Page 77 - Compétences plurilingues : perspectives et actions / Plurilingual competencies: perspectives and actions

Plurilingual and Pluricultural Approaches in Education

The Language Centre has long prioritised issues concerning plurilingualism and pluricul-
turalism. Consequently, it has developed over recent years numerous courses based on this
approach for students at Masaryk University (MU). Moreover, several academics from the
Language Centre focus their professional interest on issues of plurilingualism and pluricul-
turalism and therefore dedicate their own research to topics from this ield. The increased
academic interest is re lected in the fact that the Language Centre organises conferences
dedicated to these particular issues.¹
In the spring of 2022, however, a completely new situation arose, due to which the teach-
ers of the Centre had to face unexpected challenges. When the war broke out in Ukraine,
a huge number of refugees came to the Czech Republic as well as to Poland, Slovakia and
other European countries. According to data provided by the Czech Ministry of Interior,
there are currently 325,000 refugees registered in the Czech Republic, and as a result the
country stands among those with the highest number of Ukrainian refugees relative to total
́
population (Dlubalova, 2023).
Many young Ukrainians leeing the war seized the opportunity to apply to study at Czech
universities. Masaryk University was also in great demand, and an exceptional admission
procedure was organised just for Ukrainian applicants outside of the regular terms. As a re-
sult, at that occasion 1,800 applicants from Ukraine decided to sit for the entrance exams
(cf. Masaryk Helps Ukraine, 2023). Moreover, in order to prepare these applicants for their
studies in the best possible way, Masaryk University offered numerous specialised courses,
including CLIL and intensive language courses organised by the Language Centre.² Due
to the given circumstances, this support was expanded even further in the academic year
starting September 2022, centred mainly on language learning combined with CLIL courses.
This extraordinary situation represented a unique challenge for all teachers, precisely be-
cause of its major social overlap.

Plurilingual and Pluricultural Approaches in Education

Especially in the irst phase, there was an urgent need for Ukrainian students to acquire
a command of Czech language suf icient to be able to attend the Czech study programmes
in the shortest possible time. In the following semesters, courses focused on the develop-
ment of study competences became part of the special offer prepared exclusively for this
group of students. As part of this curriculum, the Language Centre also designed courses
aimed at developing diverse skills essential for university students. One of these courses
implemented in the spring semester of 2023, called “Development of Communication and
1. Within this context at least three conferences are worth noting. The irst one to be mentioned is “Teach-
ing Languages in the Shadow of Lingua Franca”, held in 2019, which was followed by “Appreciating Plurilingual
Competencies: Current and Future Perspectives” three years later. Finally, a third conference took place in June
of 2024, entitled “Thinking, practicing and living plurilingualism” (cf. Colloque Brno 2019, 2022 and 2024). All
these academic events highlight the Language Centre’s considerable pedagogical experience, supported by a solid
research base.
2. At this point it is convenient to underline the importance of the format of the CLIL courses, i. e. Content
and Language Integrated Learning Courses, promoting particular approaches to language education that involves
teaching various subjects through a foreign or second language, simultaneously developing both content knowl-
edge and language pro iciency (cfr. Bentley, 2010). This approach, tailored for university students, became an
integral part of course preparation, aligning with plurilingual and pluricultural approaches.

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