cohesion - European Centre for Modern Languages

28. Language education in a multilingual multicultural
Europe: Irish issues
Anne Gallagher
Introduction
Many language professionals working in the area are of the view that the salvation of
European lesser-used languages lies in Europe. For too long, minority language
education operated in a bubble, partly as a defence mechanism, and was therefore cut
off from good work done in the teaching of other languages, in particular languages
which have traditionally had greater resources available to them. Learners now expect
more and better. Since, historically, the teaching of lesser-used languages suffered as a
result of their lowlier status, we must now ensure that the experience of the learner of
these languages is at least as positive as when learning other languages.
The projects presented in the context of the second medium-term programme are about
good practice, looking at new and practical approaches to language teaching and
learning in ever changing language contexts. One project, the VALEUR project, sets
out the context in which most of us work: a Europe with a rich diversity of language.
The point is often made that this diversity represents a threat for minority languages. I
believe the converse to be true. In Ireland, at least, the presence of so many new
languages (about 200) causes Irish people to look at their indigenous language through
different eyes and reinforces the idea that languages are not just about communication
but are about ways of being. They are, as Joseph Lo Bianco put it in his keynote
address to the conference, “acts of identity”.
The third medium-term programme
In an ideal world, I would like to see the new programmes focus on two areas which
are particularly relevant to my country at this juncture:
1. language teacher education;
2. international co-operation between ministries of countries linked by migration.
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