Educational language competence in the action-oriented approach of the Council of Europe

Democracy, human rights, rule of law, social cohesion, protection and promotion of cultural heritage, intercultural dialogue, and economic growth - all these areas of activity of intergovernmental organizations such as the European Union or the Council of Europe, depend on education. Which, in turn, relies on language competence defined as the ability to conduct linguistic activities necessary to achieve specific educational goals or tasks. The purpose of this paper is to draw attention to the key importance of linguistic competence for education, by discussing selected works and projects of the Council of Europe, and by applying an action-oriented approach - on which these works and projects are based - to selected educational programmes in Poland.