Complex and symbolic discursive encounters for intercultural education in plurilingual times

The goal of this chapter is to present some new ways of conceptualizing linguistic competence in relation to intercultural education. With the impact of globalization, immigration, new technologies, and the competitiveness of national and international markets, multilingualism represents the practical norm. It has been deemed a tool for local integration and international mobility. In the school context, the question of a plurilingual and pluricultural identity has also become important and research incorporating language biographies has tended to focus on the subjective view of linguistic and cultural learning and on the significance of the interaction of identities (Inter, an indicator of relationship and not of a simple juxtaposition). It is this plurality or notion of plurilingual competence that is of issue and holds significance in this chapter, particularly as regards intercultural education. In drawing upon an interdisciplinary approach, which combines sociolinguistic, psycholinguistic, and educational perspectives, we demonstrate how linguistics has much to offer intercultural education today.