Plurilingual Education and Language Awareness – A Curriculum Study Across Language Subjects and Educational Levels in Primary and Lower Secondary School in Denmark

Abstract

In recent years within Nordic educational research, there has been an increased interest in examining language awareness in the context of plurilingual education at the intersection of first, second and foreign language didactics. Studies point to the fact that language subjects in Nordic schools are based on a monolingual norm and that the curricula have great potential for further development. However, discovering what is missing in the curricula will depend on identifying to what extent plurilingual education and the focus on language awareness have already been implemented in, and across, the language subjects. Based on a qualitative content analysis of curricula for the subjects Danish, Danish as a Second Language, English, French, and German, this article examines how plurilingual education and language awareness have been integrated in and across the language subjects from grade 1 to 7 in primary and lower secondary school in Denmark. The analysis shows that both plurilingual education and language awareness are integrated in curricula. However, while plurilingual education is sporadically and unsystematically implemented, primarily as a didactic tool in early language teaching, the continuity and progression in developing language awareness to a large extent reflects monolingual norms. This means that the curricula have ample room for further development, e.g., that the subject Danish must see itself as a subject that not only focuses on literacy but also on language learning, and that a greater focus on Bildung (education) would legitimise the subjects’ need for plurilingual education. There is also room for improvement concerning language awareness, as work with critical language awareness can start already with the youngest learners.