SYMPOSIUMThis symposium begins with a lead paper that outlines key tenets of plurilingualism and plurilingual pedagogy, and how/why embracing student plurilingualism in pedagogy (re-)presents a paradigm shift. The six papers that follow enable TESOL practitioners and researchers to see and hear school-aged children engaging in plurilingual pedagogy in content-based instruction focusing on science, physical education, and developing English literacy in formal classroom settings, homework clubs and community schools. The symposium contributions provide windows onto the range of forays into plurilingual pedagogies in which educators who are committed to bridging plurilingual students' linguistic capital and teaching English, the language prioritized at school and socially valued in today's global village, are engaging.Contemporary globalized society is characterized by mobility and change, two phenomena that have a direct impact on the broad linguistic landscape. Language proficiency is no longer seen as a monolithic phenomenon that occurs independently of the linguistic repertoires and trajectories of learners and teachers, but rather shaped by uneven and ever-changing competences, both linguistic and cultural. In the European context, research conducted over the past 20 years in multilingual realities of local communities and societies has brought to the forefront the notion of plurilingualism, which is opening up new perspectives in language education. In North American academia, the paradigm shift from linguistic homogeneity and purism to heteroglossic and plurilingual competence in applied linguistics has been observed in the emergence of such concepts as disinventing languages, translanguaging, and code-meshing. Starting from a historical perspective, this article

Post-industrial societies are characterized by a high degree of mobility which manifests itself through waves of migration and affects all knowledge domains and all aspects of both individual and collective lives. This situation presents challenges under the pressure of a powerfully uniformizing globalization. However, the exponential increase of diversity linked to intensified mobility is also conducive to social transformations since, when the numerous languages and cultures of the migrants encounter the languages and cultures of the host countries, they act as catalyzers of change. This article considers such social transformation in the light of the concept of plurilingualism as distinct from multilingualism, explaining the advantages of the former over the latter in such contexts, and analyzes possible synergies between plurilingualism and creativity through the lens of complexity theories and the theory of affordances, with the related concepts of ‘affordance spaces’ and landscape of affordances. After a brief introduction of the main tenets of complexity theories and affordances, the article builds on three complementary models of creativity, using complexity theories as a framework and discusses the specific characteristics and potential of plurilingualism by explaining how it can transform diversity from an obstacle into an opportunity, a possibility for action. The triadic relationship between creativity, plurilingualism, and complexity is considered. As a result, the article suggests that plurilingualism can create conditions conducive to creativity thanks to its multiple and flexible nature that values all forms of cross-fertilization and the uniqueness of the resulting individual trajectories. Without claiming any causal relationship between plurilingualism and creativity, the paper explains the reasons why it is crucial to nurture and foster plurilingualism in order to provide favorable conditions for creativity and change. The article explains the characteristics and implications of plurilanguaging, and the potential for individuals to embrace a holistic, complex view of languages and cultures and to experience empowerment in the process of perceiving and exploring linguistic and cultural diversity, hybridity and interconnections, thus discovering and liberating their full creative repertoire.

The notion of mediation has been the object of growing interest in second language education in recent years. The increasing awareness of the complex nature of the process of learning – and teaching – stretches our collective reflection towards less explored areas. In mediation, the immediate focus is on the role of language in processes like creating the space and conditions for communication and/or learning, constructing and co-constructing new meaning, and/or passing on information, whilst simplifying, elaborating, illustrating or otherwise adapting input in order to facilitate the process concerned. At a deeper level though, the notion of mediation embraces a broader spectrum of dimensions and connotations. Mediation has been defined as a ‘nomadic notion’ (Lenoir 1996) insomuch as it is at the core of a variety of scientific disciplines and the term ‘mediation’ is used in different senses in different contexts.

In spite of the spark that plurilingualism has given throughout Europe and beyond to the idea that linguistic and cultural diversity is an asset rather than an obstacle, the term plurilingualism itself has not frequently been used in the English-speaking world. Beginning with an analysis of this issue, this paper aims to help readers better understand the nature of the concept of plurilingualism and reflect on its social and educational value. To do so, it firstly presents the term from a historical and comparative perspective in relation to other terms used in the English-speaking literature. It then moves on to explain the crucial difference between plurilingualism and multilingualism, thus introducing the notion of dynamic repertoire and its underlying theoretical perspective. Finally, the article introduces the descriptors for plurilingual and pluricultural competence from the newly released CEFR Companion Volume, together with the potential for these descriptors to facilitate mediation and plurilanguaging among learners and to foster a new, open, and positive attitude towards linguistic and cultural diversity in language classes. Keywords: plurilingualism, multilingualism, plurilanguaging, CEFR, mediation