Council of Europe Language Policy and Planning

The Council of Europe, an intergovernmental organization encompassing 47 European states and based in Strasbourg, France, offers a concept of plurilingual and intercultural education. According to this concept, skills in all languages available to the learners should be taken into account and developed further in a lifelong learning process to ensure development of individuals and benefit for the society they live in and contribute to. Council of Europe policy attaches particular importance to the development of plurilingualism - the lifelong enhancement of the individual’s linguistic repertoire. Within its Language Policy Programme, the Council of Europe has developed a range of instruments for the implementation of plurilingual and intercultural education. The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages provides a common basis and a common language for the elaboration of syllabuses, curriculum guidelines, textbooks, and teacher-training programs, and for relating examinations to one another. Many countries including those outside Europe have used the publication of the CFER - available by 2018 in 40 languages - to stimulate curriculum and examination reforms across a range of educational sectors. The Council of Europe is also offering guidelines and tools regarding the linguistic integration of migrant children in education systems and the linguistic integration of adult migrants. The European Centre for Modern Languages (ECML), a Council of Europe Partial Agreement based in Graz, Austria, offers support for the implementation of Council of Europe policies at classroom level