Multilingualism is part of daily life in the countries surrounding the
Mediterranean. This is a diverse phenomenon, which ean be studied from many
different angles and across disciplines. The main purpose though of this special
issue is to gain a better understanding of the complex relationship between
multilingualism and education. Particular attention is paid to the role of English
as an increasingly dominant language in this context. How are school- oe
university curricula shaped and/or changed by the challenges of a multilingual
reality? What does that mean far teachers and students in the c1assroom? What are
the sodaI consequences, with reference to such issues as language and identity, or
perceptions of the native language?
The; contributions we present in the special issue seetion are an attempt to bring
together linguistic and educational research in countries around the
Mediterranean. With the exception of the first two articles, the papers were
originally presented at a conference on 'Multilingualism and Multiculturalism in
Lebanon: Conflict or Opportunity', held at the Lebanese American University on
3 December 1999. The common feature of aB contributions is their focus on the
classroom and the languages of instruction used around the Mediterranean. The
main areas of discussion are: language and identity, language proficiency and
multilingualism, multiliteraeies and language' learning.
Two papers explore the linguistic and educational implications of mutilingual
classrooms: Antoinette Camilleri Grima views the language classroom as a
microcosm of Iocal society in Malta and explores the role of code-switching and
how discursive and literacy events reflect societal values. Mohamed Miliani deals
with the issue of French and English as competing languages of instruction in
Algeria from the perspective of educational policy making in this North African
country and focuses on recommendations for future decision makers.
Martin Cortazzi examines shifts in public literacy and resulting educational
implications in multilingual countries with special attention to Lebanon. This
is continued in lngo Thonhauser' s paper, which studies the impact of
multilingualism and diglossia on language leaming and the question of language
and identity at university level in Lebanon.
Paul Portmann-Tselikas explores the concept of cognitive-academic
language proficiency in bilingual instruction and sheds new light on Cummins'
threshold hypo thesis. Reflecting the outcome of the first four years of a joint
project between the University of Graz (Austria) and the University of Shkoder
(Albania), he demonstrates the way in which cognitive-academic language
proficiency contributes to success Of failure in language learning at university
level.
Finally, areport of a number of research projects that have recently-or are
currently-being implemented by practitioners in Lebanese schools and
universities is presented. We consider this research report as an essential
contribution to our overall goals for this volume, given that it shows what is
happening on the ground.
It is aur hope that this special issue of the Mediterranean Journal of
Educational Studies is a beginning and will encourage renewed co-operation
and exchange of ideas and experiences across the countries around the
Mediterranean.