Embracing linguistic and cultural diversity in mainstream classes
Course details
Due to global mobility, school classes throughout Europe today are characterised to a large extent by increasing cultural and linguistic diversity. This situation poses a challenge for teachers, especially as success at school in all school subjects depends primarily on linguistic competence in the school language.
This course focusses on the question of how the languages of all learners can be welcomed in linguistically heterogeneous mainstream classes and used for (language) learning.
Firstly, the connection between language and identity is discussed in order to derive pedagogical perspectives for action. Then the question of why multilingualism is a resource for the (language) learning of all learners and how this can be realised in all subjects will be explored.
The course is offered by the European School Education Platform. Visit our website for more information.
Duration and workload
Start date: Monday 23 September 2024
End date: Wednesday 9 October 2024
Duration: 2 weeks
Workload: 8-10 hours
Course competences
The recipient of this certificate has demonstrated proficiency of the following competences according to the digital competence framework of the European Commission's SELFIE for TEACHERs tool:
- Professional Learning through digital technologies B1 level
- Teaching B2 level
- Actively engaging learners B1 level
Target audience
Teachers from all school levels and subjects as well as other school staff (librarians, school leaders, etc.) who are interested in exploring the topic of (language) learning in the context of diversity.
Learning objectives
- Reflect on existing attitudes towards cultural and linguistic diversity and be aware of their impact on teaching.
- Develop theoretical knowledge and practical skills to support (language) learning in cultural and linguistically diverse mainstream classrooms.
- Explore the importance of visualising, valuing and using multilingualism as a resource for all learners.
- Reflect on how to transform your own school in a language friendly one.
This content is offered by the European Commission. The European Commission is the European Union's politically independent executive arm. It is alone responsible for drawing up proposals for new European legislation, and it implements the decisions of the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union.

Schedule
- How this course works
- Module 1: Valuing all languages in the mainstream classroom
- Module 2: Multilingualism as a resource for language learning
- Module 3: Taking into account multilingualism in subject teaching
- Module 4: Developing language friendly lesson plans: practical application and assessment