英国语言教育从单语主义到多语愿景的政策转型与实践

Language education policy shifts and practices in the UK:From monolingualism to multilingual aspiration

英国作为强势语言输出国存有根深蒂固的单语主义思想,历来不重视多语能力及多语教育。在21世纪尊重并维护语言多样性和文化多元化的国际大环境下,英国开始关注自身英语独大的语言教育现状,转向具有区域化特色的多语教育。本文通过系统分析英国四地(英格兰、苏格兰、威尔士和北爱尔兰)的语言政策转型及其实践,发现英国语言政策具有多样性和不稳定性,多语愿景与语言教育实践不相匹配,究其根源在于英语单语主义。英国多语教育政策与实践对我国语言教育具有反向借鉴意义。

As a vigorous language exporter,the United Kingdom has been entangled in deep-rooted monolingualism,and has long been ignoring the development of multilingual competence and education.In the global context of respecting and maintaining multilingualism and multiculturalism in the 21st century,the UK starts to attend to the status quo of language education traditionally dominated by English,and shifts to multilingual education with regional characteristics.With a systematic analysis of language education policy shifts and practices in the four regions(England,Scotland,Wales and Northern Ireland),this paper reveals the diversity and instability in the UK's language policy,and the mismatch between multilingual aspiration and language teaching practices,mainly attributable to English monolingualism.Thus the case of the UK may be referred to as a negative example of multilingual education policy and practices for our nation.