL.pdf, p. 46, accessed 10 May 2019.
Newby David, Allan Rebecca, Fenner Anne-Brit, Jones Barry, Komorowska Hanna and Soghikyan Kristine (2007),
European Portfolio for Student Teachers of Languages (EPOSTL) – A reflection tool for language teacher education, Council of Europe (European Centre for Modern Languages), p. 76, available at
www.ecml.at/Resources/ECMLresources/tabid/277/ID/51/Default.aspx, accessed 10 May 2019.
Source: ECML resource website Inspiring language learning in the early years (2016-2019)
The ability to take charge of one’s own learning (Holec, 1981). Expanding on this definition, David Little (1991) states that learner autonomy includes a ‘capacity for detachment, critical reflection, decision-making and independent action’.
(María Jesús Frigols Martín et al., 2011)
Is the capacity learners have to take charge of their own learning. This implies choice of aims, content, approaches and/or forms of evaluation based on reflection related to individual needs and interests.
Council of Europe (European Centre for Modern Languages), Glossary – ECML programme 2008-2011 “Empowering language professionals”, Graz,
www.ecml.at/Portals/1/20140130_Glossary_ECML%20MTP3_EmpoweringLanguageProfessionals_with%20index_FINAL.pdf, accessed on 24 March 2015.
María Jesús Frigols Martín, Marsh David, Mehisto Peeter, Wolff Dieter (2011), European Framework for CLIL teacher education, “EFCT terminology”, Council of Europe (European Centre for Modern Languages), Graz, available at
https://www.ecml.at/ECML-Programme/Programme2008-2011/EuropeanFrameworkforCLILTeacherEducation/Resources/tabid/4445/language/en-GB/Default.aspx, accessed on 26 March 2015).
Source: ECML resource website Sign languages and the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (2016-2019)
The learner is actively engaged in the planning and teaching, taking an active role in the decision-making processes and takes responsibility for their learning.
Council of Europe (European Centre for Modern Languages), Multilingual glossary of key terms in language education, available at
www.ecml.at/glossaries.
Fischer Johann, Laurent Rouveyrol, Sawicka Barbara, Zabala-Delgado Julia, CEFR Companion Volume implementation toolbox,
“The action-oriented approach and the learner as a social agent”, Council of Europe (European Centre for Modern Languages), 2023, available at
www.ecml.at/companionvolumetoolbox.
Source: ECML resource website CEFR Companion Volume implementation toolbox (2020-2022)
Learners draw upon all of "their linguistic and cultural resources and experiences in order to fully participate in social and educational contexts, achieving mutual understanding, gaining access to knowledge and in turn further developing their linguistic and cultural repertoire" (Council of Europe 2020: 123).
Term in French:
apprenant·es en tant qu’acteur·rices sociaux·ales (les)
Les apprenant·es puisent dans toutes leurs ressources linguistiques et culturelles ainsi que dans leurs expériences afin de participer pleinement aux contextes sociaux et éducatifs, en parvenant à une compréhension mutuelle, en obtenant les moyens d'accès à la connaissance et en développant à leur tour leur répertoire linguistique et culturel (Conseil de l’Europe, 2020: p. 129).
Source: ECML resource website Mediation in teaching, learning and assessment (2020-2021)
The different conscious processes (e.g. through course attendance or self-tuition) adopted by the learner to acquire and develop competence in a language. (see
Acquisition)
Source: ECML resource website ELP implementation support (2004-2007)
There are two ways we can approach the notion of “learning environments”, i.e learning culture(s) including methods, contents, goals, etc. and the learning structures with spaces, contexts, locations, etc.
2.1. “Developing a total learning environment for students in a particular course or program is probably the most creative part of teaching. While there is a tendency to focus on either physical institutional learning environments (such as classrooms, lecture theatres and labs), or on the technologies used to create online personal learning environments (PLEs), learning environments are broader than just these physical components. They will also include:
- the characteristics of the learners;
- the goals for teaching and learning;
- the activities that will best support learning;
- the assessment strategies that will best measure and drive learning;
- the culture that infuses the learning environment.”
2.2. “Learning environment refers to the diverse physical locations, contexts, and cultures in which students learn. [...] The term also encompasses the culture of a school or class – its presiding ethos and characteristics, including how individuals interact with and treat one another – as well as the ways in which teachers may organize an educational setting to facilitate learning...”.
Key words
learners, teaching and learning, goals, activities, assessment, strategies, locations, contexts, cultures, educational setting
Source: ECML resource website Learning environments where modern languages flourish (2016-2019)
The objectives of the curriculum or syllabus, pre-defined by the institution, which describe what learners are supposed to be able to do at the end of the teaching and learning programme.
Source: ECML resource website CEFR Companion Volume implementation toolbox (2020-2022)
Specific statements that describe what students should be able to demonstrate as a result of their learning experiences (see also “learning objectives”).
Source: ECML resource website CEFR Companion Volume implementation toolbox (2020-2022)
“Learning strategies are mental steps or operations that learners use to learn a new language and to regulate their efforts to do so.” (Wenden 1991: 18)
Wenden A. (1991), Learner strategies for learner autonomy: Planning and implementing learner training for learner autonomy, Prentice Hall, New York.
Source: ECML resource website A pluriliteracies approach to teaching for learning (2012-2015)
Can be defined as “specific actions taken by the learner to make learning easier, faster, more enjoyable, more self-directed, more effective, and more transferable to new situations.” (Oxford 1990: 8)
Further information concerning types of learning strategies and techniques of developing them in language learners can be found, for instance, in:
Oxford R. L. (1990), Language learning strategies. What every teacher should know, Heinle & Heinle, Boston.
Source: ECML resource website Plurilingual and intercultural learning through mobility (2012-2015)
These are the different strategies used by learners to facilitate learning. They may be techniques or behaviours to which children have recourse – consciously or sometimes unconsciously – to improve their performance in the use of a language other than their first language.
Source: ECML resource website European portfolio for pre-primary educators (2012-2015)
In language education the term “level” usually refers to language proficiency level (e.g. B1). However it can also refer to different stages of the educational system (e.g. secondary level, tertiary level).
Source: ECML resource website A quality assurance matrix for CEFR use (2016-2019)
The level of competence in a foreign language is usually measured with reference to the common scale of levels of proficiency proposed in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages adopted by the Council of Europe in 2001. This scale, which includes six different levels and is valid for all foreign languages, can be used to evaluate skills in a language separately for each language activity (see Language activities). It is based on a positive evaluation of competences, i.e. it takes account of what an individual is actually capable of doing with the language.
Source: ECML resource website European portfolio for pre-primary educators (2012-2015)
The set of languages and language varieties, including first language(s), regional language(s), language(s) learned in the education system and in other contexts, acquired by an individual.
The levels of competence as well as the function of in these languages and language varieties can vary and change over the course of an individual’s life.
Bernaus Mercè, Furlong Áine, Jonckheere Sofie, Kervran Martine (2012),
Plurilingualism and pluriculturalism in content-based teaching: A training kit, Glossary, “Linguistic repertoire / Répertoire linguistique”, Council of Europe (European Centre for Modern Languages), Graz, available at
http://conbat.ecml.at/Resources/Glossary/Languagerepertoire/tabid/1509/language/en-GB/Default.aspx, accessed 10 May 2019.
Council of Europe, Linguistic Integration of Adult Migrants (LIAM), Key terms, “Language repertoire”, available at
www.coe.int/en/web/lang-migrants/repertoire-language-, accessed 10 May 2019.
Source: ECML resource website Inspiring language learning in the early years (2016-2019)
Includes lexical, grammatical (morphological, syntactic), semantic, orthographic/orthoepic and phonological knowledge and skills.
Source: ECML resource website A quality assurance matrix for CEFR use (2016-2019)
Linguistic insecurity corresponds to a feeling of uncertainty and depreciation that some speakers experience in relation to their own ways of expressing themselves, which are compared unfavourably to other forms of expression deemed more legitimate. Closely linked to representations, the notion is built on the parallel between the norm (correct usage according to the speaker) and self-evaluation (personal usage according to the speaker). It also plays an essential role in exchanges between languages, as Aude Bretegnier explains:
“Feelings of linguistic security and insecurity both appear to be linked precisely to the representations that speakers construct of boundaries, boundaries between languages, norms and groups, boundaries between what is within the norm and what is excluded from it, between the legitimate and the illegitimate, between the Same and the Other, between the inside and the outside” (2002: p. 12, our translation). Indeed, linguistic insecurity results from cross-linguistic relations arising from the comparison of one’s own way of speaking with legitimate language, or the status accorded to it, internalised by the speaker through comparison with the status of another language, or another way of speaking (Calvet, 1999, our translation).
Further information
More recently (Klinkenberg, 2020) explains that linguistic insecurity should be treated less as a state and more as a process to be considered from an experiential perspective. This author suggests expanding the concept of insecurity to all semiotic behaviours, not just language. Acknowledging that understanding languages requires considering their social backgrounds, the author also proposes re-evaluating the importance of existential and social variables that condition the notion of insecurity and play a role in the adjustment processes between the individual and the world.
Bretegnier A., Ledegen G. (eds.) (2022), Sécurité / insécurité linguistique – Terrains et approches diversifiés, propositions théoriques et méthodologiques, Actes de la 5e Table Ronde du Moufia, (22-24 avril 1998), LCF-UMR 6058 du CNRS, Paris, L’Harmattan, Université de la Réunion.
Calvet L.-J. (1999), Pour une écologie des langues du monde, Paris, Plon.
Klinkenberg J.-M. (2020), “De l’insécurité linguistique à l’insécurité sémiotique. Le retour du social”, in Feussi V., Lorilleux J. (dir.), (In)sécurité linguistique en francophonies. Perspectives in(ter)disciplinaires, L’Harmattan, Paris, pp. 212-223.
Source: ECML resource website Developing teacher competences for pluralistic approaches (2020-2022)
Another metaphor that can be applied usefully to the study of the Linguistic Landscape in metropolitan areas is the notion of cities as texts (Mondada 2000). Viewed in this light, cities are dense with signs that must be deciphered, read and interpreted by citizens who participate in the consumption of the moving, literary spectacle of the metropolis. Calvet (1994) signaled that the texts of cities are not equally accessible to all; they are relatively cryptic and readers must be culturally and linguistically informed to decipher their meanings. The texts of cities define and delimit who their readers are since they address particular audiences. […] Drawing children’ s attention to layered readings of texts in different languages of the linguistic landscape thus entails developing critical literacy so that they learn to listen to the multiple voices in their communities (Barton et al. 2000; Comber and Simpson 2001; Gutiérrez and Rogoff 2003). Critical literacy activities bring to the fore a reading of texts that makes more explicit to young readers the tensions between unity and discord in society and helps them situate the socio-historical contexts of written communication.1
Children are encouraged to ask:
- What are the interests of the writers and readers of texts?
- What is at stake for them in producing and decoding texts?
- Who has power to determine what languages appear in texts?
The study of linguistic landscape aims to add another view to our knowledge about societal multilingualism by focusing on language choices, hierarchies of languages, contact-phenomena, regulations, and aspects of literacy. […] There is a clear link between identity theory, linguistic landscape theory and language learning.2
Key words
visibility, cities as texts, the readers of the texts of cities, layered readings of texts in different languages, critical literacy activities, language choices and hierarchies of languages, identity and languages
1 Dagenais, Moore, Sabatier, Lamarre & Armand (2009), Linguistic landscape and language awareness, in E. Sohamy & D. Gorter (eds.), Linguistic landscape – Expanding the scenery, Routledge, NY & London, pp. 253-269.
2 Gorter D. (2013), “Linguistic landscapes in a multilingual world”, in Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, Cambridge University Press.
Source: ECML resource website Learning environments where modern languages flourish (2016-2019)
Linguistic prestige is the degree of esteem and social value attached by members of a speech community to certain languages, dialects, or features of a language variety.
Pearce M. (2007), The Routledge dictionary of English language studies, Routledge.
Source: ECML resource website Fostering the plurilingual wellbeing of language teachers (2024-2026)
A collection of linguistic abilities and skills possessed by an individual, which may include different languages at varying levels of proficiency.
Source: ECML resource website CEFR Companion Volume implementation toolbox (2020-2022)
The set of languages and language varieties, including first language(s), regional language(s), language(s) learned in the education system and in other contexts, acquired by an individual. The levels of competence as well as the function of in these languages and language varieties can vary and change over the course of an individual’s life.
Bernaus Mercè, Furlong Áine, Jonckheere Sofie, Kervran Martine (2011), Plurilingualism and pluriculturalism in content-based teaching: A training kit, “Glossary”, “Language repertoire”, Council of Europe (European Centre for Modern Languages), Graz, available at https://conbat.ecml.at/Resources/Glossary/Languagerepertoire/tabid/1509/Default.aspx.
Council of Europe, Linguistic Integration of Adult Migrants (LIAM), “Key terms”, “Language repertoire”, available at www.coe.int/en/web/lang-migrants/repertoire-language-
Source: ECML resource website Young children’s language learning pathways (2020-2023)
The abilities and knowledge that an individual possesses in the languages that he/she knows.
“Plurality of linguistic resources, representations, contexts, strategies and abilities, which are distributed and which evolve over space and time” (Castellotti & Moore 2005: 109).
“The concepts of linguistic repertoire and communicative competence are intimately linked: The first refers to the linguistic and cognitive resources that a social actor disposes of, as well as their organization, and the second refers to the way that an individual uses their linguistic knowledge and abilities to interact appropriately in society” (Dufour 2014: 19).
Castellotti V. & Moore D. (2005), Répertoires pluriels, culture métalinguistique et usage d’appropriation, dans J.-C. Beacco, J.-L. Chiss, F. Cicurel & D. Veronique (dir.), Les cultures éducatives et linguistiques dans l’enseignement des langues, PUF, Paris, pp. 107-132.
Dufour M. (2014), “Du concept de répertoire langagier et de sa transposition didactique”, Lidil, 49, pp. 179-194.
Source: ECML resource website Developing language awareness in subject classes (2016-2019)
“Literacy is control of secondary discourses and uses of language” (Goldoni Francis 2008: p. 70; quoting Gee 1989), and “being literate in a wide range of private and public discourses and contexts is closely related to the notion of advancedness in a foreign language” (Goldoni 2008: p. 70).
Goldoni F. (2008), “Designing a foreign language curriculum in postsecondary education drawing from the multiliteracy, functionalist and genre-based approaches”, Vigo International Journal of Applied Linguistics, Vol. 5, pp. 63-85.
Source: ECML resource website Teaching the language of schooling in the context of diversity (2012-2015)
Capacity to employ a graphic system and to use this to produce and interpret written texts in different contexts.
Beacco Jean-Claude, Byram Michael (2007),
From linguistic diversity to plurilingual education – Guide for the development of language education policies in Europe, Council of Europe, Strasbourg, p. 116, available at
http://rm.coe.int/CoERMPublicCommonSearchServices/DisplayDCTMContent?documentId=09000016802fc1c4, accessed 10 May 2019.
European Commission (September 2012), EU high level group of experts on literacy – Final report, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, available at
https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/96d782cc-7cad-4389-869a-bbc8e15e5aeb, accessed 10 May 2019.
Source: ECML resource website Inspiring language learning in the early years (2016-2019)
“Literacy is control of secondary discourses and uses of language” (Goldoni Francis 2008: p. 70; quoting Gee 1989), and “being literate in a wide range of private and public discourses and contexts is closely related to the notion of advancedness in a foreign language” (Goldoni 2008: p. 70).
Goldoni F. (2008), “Designing a foreign language curriculum in postsecondary education drawing from the multiliteracy, functionalist and genre-based approaches”, Vigo International Journal of Applied Linguistics, Vol. 5, pp. 63-85.
Source: ECML resource website A pluriliteracies approach to teaching for learning (2012-2015)
“Communication skill. The term 'literacy' originally, and most often, applied to written communication. However it can also be applied to other forms, as in media literacy, computer literacy.”
Department for Children, Schools and Families, The Key Stage 3 Framework for Languages: Glossary: 7 (downloaded 2 November 2009) "It is clear from the extract from Street (2001) that literacy does not simply mean being able to read and write text. The following extracts unpick the various meanings of literacy, providing a clear picture of why it is necessary to refer to ‘literacies’ in the plural.
<br>
“Literacy is primarily something people do; it is an activity, located in the space between thought and text. Literacy does not just reside in people’s heads as a set of skills to be learned, and it does not just reside on paper, captured as texts to be analysed. Like all human activity, literacy is essentially social, and it is located in the interaction between people" (Barton and Hamilton 1998: 3).
<br>
Their six-point outline of how literacy functions as a set of social practices expands on this definition:
"Literacy is best understood as a set of social practices; these can be inferred from events which are mediated by written texts.
There are different literacies associated with different domains of life.
Literacy practices are patterned by social institutions and power relationships, and some literacies become more dominant, visible and influential than others.
Literacy practices are purposeful and embedded in broader social goals and cultural practices.
Literacy is historically situated.
Literacy practices change, and new ones are frequently acquired through processes of informal learning and sense making" (Barton and Hamilton 1998: 7).
<br>
Barton, D. and Hamilton, M. (1998) Local Literacies: Reading and Writing in One Community. London: Routledge.
<br>
In addition to the socially and culturally situated nature of literacy, the picture becomes even more complex when we consider the impact of new technologies. Here we can refer to "new" or "digital" literacies.
<br>
“As we move from an industrial to a post-industrial information economy, one in which print literacy is not obsolete but certainly substantially transformed, then surely we need broader definitions of knowledge, literacy and pedagogy which will include study of the intertextuality of imageries, texts, icons and artefacts of new information economies, of media and of popular culture” (Luke 1998: 27).
<br>
Luke, C. (1998) ‘Pedagogy and Authority: Lessons from Feminist and Cultural Studies, Postmodernism and Feminist Pedagogy’, in D. Buckingham (ed.), Teaching Popular Culture: Beyond Radical Pedagogy. London: UCL Press.
<br>
The above are extracts from Mackey, M. (2002) Literacies across media. London: RoutledgeFalmer: 5-6."
"In developing contexts the issue of literacy is often represented as simply a technical one: that people need to be taught how to decode letters and they can do what they like with their newly acquired literacy after that, an approach I have referred to as an 'autonomous' model of literacy (...). The 'autonomous' model of literacy works from the assumption that literacy in itself — autonomously— will have effects on other social and cognitive practices. The model, however, disguises the cultural and ideological assumptions that underpin it and that can then be presented as though they are neutral and universal: the research described in this volume challenges this view and suggests that in practice the approach is simply imposing Western conceptions of literacy on to other cultures. The alternative, ideological model of literacy, to which many of the chapters in this book refer, offers a more culturally sensitive view of literacy practices as they vary from one context to another.
This model starts from different premises than the autonomous model—it posits instead that literacy is a social practice, not simply a technical and neutral skill; that it is always embedded in socially constructed epistemological principles. It is about knowledge: the ways in which people address reading and writing are themselves rooted in conceptions of knowledge, identity, being. Literacy, in this sense, is always contested, both its meanings and its practices, hence particular versions of it are always ‘ideological’, they are always rooted in a particular world-view and a desire for that view of literacy to dominate and to marginalise others (...).
The argument about social literacies (...) suggests that engaging with literacy is always a social act even from the outset. The ways in which teachers or facilitators and their students interact is already a social practice that affects the nature of the literacy being learned and the ideas about literacy held by the participants, especially the new learners and their position in relations of power. It is not valid to suggest that ‘literacy’ can be ‘given’ neutrally and then its ‘social’ effects only experienced afterwards.
Street, B. (ed.) (2001) Literacy and development: ethnographic perspectives. London: Routledge, 7-8."
Term in German:
Literalitäten
"Kommunikationsfertigkeit. Der Begriff 'Literalität' bezeichnete ursprünglich, und meistens, schriftliche Kommunikation. Er kann jedoch auch auf andere Formen angewendet werden, wie in medialer oder informatischer Literalität (im deutschsprachigen Raum oft auch als 'Medienkompetenz' bezeichnet, Anm. d. Übers.)."
Department for Children, Schools and Families, The Key Stage 3 Framework for Languages: Glossary: 7 (downloaded 2 November 2009) [Übersetzung ins Deutsche: K.-B. Boeckmann]"
Source: ECML resource website Majority language in multilingual settings (2008-2011)
“This level typically begins around the age of 11 or 12 and usually ends at age 15 or 16, often coinciding with the end of compulsory education.”
Term in French:
enseignement secondaire inférieur
« Les élèves accèdent généralement à ce niveau vers l’âge de 11 ou 12 ans et y restent jusqu’à 15 ou 16 ans, ce qui coïncide souvent avec la fin de l’enseignement obligatoire. »
Term in German:
Sekundarbereich I
„Der Sekundarbereich I beginnt im Alter von etwa 11 oder 12 Jahren und endet in der Regel im Alter von 15 oder 16 Jahren, und dieses Ende fällt häufig mit dem Ende der allgemeinen Schulpflicht zusammen.“
Source: ECML resource website CLIL in languages other than English – Successful transitions across educational stages (2020-2022)