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The importance of sociocultural competencies and skills in language education within the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. It highlights the role of language education in promoting democratic citizenship, human rights, and intercultural communication. The text also emphasizes the need to overcome language prejudices and improve the status of various languages in Europe.
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The Open University, Milton Keynes
Language Policy Division Directorate of School, Out-of-School and Higher Education DGIV Council of Europe, Strasbourg
The opinions expressed in this work are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy of the Council of Europe.
All correspondence concerning this publication or the reproduction or translation of all or part of the document should be addressed to the Director of School, Out of School and Higher Education of the Council of Europe (F-67075 Strasbourg Cedex).
The reproduction of extracts is authorised, except for commercial purposes, on condition that the source is quoted.
This text, part of a series published by the Language Policy Division , is clearly significant in its own right because it deals with certain influential factors in the organisation and sociolinguistic foundations of language teaching and in the linguistic ideologies at work in problems related to the languages of Europe. It is however part of a larger project since it is one element of a collection of publications focused on the Guide for the Development of Language Education Policies in Europe: From Linguistic Diversity to Plurilingual Education.
This Guide is both a descriptive and programmatic document whose purpose is to demonstrate the complexity of the questions involved in language teaching, often dealt with in a simplistic manner. It aims to describe the processes and conceptual tools needed for the analysis of educational contexts with respect to languages and for the organisation of language learning and teaching according to the principles of the Council of Europe.
There are several versions of this Guide for different audiences, but the ‘main version’ deals with a number of complex questions, albeit in a limited framework. It seemed necessary to illustrate these questions with case studies, syntheses and studies of specific sectors of language teaching, dealing in monographic form with questions only touched upon in the Guide. These Reference Studies provide a context for the Guide , showing its theoretical bases, sources of further information, areas of research and the themes which underlie it.
The Modern Languages Division , now the Language Policy Division , demonstrates through this collection of publications its new phase of activity, which is a continuation of previous activities. The Division disseminated through the Threshold Levels of the 1970s, a language teaching methodology more focused upon communication and mobility within Europe. It then developed on the basis of a shared educational culture, the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (published in its final version in 2001). This is a document which is not concerned with the nature of the contents of language teaching but rather with the form of curricula and syllabi for language teaching. The Framework proposes explicit referential levels for identifying degrees of language competence, and thus provides the basis for differentiated management of courses so that opportunities for the teaching of more languages in schools and in lifelong learning are created. This recognition of the intrinsic value of plurilingualism has simultaneously led to the development of an instrument which allows each learner to become aware of and to describe their language repertoire, namely the European Language Portfolio. Versions of this are increasingly developed in member States and were at the heart of the European Year of Languages (2001).
Plurilingualis m has been identified in numerous Recommendations of the Council of Europe as the principle and the aim of language education policies, and must
Democratic citizenship has been described as a 'polysemous and contested concept'. At the core, however, citizenship 'is always a matter of belonging to a community, which entrains politics and rights'. Citizenship always has a political dimension, because citizens have the capacity to determine the law (Audigier, 1998). In Europe, citizenship is based on respect for justice, human rights, fundamental freedoms and the rule of law.
Citizens belong to communities, defined as groupings of people who recognise that they have something in common. What unites them may simply be an acceptance of the legitimacy of the state within which they live. It may also be a strong affective bond based on shared history, ethnicity, religion or common purpose. States are internationally recognised entities with governments which have the power to confer nationality or the right to residence in the state's territory. In Europe, states have the obligation to respect the rights of all those who come under their jurisdiction. This means that, in theory, nationals and non- nationals living within a state can exercise citizenship. That means that they can participate in the economic, social and political life of their community.
Thus, although citizenship is often closely associated with nationality, it is a freestanding and independent concept. The nation is only one possible (imagined) community within which citizenship is exercised (Anderson, 1991). Citizenship is most commonly experienced at local levels and it exists at supranational levels such as Europe. Recent discussions on citizenship posit a new term 'world citizenship' or 'global citizenship' reflecting the new context of the communications age. (Cates, 1995; Audigier, 1999: 62).
Diverse language communities can live together harmoniously within a state or a wider political entity such as Europe. However different language communities may not have equal power. Citizenship stresses the notion of equal respect and dignity even where there is inequality of power. It also acknowledges the right of individuals to group together and engage in political and cultural activity to assert their rights. Such non-violent democratic activity, is one legitimate, even exemplary expression of citizenship.
Citizenship in the member states of the Council of Europe is based on a commitment to fundamental freedoms. The liberal democracies of Europe are founded on principles first proclaimed in the eighteenth century in such documents as the American Declaration of Independence (1776) and the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen (1789). The principles were re- defined in the aftermath of the Second World War in the United Nations Charter (1945) and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948). The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR, 1950) transformed the principles into legally enforceable guarantees. The twin pillars of European political values are
'an effective political democracy' on the one hand and 'a common understanding and observance of […] human rights' (ECHR preamble).
The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, in their Declaration and Programme of Education for Democratic Citizenship of 7 May 1999, at the time of the 50th^ anniversary of the Council of Europe reaffirmed their vision of building Europe as:
a freer, more tolerant and just society based on solidarity, common values and a cultural heritage enriched by its diversity (Council of Europe, 1999).
Languages are a particularly important component of this cultural heritage. The diversity of languages contributes to the richness of Europe's culture. Their preservation and development depend on common understandings of citizenship.
For the ministers, education for democratic citizenship, based on the rights and responsibilities of citizenship is a lifelong learning experience and a participative process developed in various contexts which, inter alia :
A further definition of democratic citizenship, as understood by the Council of Europe is: About greater participation, social cohesion, access, equity and solidarity. Democratic citizenship is about inclusion rather than exclusion, participation rather than marginalisation, culture and values rather than simple procedural issues (such as voting) and is about being active in shaping understandings and practices of citizenship.
In terms of education for democratic citizenship, it is: All those practices and activities aimed at making young people and adults better equipped to participate actively in democratic life by assuming and exercising their rights and responsibilities in society (Forrester, 1999).
This expresses what is sometimes referred to as 'political literacy'. Citizens need to know about the institutions, problems and practices of a democracy and require skills and values which enable them to be effective and exercise influence locally, regionally and nationally (Crick, 1998:13).
this respect. The International Covenant, in its Article 27 refers to linguistic minorities within states and affirms:
Persons belonging to such minorities shall not be denied the right, in community with the other members of their group, to enjoy their own culture, to profess and practise their own religion, or to use their own language.
Although human rights apply to individuals, this formulation starts to approach the concept of group rights. Communication between individuals is by definition a group phenomenon. Languages die if there are insufficient social contexts in which they can be used. The use of a minority language is sometimes perceived as a threat by members of other language groups. As the European Language Council points out in its Policy Paper on Multilingualism and the less widely used and less taught languages , the most likely impediment to the right to communicate in one's own language is the possible inability of others to comprehend, not to say the possible hostility users of minority languages may face. Education for linguistic pluralism and tolerance can start to remove obstacles to the full democratic participation of individuals from different language communities. (http://www.fu-berlin.de/elc/PolicyPapers/multplen.htm)
Within international law, the main instrument covering Europe is the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages of 1992. Its purpose is partly to protect minority languages as part of 'Europe's cultural wealth and traditions'. More positively it stresses 'the value of interculturalism and multilingualism' which are essential elements of the Council of Europe's project to build a continent-wide democratic space:
the protection and promotion of regional or minority languages in the different countries and regions of Europe represent an important contribution to the building of a Europe based on the principles of democracy and cultural diversity within the framework of national sovereignty and territorial integrity;
It is confirmed in the Charter that:
the protection and encouragement of regional or minority languages should not be to the d etriment of the official languages and the need to learn them.
Further details about the Charter and the full text are available on: http://www.coe.fr/eng/legaltxt/148e.htm
At a global level, the World Federation of Modern Language Teaching Associations (FIPLV) and UNESCO's Linguapax Committee have been active in drafting further instruments and recommendations such as the Pecs principles (FIPLV, 1991), which informed the Universal Declaration of Linguistic Rights.
This was adopted at the World Conference of Linguistic Rights held in Barcelona 6 - 8 June 1996. It is a comprehensive document with over 50 articles. It is based on the concept of equality for languages and therefore avoids the terms regional or minority languages which have been used to restrict the rights of language communities. Currently the Declaration has no legal force, but it sets out an agenda for policy and legislation. Further details and the full text are available at: http://www.troc.es/mercator/main-gb.htm
Its starting point is that 'linguistic rights are individual and collective rights at one and the same time'. It lists five 'inalienable personal rights which may be exercised in any situation' namely:
There follow four 'collective rights of language groups', which are:
Some of these rights are already covered by the ECHR. However, those making policy in the area of language teaching and learning will wish to be sensitive to all these demands, even if they are not in a position to guarantee the full range of linguistic rights.
One right of particular relevance to teachers is the use of one's own name, which is expanded in articles 31 - 34 of the Declaration. The right to a name is also guaranteed under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Schools are still not always respectful of the names of their pupils, particularly where teachers are unfamiliar with naming conventions or pronunciation. Employers too, within Europe, have been known to ask workers, particularly Muslims, to change their name. Education about names, their importance in identity formation and their cultural significance should be part of the curriculum for teachers and for pupils.
The right to attention in one's own language from government bodies implies both that members of a variety of linguistic groups be employed in government
part of the equipment of tomorrow's citizens facing the challenges and opportunities of a transformed European society (Trim, 1998:6).
Education for and about human rights and its corollary the refusal to accept racism is potentially a powerful means to strengthen democracy. Such education can make a significant contribution to removing obstacles to the democratic participation of citizens.
The reduction of obstacles to participation, in particular socio-economic obstacles, is an integral part of any strategy aimed at strengthening democratic citizenship (Audigier, 1998:7).
Language education can help learners acquire an understanding of the, often subtle, mechanisms of racism. One requirement is the preparation and production of appropriate materials. A second is that authentic texts be subject to critical study. A combination of these might be particularly effective.
Those preparing materials for language learning often try to engage students in study and debate of socially and politically controversial issues. Many courses contain a unit on questions of demographic diversity, including immigration. The following guidelines may help writers of materials to avoid reinforcing stereotypes and promote positive intercultural perspectives:
Another promising development is that of critical discourse analysis (CDA) which 'is a type of discourse analytical research that primarily studies the way
social power abuse, dominance and inequality are enacted, reproduced and resisted by text and talk in the social and political context' (van Dijk, 1997). CDA can provide a set of guidelines for interrogating an authentic text, so that students engage with the content critically at the same time as they attempt to understand other more superficial aspects of the text. In this way learners may confront texts of a possibly xenophobic nature to explore the discourse mechanisms of racism.
As an example, students of Spanish at an Irish university studied newspaper articles on the theme of immigration. They closely examined the texts looking for discourse features such as: sources, perspectives, arguments; rhetorical devices such as metaphors and similes ('Fortress Europe'; 'an avalanche of immigrants'). Having made this critical analysis of the linguistic and stylistic features of the press coverage of immigration, students felt confident to discuss the issue and to make comparisons with coverage in the Irish press. They then wrote an account of their findings and their feelings about them (Ramos, 2001a,b).
A related approach, critical cultural awareness (Byram, 1997) is described in section 10 below.
Linguapax, which started in 1987, is an international project for teaching foreign languages and literature fostered by UNESCO to:
It is co-ordinated by UNESCO's Language Division and the UNESCO Centre of Catalonia. http://www.linguapax.org/queang.html
The project considers that:
Education is a fundamental part of the process by which individuals are socialised, thereby acquiring values, attitudes and behavioural patterns. By presenting the learner with communicative practices different from his/her own, language teaching offers an excellent means of promoting values and representations favouring the development of a culture of peace.
A Special Symposium on The Contribution of Modern Language Teaching to the Promotion of Peace was held at the European Centre for Modern Languages, Graz, (Austria) September 30 - October 3, 1998. It drafted a series of statements and recommendations including the following:
comprehension and expression. The cultural dimension and the demands implied therein at the level of what is known and accepted in others - a necessarily reciprocal process - are inextricably linked to communication. A particularly active network of language teachers working broadly within a framework of peace education and concern to promote global citizenship is co- ordinated by the National Special Interest Group of the Japan Association for Language Teaching (JALT) which produces a Global Issues in Language Education Newsletter. A project on English for World Citizenship, which used materials produced for world studies and citizenship education in the context of a language class is described by Cates (1995).
The Council of Europe's project on Education for Democratic Citizenship produced a statement of core competencies:
Thus the core competencies associated with democratic citizenship are those called for by the construction of a free and autonomous person, aware of his rights and duties in a society where the power to establish the law, i.e. the rules of community life which define the framework in which the freedom of each is exercised, and where the appointment and control of the people who exercise this power are under the supervision of all the citizens (Audigier, 1998).
Three broad categories are distinguished: cognitive competencies; affective competencies and those connected with the choice of values; those connected with action. These are described as follows.
Cognitive competencies
Affective competencies and choice of values
Citizenship cannot be reduced to a catalogue of rights and duties, it is also belonging to a group or to groups. It thus requires a personal and collective affective dimension.
Capacities for action , sometimes known as social competencies.
These broad educational aims can be complemented by a list of more precise outcomes and key skills, taken from the Recommendation No. R(85)7 of the Council of Europe's Committee of Ministers to Member States (adopted in May
The skills associated with understanding and supporting human rights include:
i. intellectual skills , in particular: o skills involving judgement, such as:
ii. social skills , in particular: o recognising and accepting differences; o establishing positive and non-oppressive personal relationships o resolving conflict in a non-violent way o taking responsibility o participating in decisions o understanding the use of the mechanisms for the protection of human rights at local, regional, European and world levels.
All these competencies and skills can be developed through the study of languages. Indeed, many of them are listed in the Common European Framework of Reference for languages.
Chapter 5 of the Common European Framework of Reference for languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment lists the declarative knowledge ( savoir ) and sociocultural knowledge expected of language users (section 5.1.1). Sections 3 and 4 of the sociocultural knowledge cover interpersonal relations and major values, beliefs and attitudes (Council of Europe, 2001).
The good society / learning communities as the model
Action skills and training The model proposes that the basis of citizenship is, on the one hand structural and political and on the other cultural and personal. The structural and political dimensions are concerned with, at a minimal level, the human rights recognised by states as the entitlement of citizens. In practice, economic, social and cultural factors may combine to deny some citizens their basic rights and so to exclude them from society. The realisation of this denial of rights demands a political response intended to ensure the inclusion of citizens. As mechanisms of exclusion are not fully under the control of political and structural processes, but also depend on individual agency, policies and regulations will always be to some extent inadequate. Thus the concern for inclusion and community is described in the model as 'maximal', recognising that, whereas the guarantee of rights is a basic minimum, their realisation is likely to be a goal or aspiration.
One important potential site for the realisation of political and structural equality and inclusion is the learning communities themselves, whether schools, universities, adult learning centres or virtual learning centres. All, ideally, will be based on human rights, in other words equality of dignity for individuals and fundamental freedoms for individuals including freedom of expression and association. They can be, in some respects, models of democratic societies. The Council of Europe's Education for Democratic Citizenship Project is developing the concept of 'sites of citizenship', which are projects creating communities which develop both learning and participation.
The right hand side of the model is about the cultural and personal dimensions of citizenship. This corresponds to the affective dimension in Audigier's classification. The model suggests that identities are no longer able to be imposed by a national, even nationalist education, but are culturally and personally defined and increasingly multiple. In other words, in European liberal democracies citizens recognise that, as well as exclusive notions of identity (e.g. French or British; British or Irish) which produce tensions and social and cultural exclusion, processes of education enable them to feel at ease with notions of multiple identities. Thus citizenship may be constructed on the basis of multiply situated selves rather than exclusivity.
Language learning is an important component of constructing such complex identities. Guilherme (1999) and Byram (1997, 1999) apply the insights of critical pedagogy, developed from the work of Freire by writers such as Giroux, to the teaching of languages. Critical pedagogy:
has been influenced…by a post-modern conception of identity that emphasises hybridity - the treatment of identity as contingent, temporary, and disruptive of oppositional categories (Carlson and Apple, 1998:28).
Byram and Guilherme (2000) argue that it is not paradoxical for this post-modern view, that can tend towards relativism, to be tempered by a modernist
commitment to universal human rights. The model above is one means of expressing this duality. Whereas each citizen is socialised into cultures and identities, the full realisation of citizenship (the maximal dimension in the model) implies the capacity to influence one's environment at whatever level. This requires a set of competencies which develop throughout life and which, too, are therefore goals and aspirations. Amongst the most important of these competencies for action are linguistic competencies, including skills involving oral expression, such as making a case, discussing and negotiating, as well as the critical comprehension skills of understanding written and media documents. The development of co- operation skills is another area where language education can make a significant contribution.
Language teaching is potentially a most important site of learning for democratic citizenship. Even where citizenship education is a formal curriculum requirement, which is increasingly the case, the relatively small amount of time allotted and the prestige of more traditional, examined disciplines tends to minimise its impact. Language teaching, on the other hand, requires and is given substantial curriculum time and benefits from the prestige of an established university discipline. Moreover, the content of language teaching has for long been flexible, including literature, cultural awareness, media studies and debates of topical issues. Whereas not all teachers of languages are aware of their potential contribution to education for citizenship, including human rights education, many, often inspired by participation in European projects and meetings, have pioneered citizenship education through language teaching.
The development of policy in the area of the language curriculum might include a revision of the taxonomies that are the Threshold, Waystage and Vantage level documents. Currently these specifications, which are widely used in Europe in the construction of teaching and assessment syllabuses, have a distinct emphasis on the transactional and the institutional. The dimension of capacities for action is less well represented.
The Vantage level specification (B2 level) is aimed at:
Those who want to use another language for communication with persons who speak it, both for transacting the business of everyday life and for exchanging information and opinions on private life and public affairs (van Ek & Trim, 1996:5).
However the emphasis on acting together as well as speaking together could be developed. Personal interaction and social contact, for example, is exemplified as 'to engage in meaningful relations in various domains of public life (e.g. business, education, welfare, entertainment)' ( Vantage , chapter 2). Whereas this
