In this seminar we are going to explore the multifaceted role of plurilingual competence understood as the ability to critically reflect and strategically use linguistic and cultural resources and knowledge across languages and its status as a pivotal component for effective intercultural communication and language learning.
In doing so we will place a special focus on the unique position of English as a foreign language (EFL) both globally where English serves as a global (multi)lingua franca and within the German educational landscape where it holds a prominent status as the most frequently - and usually first – learned foreign language, making it not just a language of communication but also a gateway to intercultural understanding. Relevant educational policy documents such as the companion volume of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (2018/2020), the Framework for Pluralistic Approaches to Languages and Cultures (2009), the KMK standards and the current curricula for Lower Saxony will provide us with a comprehensive framework to understand, describe and assess plurilingualism. Throughout this seminar, we will delve into various aspects of plurilingualism such as: intercomprehension understood as the ability to understand and make use of similarities between languages, mediation where language learners become proficient in interpreting and translating between languages as well as translanguaging, a phenomenon where learners fluidly move between languages to convey meaning illustrating the dynamic nature of plurilingualism. Additionally, we will work with language portraits, a visual representation of an individual's linguistic repertoire, which serves as a powerful tool for self-reflection and understanding one's plurilingual identity. Above all, the seminar aims at providing a practical perspective for educators on how to implement plurilingually sensitive teaching practices into the English language classroom in a feasible way.

Key Words: plurilingualism, multilingualism, translanguaging, plurilingual competence, English as a foreign language, English as a multilingua franca, intercomprehension, mediation, foreign language learning/teaching/education