Mehrsprachigkeit in der EU. Bildungspolitik am Beispiel des Deutschen al Unterrichtssprache in Österreich

Europe is recognised and admired as a continent with enormous linguistic and cultural diversity. Since the 1950s, the political agenda of the European institutions has been focused on protecting and promoting the multilingualism of its citizens. Since the early years of the new century, however, the promotion of multilingualism has become a necessity. Migration flows to Europe have led to a paradigm shift in multilingualism policy: Proficiency in several languages has not only become useful to improve academic and professional mobility, but also necessary to ensure the integration of new European citizens. It has therefore become increasingly important to intervene in schools and universities to promote the multilingualism of learners, as it should be considered an asset and not an obstacle to integration. This paper looks at the tools that the European institutions provide to Member States and local institutions to implement an educational policy adapted to the multilingual reality of today's Europe. The contribution focuses in particular on the Learning Education Policy Profile, a mentoring and monitoring tool provided by the Council of Europe to member states and local institutions. The example of the LEPP Austria is briefly analysed, identifying potentials and critical points of the Austrian education system. Particular attention is paid to the didactics of German as a language of instruction in schools with a high proportion of learners with a migrant background. The key question of this study is: Are schools in Europe up to the paradigm shift of a multilingual society in which languages such as Ukrainian, Arabic and Turkish characterise the 'language habitat' of our classes?