Based on findings from the project Plurilingual Education – Minority and Majority Students’ Language Awareness across Educational Levels (PE-LAL, Daryai-Hansen, Drachmann & Krogager Andersen, 2022), the paper presents a theoretically and empirically embedded conceptualization of learners’ language awareness (LA) across educational levels in the context of plurilingual education, developed through an abductive approach (Timmermans & Tavory, 2012) in the PE-LAL project. The conceptualization defines plurilingual education consisting of three pluralistic approaches to languages (Candelier et al., 2010) and a transversal dimension focusing on learners’ language resources including first languages beyond the language(s) of schooling and language awareness as practical language awareness (PLA), metalinguistic awareness (MLA) and critical language awareness (CLA) (van Lier, 2004) that can be directed towards nine language levels. The conceptualization is concretized through classroom student data covering transitions from primary to lower secondary education. The PE-LAL findings indicate that PLA, MLA and CLA can be manifested by students across educational levels and that the students’ LA with age reflects a complexification manifested through the LA articulation and LA language levels framed by the students’ cognitive development and experiences. In conclusion, the paper discusses potentials and limitations of the conceptualization.