Language Awareness and the Development of Learners’ Plurilingual Competence

Abstract

In this chapter, the authors provide an overview of research carried out in the concepts of plurilingual competence (PC) and language awareness (LA). They address the following issues: PC dimensions tackled by researchers; the corresponding domains of LA addressed; the teaching approaches used. This analysis allows them to identify and discuss crucial areas of intervention, regarding the development of learners' PC and LA. PC's emergence and its establishment/development as an educational goal derive not only from empirical and theoretical research conducted in sociolinguistics and psycholinguistics, but also from the design of language policies in Europe. The authors argue that LA must be considered from two complementary perspectives: as an intrinsic nature of plurilingual individuals and as a didactic methodology at teachers' disposal to make students engage with language. By promoting the development of students' LA, some strategies may enhance the development of the plural, complex and composite plurilingual and pluricultural competence.

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