CCERBAL 2023 Conference: Bilingualism and Multilingualism

Transversal competences have recently come to the forefront in education and in society more generally. Their definition can be elusive, and they are variably known as soft skills, 21st century skills, core competencies, transferable skills, etc. (cf. Council of Europe ECML, 2021). Some examples of transversal competences proposed by UNESCO (2015) include global citizenship, inter- and intra-personal skills, critical and innovative thinking, as well as physical and psychological health. Transversal competences are inextricably related to language teaching and learning; they also apply to family and societal bi/multilingualism in a globalized world and thus have overarching social significance.

Mobility is another defining characteristic of 21st century society. Global flows and exchanges of ideas, internationalized education, personal travel, transnational families, economic migration, as well as fleeing wars and persecution are types of mobility that raise new and important questions. In addition, digital technology has offered yet another type of mobility in parallel to physical mobility. Such new developments require renewed impetus for innovative pedagogies and policies, in many of the following contexts: language teaching and learning; bi/multilingual use in academic, cultural, business, and daily life exchanges; supporting global diversity and inclusion; empowering plurilingual migrant populations in school classrooms to become confident and competent users of a host country’s language while also creating the necessary conditions for preserving their original languages and identities; and many others.

Human well-being is tightly connected to the above themes. Recent work on language teacher well-being has raised questions about how to ensure teachers are well-supported, validated, retained in the profession, encouraged to innovate, and engage learners; learner well-being is a key issue in a context of multilingual and multicultural classrooms with various unique learner needs and objectives. Supporting the development of bilingual and multilingual children at the family level and building bridges to schooling and other formal educational contexts also form part of what is known as harmonious bi/multilingualism (De Houwer, 2020) and general well-being. Finally, an overall focus on general well-being for all stakeholders has become increasingly important during the COVID-19 pandemic and the eagerly anticipated post-pandemic recovery.