This paper will present an analysis of the notion of cultural and linguistic diversity in the new curriculum for primary schools in France (MEN, 2003). First, it will explain how this notion is linked both to a wider choice of languages and to the teaching of one foreign or regional language only. We shall argue that, despite the wide theoretical…

Highlights a language awareness project in a small primary school in the Mulhouse area of Alsace in France as an example of how languages of unequal status can be placed on an equal footing in a school context, how children can be educated to linguistic and cultural variety, and the teachers can be made aware of the linguistic and cultural wealth…