Ovaj je članak sažetak izvješća koje je napravljeno za LUCIDE (Languages in Urban Contexts: Integration and Diversity in Europe; Jezici u urbanim kontekstima: integracija i raznolikost u Europi) projekt i mrežu. Projekt je financiran iz Programa Europske unije za cjeloživotno učenje 2011.-2014., temeljem prikupljenih primarnih i sekundarnih podataka. Ovaj se sažetak fokusira na višejezičnost u osnovnoškolskom obrazovanju. Cjelovito izvješće govori o višejezičnosti u nekoliko ostalih područja: javnoj, gospodarskoj, privatnoj sferi te urbanim prostorima (dostupno na: www.urbanlanguages.eu) S obzirom na veličinu, stanovništvo i složenost Londona u radu je posebna pažnja usmjerena na lokalnu jedinicu (od postojeće 33): grad Westminster koji je zemljopisno srce ove metropole. Westminster je na mnogo načina predstavnik jezičnih trendova u Londonu. To pokazuje neke od najistaknutijih obilježja višejezičnosti Londona, kao što je izvanredna lingvistička raznolikost sa širokom rasprostranjenošću jezika, pri čemu niti jedan jezik nije dominantan. Cilj ovog istraživanja je stjecanje uvida u iskustva višejezičnih učenika u Londonu s obzirom na obrazovnu praksu i relevantne politike. Primarne podatke prikupio je tim od četiri istraživača koji su konzultirali 82 stručnjaka relevantna za identificirana područja prakse. Korištene su metode intervjuiranja i anketiranja. Uzorkovanje je svrhovito obuhvaćalo relevantne struke: obrazovanje, socijalni rad, javne službe, policiju i financije te stručnjake iz poslovnog sektora. Teorijski okvir za razvoj ovog pristupa je tipologija uporabe jezika koja razlikuje: simboličku, pragmatičnu i autoritativnu primjenu jezika.

Abstract Educators working in diverse contexts and looking to promote language learning, as well as maintaining home languages, often encounter resistance and negativity directed towards a wide range of languages resulting in language loss at the individual level and language death at a societal level. On the other hand, a small number of languages are regarded as high status languages, in demand to study and speak. This paper has two aims: firstly, to identify processes which result in different attitudes to languages, which will be termed: language hierarchies and, secondly, to suggest an innovative way of creating conditions for development of ‘hierarchy-free education policy and practice’. In order to exemplify these processes the author’s previous research conducted in London and Cardiff is used. Hierarchy-free policy and practice is promoted as a necessary condition for sustainability of endangered languages. The second part of this paper introduces the concept of: ‘Healthy Linguistic Diet’ (Mehmedbegović 2011) and makes a proposal based on this concept for a new, cognitive-based approach to policy and practice in education which would help eradicate language hierarchies. This section presents latest research evidence from cognitive neuroscience, which supports the argument that all stakeholders in education and wider society would benefit from a shift in attitudes and approach to bilingualism and learning other languages. The benefits at the individual and societal level are so significant that acting on this evidence is not only an educational, but also a health and moral imperative too. In the conclusion, I give recommendations in terms of how this new strategy could be developed and implemented.

In the current climate of increased influx of migrants into European countries, understanding how to engage with diversity in order to utilize it as a resource is becoming essential for supporting inclusion in education and society. Schools are often first sites of intercultural experiences for children and young people recently arrived to a host country. Educators and other professionals in public services facilitating equality of opportunity and equality of access for diverse school communities often lack opportunities to develop skills and insights relevant to new everyday challenges. The LUCIDE (Languages in Urban Settings for Inclusion and Diversity in Europe) network of research partners was established with the aim to provide insights and develop guidance that would support institutions (schools, councils, universities, hospitals) and local and national economies to gain better understanding of complexities involved in providing services in highly diverse contexts. LUCIDE consisted of 16 partners based in 13 European cities (two in London) and two cities outside of Europe. All partners had pre-existing activities focused on researching and promoting multilingualism within urban contexts of different types. Some cities in the LUCIDE network have had multilingualism as an integral part of their functioning over a long period throughout centuries of their history, while others started experiencing it as a recent impact of new patterns of migration. The European city partners were Athens, Dublin, Hamburg, Limassol, London, Madrid, Osijek, Oslo, Rome, Sofia, Strasbourg, Utrecht, and Varna. The two outof-Europe partners were Ottawa and Melbourne. This feature in the London Review of Education brings to its readers papers from four LUCIDE partner cities: Limassol, Rome, Strasbourg, and Ottawa (with the latter’s research here comparing the services in Montreal and Vancouver). These papers have been selected to provide insights into new explorations of multilingualism in cosmopolitan cities. The term ‘cosmopolitan cities’ is used to place the emphasis on a positive approach to diversity stemming from the premise that diversity is a resource for individuals and societies. The LUCIDE network directly built upon the LETPP (Languages in Europe: Theory, Policy and Practice) project, funded in 2010 by the EU Lifelong Learning Programme. The LETPP vision was that multilingual cities would be trailblazing new ways to approach and utilize diversity. The LUCIDE network proposal aimed to extend the aims and delivery of this project, and was developed and funded by the European Commission Lifelong Learning Programme from December 2011 to November 2014. Its main activities were to carry out research as the basis for developing guidelines for multilingual cities relating to the following five spheres: