MULTILINGUALISM EDUCATION AND SOCIAL INTEGRATION

THIS IS A TITLE FOR EDUCATIONISTS, LANGUAGE PLANNERS AND MANAGERS IN EDUCATION, RESEARCHERS AND STUDENTS PREPARING FOR A CAREER IN EDUCATION. LANGUAGE IN EDUCATION POLICY IS PROBABLY ONE OF THE MOST CONTESTED ISSUES IN MULTILINGUAL COUNTRIES. THIS IS BECAUSE EDUCATION AS SUCH IS CONSIDERED AN IMPORTANT MECHANISM FOR ACHIEVING SOCIAL CHANGE, AND LANGUAGE IS OFTEN SEEN AS A VITAL INSTRUMENT IN AIDING THE PROCESS OF CHANGE. THESE ARE SOME OF THE PROBLEMS THAT THE (RE-)CONSTRUCTION OF POLITICAL ENTITIES SUCH AS THE EUROPEAN UNION, THE SOUTHERN AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY AND NEW STATES SUCH AS SOUTH AFRICA, THE BALKAN STATES, AND OTHERS BRING TO THE FORE. HOW, THEN, DO THEY DEAL WITH MULTILINGUALISM IN THE FACE OF THE FORCES OF SOCIAL INTEGRATION, PARTICULARLY IN THE AREA OF EDUCATION?