Current research in multilingualism and education in Lebanon : a report

Abstract

In their research report the authors introduce 11 research projects in the area of multilingualism and education currently undertaken in Lebanon. A number of projects tackle the issue of multilingualism and language learning. Empirical studies describe students' perceptions as well as the perspectives of their teachers and discuss consequences for educational practices in schools and universities. The authors present the contributions in three groups: The section on 'Multiculturalism' between yesterday and today' comprises papers dealing various aspects of multicultural aspects of life and communication, whereas the focus of the second group, 'Special cases of multilingualism', is on specific patterns of multilingual communication. The contributions of the last section, 'Multiculturalism and education', discuss a variety of language related issues in multilingual education. The overall aim of the article is to present the studies to a wider public and encourage a more international discussion of these issues which are relevant in many countries around the Mediterranean.