
The PE-LAL project: Plurilingual Education – Minority and Majority Students’ Language Awareness across Educational Levels
In recent years, plurilingual education has been subject to growing interest in educational research. The so-called pluralistic approach is based on students’ language resources and seeks to build bridges between languages (Danish, foreign languages, first languages, and other languages) in order to enhance all learners’ communicative competence and language awareness (LA). From our perspective, all foreign language learners are plurilingual because they learn more than one language as a result of schooling.
The PE-LAL project’s research questions, hypotheses, design, and operationalization of LA in the context of plurilingual education are described in Daryai-Hansen, Drachmann & Krogager-Andersen (2022).
The project will establish a collaboration with an International Advisory Board representing leading international researchers within the field of plurilingual education:
- Nathalie Auger, Université Paul-Valéry
- Åsta Haukås, Universitetet i Bergen
- Britta Hufeisen, Technische Universität Darmstadt
- Ulrike Jessner-Schmid, Universität Innsbruck
- Beate Lindemann, UiT Norges arktiske universitet
- Christine Erna Elisabeth Möller-Omrani, Høgskulen på Vestlandet
- Danièle Moore, Simon Fraser University
- Anne Pitkänen-Huhta, Jyväskylän yliopisto
- Heike Speitz, Universitetet i Sørøst-Norge
The members of the IAB represent and will contribute to bring together several key theoretical approaches within the field and have curriculum expertise from different contexts.
The teaching materials developed in the project are in Danish.
Bildetema
Visit: Bildetema
Bildetema is part of the Norwegian online platform Tema Morsmål which contains resources and materials in a plethora oflanguages. Bildetema is a plurilingual, interactive visual dictionary with illustrations, text, sound and animations and contains around 1900 entries divided into 31 themes such as ”the weather” or ”sports.” Bildetema is run in cooperation between Norway, Sweden and Denmark and has Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, Swedish, Danish and Enlish as primary languages. Many different minority languages such as Arabic and Somali can be chosen - up to 10 languages at a time.
- Target group: primary and pre-primary
- Subjects: materials may be used across the curriculum
Norden i Skolen
Visit Norden i Skolen
The platform Norden i Skolen, administrated by Foreningen Norden, consists of teaching materials within the field of inter-comprehension between Scandinavian languages and Nordic cultures. The material, available in Danish, Faroese, Islandic, Norwegian (Bokmål and Nynorsk), Swedish and some minority languages, can be selected according to three main categories (‘language and culture’, ’history and society’, ‘climate and nature’), educational levels, language subjects, thematic areas, learning focuses and teaching activities.
- Target group: Primary to upper secondary school
- Subjects: Foreign language education and subjects across the school’s curriculum
Plurilingual Guide: Implementing Critical Plurilingual Pedagogy in Language Education
Visit Plurilingual Guide: Implementing Critical Plurilingual Pedagogy in Language Education
The publication Plurilingual Guide: Implementing Critical Plurilingual Pedagogy in Language Education, published by the Plurilingual Lab at McGill University, consists of 10 tasks based on an inclusive critical plurilingual and pluricultural approach. The tasks are detailly described in a step-by-step guide and contains texts, links, and worksheets.
- Target group: Primary and upper secondary school
- Subjects: Foreign language education
Signs of language
Visit Signs of language
The Danish longitude project Signs of Language has for 10 years followed minority students’ literacy development within plurilingual education. The project’s website contains inspiration to plurilingual activities focusing on second language and literacy development in plurilingual classrooms aiming for lower and upper primary school and lower secondary school.
- Target group: Primary and lower secondary school
- Subjects: Danish, Danish as Second Language and subjects across the school’s curriculum
The CONBAT+ project
Visit the CONBAT+ project
The CONBAT+ project has developed teaching materials within the field of plurilingual and intercultural education, which has an embedded CLIL approach and can be used with students aged 6-20. The material, available in English, French and Spanish, can be selected according to educational levels, thematic areas, subjects and language of instruction.
- Target group: Primary to upper secondary school and beyond
- Subjects: Foreign language education and subjects across the school’s curriculum
The EDiLiC Association
Visit the EDiLiC Association
The EDiLiC Association has collected teaching materials within the field of plurilingual education from different projects in e.g., Austria, Canada, England, France, Germany, Luxemburg, Spain and Switzerland. The collection contains online activities and references to books dealing with the subject.
- Target group: Primary to upper secondary school and beyond
- Subjects: Foreign language education and subjects across the school’s curriculum
The European Language Portfolio
Visit the European Language Portfolio
The European Language Portfolio, based on The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, translated from Norwegian into Danish. The portfolio consists of a language passport, a language biography and a language folder, and serves to enable the student (age 6-12) to visualize and reflect on his/her acquisition processes.
- Target group: Primary school
- Subjects: Danish as Second Language, English, French and German
The FREPA database
Visit the FREPA database
The FREPA database, facilitated by the European Centre for Modern Languages, Council of Europe, consists of teaching materials within the field of plurilingual and intercultural education. The material, available in a wide range of languages, can be selected according to educational levels, thematic areas, type of pluralistic approach and language of instruction.
- Target group: From pre-primary to upper secondary and beyond
- Subjects: Foreign language education and subjects across the school’s curriculum
Tidligere sprogstart (early language learning)
Visit Tidligere sprogstart
Research-based and in practice tested teaching material for English, French and German, which takes into account plurilingual education. The material, available in Danish, focuses on early language learning and consists of a language passport, a language portfolio and individual activities integrated within the teaching descriptions. All plurilingual activities come with an answer key.
- Target group: Primary school
- Subjects: English, French and German
- Daryai-Hansen, P. & Drachmann, N. (forthcoming). Language Awareness across Educational Levels in the Context of Plurilingual Education – Recommendations for Curriculum Development in Denmark. Nordic Journal of Language Teaching and Journal.
- Daryai-Hansen, P., Drachmann, N. & Krogager Andersen, L. (2020). Minoritets- og majoritetselevers sproglige opmærksomhed på tværs af uddannelsesniveauer. Sproglæreren, 3 (2020), 42-45.
- Daryai-Hansen, P., Drachmann, N., & Krogager Andersen, L. (2022). Rethinking Language Awareness in the Context of Plurilingual Education – a Study across Educational Levels in Denmark. https://www.plurilingualeducation.ku.dk/.
- Daryai-Hansen, P., Drachmann, N. & Krogager Andersen, L. (forthcoming). Students’ Language Awareness across Educational Levels in the Context of Plurilingual Education - A Conceptualization. From Early Childhood to Adulthood: Plurilingual Education Across Educational Contexts. Transitions, Continuity, and Disruptions.
- Drachmann, N. (2022). Flersprogethed i sprogfagenes læreplaner. Sprogforum, 74, 33-40. https://doi.org/10.7146/spr.v28i74.133028
- Drachmann, N. (2023). Flersprogethedsdidaktik og sproglig opmærksomhed – Et læreplansstudie på tværs af sprogfag og klassetrin i den danske grundskole. Acta Didactica Norden, 17(1). https://doi.org/10.5617/adno.9831
- Drachmann, N. (in press). «Jeg kender lidt ordene. Det er en lille smule ligesom mit sprog»: Manifestationer af sproglig opmærksomhed hos tre elever i 1., 5. og 7. klasse. Nordand – Nordisk tidsskrift for andrespråksforskning.
- Drachmann, N. (forthcoming). Plurilingual Education in the Mainstream Language Teaching Classroom: Students’ Manifestations of Language Awareness in Primary and Lower Secondary School. From Early Childhood to Adulthood: Plurilingual Education Across Educational Contexts. Transitions, Continuity, and Disruptions.
- Drachmann, N. (2022). Flersprogethedsdidaktik i fremmedsprogsfagene: Idékatalog til udvikling af sprogsammenlignende aktiviteter. Sproglæreren, 3 (2002), 16-21.
- Drachmannn, N., Daryai-Hansen, P., & Krogager Andersen, L. (forthcoming). Translanguaging via en flersprogethedsdidaktik: Anbefalinger til praksis. Sproglæreren, 3, (2023).
- Drachmann, N., Haukås, Å., & Lundberg, A. (2023). Identifying pluralistic approaches in language subjects in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden – A comparative curriculum analysis. Language, Culture and Curriculum. https://doi.org/10.1080/07908318.2022.2156528
- Drachmann, N., Haukås, Å. & Lundberg, A. (forthcoming). Forskellige ambitioner for flersprogethed i Skandinavien. Sproglæreren, 3 (2023)
- Drachmann, N., Haukås, Å. & Lundberg, A. (forthcoming). Olika ambitioner för flerspråkighet i Skandinavien. Lingua.
- Drachmann, N., Haukås, Å. & Lundberg, A. (forthcoming). Ulike ambisjonar for fleirspråklegheit i Skandinavia. Bedre Skole.
- Drachmann, N., Jensen, T. & Bisgaard, T. (2022). Det flersprogede klasserum: Elevernes sproglige repertoire som ressource i sprogundervisningen. Liv i Skolen, 1 (2022), 84-93.
- Drachmann, N., Jensen, T., Mohan, S. B. S. & Østerbye, M. S. (2022). Flersprogethedsdidaktik på tværs af klassetrin – praksiserfaringer fra sproguger på Nørre Fælled Skole. Sproglæreren, 1 (2022), 31-35.
- Drachmann, N., Volsgaard Hansen, S., & Heunicke, H. (2022). Flere sprog i spil – om flersprogethedsdidaktik (podcast).
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Krogager Andersen, L. K. (accepted). Ein ideeller Kontext pour translanguaging. In A. Holmen & H. Thise (Eds.), Flere sprog i læringen. Translanguaging i ungdomsuddannelserne. Samfundslitteratur.
- On www.folkeskolen.dk – journal for teachers, 01.09.20: Forskningsprojekt vil undersøge elevers sproglige opmærksomhed op gennem skolen.
- On www.folkeskolen.dk – journal for teachers, 16.11.20: Tysktime på islandsk, tyrkisk og norsk.
- On www.folkeskolen.dk – journal for teachers, 22.02.23: Byg bro til elevernes sproglige ressourcer i tysk.
Researchers
Name | Title | Phone | |
---|---|---|---|
Daryai-Hansen, Petra | Associate Professor - Promotion Programme | +4535334482 | |
Drachmann, Natascha | PhD Fellow | +4530237919 | |
Holmen, Anne | Head of Centre, Professor | +4535328174 |
Other researchers
Line Krogager Andersen, postdoc, Department for the Study of CultureUniversity of Southern Denmark
Line Møller Daugaard, associated researcher, VIA University College
Tom Steffensen, associated researcher, University College Copenhagen
Funding

Independent Research Fund Denmark, DFF-Research Project 2
Project period: 2020-2023
PI: Petra Daryai-Hansen

Teaching materials

Do you need inspiration on how to integrate plurilingualism and plurilingual education in your teaching? See the plurilingual teaching material developed in the project for primary and secondary education or the project’s collection of existing plurilingual teaching materials for primary, secondary and tertiary education. The teaching materials are available for free.