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Language Policy and Education in the European Union

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Encyclopedia of Language and Education

Introduction

Language policy is acquiring increasing importance in an age of intensive political and cultural change in Europe. Among the key educational language policy issues in contemporary Europe are ensuring the continued vitality of national languages, rights for minority languages, diversification in foreign language learning, and the formation of a European Higher Education Area (the Bologna process). English, due to its role in globalisation and European integration processes, impacts on each of these four issues in each European state. The role of the European Union (EU) is a second cross‐cutting factor, because of its declared commitment to maintaining linguistic diversity and to promoting multilingualism in education. On the other hand, it is arguable that the dominance of English in many forms of international activity, the erosion of national borders by changes in communication technology, and the hierarchy of languages that exists de facto in EU institutions and...

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Phillipson, R. (2008). Language Policy and Education in the European Union. In: Hornberger, N.H. (eds) Encyclopedia of Language and Education. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-30424-3_19

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-30424-3_19

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

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