Development of Plurilingual Competencies through Vocationally Oriented Language Learning in Sweden

Abstract

The article tackles the problem of developing plurilingual competencies through vocationally oriented foreign language in Sweden. The author analyses the pedagogical conditions of realization of plurilingual education at upper-secondary schools, vocational and higher education establishments and the aspects of teacher education for this purpose. The vocational foreign language education in Sweden is determined by the country’s multilingual policy and English is given much priority in many societal domains including educational. English and other foreign languages are used as the medium of instruction while teaching the content of other subjects. At the higher educational level students are encouraged to write research papers in English. Participation of Sweden in numerous multilingual initiatives of the Council of Europe providing the opportunities for both teachers and learners of vocational and higher educational institutions with the opportunities of the cross-border cooperation in this sphere and international mobility. Still, there is a problem of teacher’s training for teaching foreign languages in professional spheres. Using skills as a framework of foreign languages for specific purposes teachers are provided with the necessary knowledge and tools to deal with their own students’ specializations.