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Multilingual interaction and minority languages: Proficiency and language practices in education and society

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 February 2013

Durk Gorter
Durk Gorter*
Affiliation:
University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU – IKERBASQUEd.gorter@ikerbasque.org
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Abstract

In this plenary speech I examine multilingual interaction in a number of European regions in which minority languages are being revitalized. Education is a crucial variable, but the wider society is equally significant. The context of revitalization is no longer bilingual but increasingly multilingual. I draw on the results of a long-running project on the ‘Added value of multilingualism and diversity in educational contexts’ among secondary school students, and show that there are interesting differences and similarities between the minority language (Basque or Frisian), the majority language (Spanish or Dutch) and English. The focus on multilingualism is applied inside and outside the school. The discussion demonstrates the complexity of everyday multilingual practices and the outcomes have implications for the gap between education and society and for further research into the linkages between language proficiency and actual language practices.

Type
Plenary Speeches
Information
Language Teaching , Volume 48 , Issue 1 , January 2015 , pp. 82 - 98
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2013 

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