The efficient functioning of democracies depends on social inclusion and societal integration, and these in turn depend on an understanding of, respect for and engagement with linguistic and cultural diversity. The Council of Europe advocates plurilingual and intercultural education as a means of achieving these goals. Recommendation CM/Rec(2022)1 draws on previous Council of Europe documents to define the key concepts that underpin plurilingual and intercultural education and sets out a comprehensive list of measures that member states are invited to take. While acknowledging that full implementation of these measures is the work of many years, the Recommendation points out that much can be achieved in the short term within existing policy frameworks. Together with its explanatory memorandum, Recommendation CM/Rec(2022)1 is essential reading for policy makers, curriculum developers, teachers, teacher educators, textbook authors, examination agencies, parents' organisations, educational associations and leaders of civil society

The efficient functioning of democracies depends on social inclusion and societal integration, and these in turn depend on an understanding of, respect for and engagement with linguistic and cultural diversity. The Council of Europe advocates plurilingual and intercultural education as a means of achieving these goals. Recommendation CM/Rec(2022)1 draws on previous Council of Europe documents to define the key concepts that underpin plurilingual and intercultural education and sets out a comprehensive list of measures that member states are invited to take. While acknowledging that full implementation of these measures is the work of many years, the Recommendation points out that much can be achieved in the short term within existing policy frameworks. Together with its explanatory memorandum, Recommendation CM/Rec(2022)1 is essential reading for policy makers, curriculum developers, teachers, teacher educators, textbook authors, examination agencies, parents’ organisations, educational associations and leaders of civil society.

A new Council of Europe reference framework of competences for democratic culture! Contemporary societies within Europe face many challenges, including declining levels of voter turnout in elections, increased distrust of politicians, high levels of hate crime, intolerance and prejudice towards minority ethnic and religious groups, and increasing levels of support for violent extremism. These challenges threaten the legitimacy of democratic institutions and peaceful co-existence within Europe. Formal education is a vital tool that can be used to tackle these challenges. Appropriate educational input and practices can boost democratic engagement, reduce intolerance and prejudice, and decrease support for violent extremism. However, to achieve these goals, educationists need a clear understanding of the democratic competences that should be targeted by the curriculum. This book presents a new conceptual model of the competences which citizens require to participate in democratic culture and live peacefully together with others in culturally diverse societies. The model is the product of intensive work over a two-year period, and has been strongly endorsed in an international consultation with leading educational experts. The book describes the competence model in detail, together with the methods used to develop it. The model provides a robust conceptual foundation for the future development of curricula, pedagogies and assessments in democratic citizenship and human rights education. Its application will enable educational systems to be harnessed effectively for the preparation of students for life as engaged and tolerant democratic citizens. The book forms the first component of a new Council of Europe reference framework of competences for democratic culture. It is vital reading for all educational policy makers and practitioners who work in the fields of education for democratic citizenship, human rights education and intercultural education.

Our evolving understanding of the role of English as a lingua franca and our growing sensitivity to the unique needs of students and teachers who communicate across languages and cultures has led to significant changes in language teaching, pedagogy, and curriculum design. The Handbook of Plurilingual and Intercultural Language Learning is a field-defining book, which examines the various ways learners learn and acquire language in a truly global context. Featuring contributions from a diverse range of scholars reflecting different cultural, linguistic, regional, and ideological perspectives, this innovative volume presents the most recent developments in the field while revealing the nuances and complexities of teaching and learning foreign languages. This Handbook explains the conceptual basis of intercultural and plurilingual learning, describes core pedagogical concepts, discusses different learning and teaching approaches, and provides the historical background for various methods and theories. The authors discuss how policy and pedagogy can adapt to the shifting demographics of local student populations, address new trends and evolving themes, and explore contemporary topics such as translanguaging, intercomprehension, technology-enhanced learning, language policy, and more. The Handbook of Plurilingual and Intercultural Language Learning is essential reading for students, educators, and researchers in applied linguistics, language teaching and learning, plurilingualism/multilingualism, TESOL, cognitive linguistics, language policy, language acquisition, and intercultural communication.

The work of the Council of Europe in plurilingual and intercultural education is highly influential in Europe and beyond and has been so for many years. The Common European Framework of Reference and its Companion Volume, and related instruments, provide ways in which to implement policies and a broader vision of providing quality and equity in education across the curriculum, a vision which incorporates the core values of the Council of Europe and which educates children and young people to be plurilingual, intercultural and democratic citizens. This book presents this educational vision, demonstrates how it can be realised through the application of Council of Europe instruments in practice, and does so in a way which is easily and quickly accessible to teachers of all subjects and in all educational institutions, as well as to other educationists, including policymakers.

Underscoring the complex relationship between civic engagement and education at all stages of life, this innovative Handbook identifies the contemporary challenges and best approaches and practices to encourage civic engagement within education.