"Education must keep up with changes in its environment. [...] This eternal process requires those involved to constantly anticipate future challenges and, above all, to evolve in harmony with society. If the country is a body, education is its heart” (Rosier, 2012).

Education has always been the scene of global changes, reflecting the mechanisms of political, socio-economic and now digital global change. Indeed, any discussion of education must take into account the parameters of globalization and its socio-economic imperatives, today's dizzying digital advances, and environmental and health issues such as the Covid-19 crisis.

Every second, the post-Covid 19 world sees its landmarks vanish and new ones emerge. In the wake of these upheavals, the world of education has had to adapt rapidly to the need for greater flexibility and urgent adaptability to the new conditions of confinement. School has moved from the traditional classroom to the home through distance learning (Issaieva, Odacre, Lollia, Joseph-Théodore, 2020; Vilches, Detroz, Hausman, and Verpoorten, 2020). This shift from face-to-face to entirely distance learning (Detroz, Tessaro and Younes, 2020) took place without any prior preparation. Pedagogical content was adjusted on an ad hoc basis to the demanding requirements of the new context of confinement (Karsenti, Poellhuber, Roy and Parent; 2020). This upheaval in educational practices has brought to the surface old problems of disparate access to digital resources (Bibeau, 2005; Collin and Karsenti 2013; Amadieu and Tricot, 2014), and has impetuously triggered questions about assessment methods (Barras and Dayer, 2020). Long before the pandemic, the neoliberal system made the situation even more complex. Founded on the intensification of production and the accumulation of finance (Ramel, 2023; De Tinguy, 2011; Renault and Tinel, 2010), neoliberalism has established a “mode of human government based on the universal principle of competition” (Dardot and Laval, 2009). As a result, school and university systems find themselves caught up in the current of competitiveness, rivalry and exclusion, due to “the unbridled quest for productivity [which has] gradually gangrened education systems” (Achard, Cordeau and Trudelle, 2021). In addition to this, the school was/is affected and shaken and is faced with several challenges: renewing its tools, methods, strategies and aims in order to be able to train its public (Pachod, 2015), meet the expectations of its learners and prepare them for the job market and integration into globalization (Puren, 2002).

It's worth noting that in several French-speaking contexts: France, Switzerland, Belgium, and Quebec, French still remains a language of integration despite the didactic, political and intercultural challenges (Pradeau, 2021), in Africa, French remains a language of schooling that not only creates controversy but also faces difficulties such as teacher shortages, deficient infrastructure (Djibo and Gauthier, 2017) and lack of professionalism due to insufficient teacher training (Dembélé, Sirois and Abdoulaye, 2017 ; Hmissi, 2024). In the Maghreb, and especially in Tunisia, a decline in language proficiency has been observed (Touati, 2011). Researchers explain this by the impact of negative representations dating back to a historical factor: colonization (Hmissi, 2022; Sraeib, 1974) and constituting, by the same token, a factor of resistance and blockage (Boukhari, 2006; Hmissi, 2022). Nevertheless, the question of living together in the same geographical space (Abdallah-Pretceille, 2003, Hmissi, 2023, Grégoire-Labrecque, 2015 and Guilbert, 2005) is urgent in a world where the cries of war are resounding. The aim is to bring the learner to an experience where the boundaries of adversity are blurred in favor of “a transcultural and alteritarian experience” ( Borgé, 2021). This raises another challenge for language policy.

What's more, new realities are emerging in the field of foreign language didactics, as migration flows have reached record levels, according to the State of World Migration 2024 report. Thus, the mobility of people with a diversity of languages and cultures represents a challenge for educational players, soliciting work to update strategies, devices and teaching resources to promote the educational success of new arrivals (Davin-Chnane, 2008; Auger and Le Pichon-Vortsman, 2021; Azaoui, Gouaïch and Roubaud, 2019) in terms of education, socialization and qualification. Nowadays, as contacts are also made in a virtual digital space, the development of socio-cultural, language and intercultural skills within the learning device are subjects that invite reflection. In other words, since socio-cultural interactions are ensured by the recent generation of teachers or “digital natives” or “digital literate[s]” (Cormerais, Le Deuff, Lakel and Pucheu, 2017) via virtual spaces, language didactics is called upon to rethink its approaches and methods with regard to learners' informational and social digital competencies in the construction of language and interactional skills (Chikhi, 2019; Abendroth-Timmer, Río, Brudermann, Miras and Schneider, 2021). Didactic studies have highlighted the challenge of teaching praxis in heterogeneous classrooms, which notably require in-depth reflection on the value of multimodality (Azaoui and Denizci, 2022). If migration has an impact on multimodal literary practices (Canagarajah, 2017), there is reason to speak of a “multimodal mobile literacy”, which would cover an individual's ability to construct meaning in a new environment, to interpret it by taking into account the degrees of strangeness it entails, to semiotize the identity shifts it causes, and to mobilize multimodal cultural, digital and language resources at the right moments (Azaoui and Guichon, 2025). In fact, given that migration and language have always been fundamentally linked (Blommaert, 2010), and that digital tools are leading to a rethinking of the migratory experience (Diminescu and Loveluck, 2014), each person seizes multimodal resources (posturo-mimo-gestural, vocal, pictorial modalities, in digital or non-digital format) to make sense of their new environment.

Furthermore, the emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) has completely redefined the contours of teaching and learning, requiring teachers to be trained in new technologies and their applications. At the UNESCO Sub-Regional Forum on Artificial Intelligence in East Africa, held from June 24 to 26, 2024 in Nairobi, Gabriela Ramos, UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Human and Social Sciences, stressed that “the integration of artificial intelligence into education is not just an opportunity, it's an imperative. At the dawn of this new era, we must work together with policymakers, educators, technologists and the wider community to ensure that AI is at the service of quality education” (UNESCO, 2024). Thus, artificial intelligence (AI) training needs to be integrated into adult education, particularly in non-formal settings to make learning more interactive and personalized. Such training will enable a better response to individual needs by adapting content and teaching methods in real time, thanks to the analysis of learning data and predictive models that optimize educational pathways (Peñalvo and Conde, 2023). From this perspective, augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR), for example, are now emerging as powerful tools for engaging learners, offering dynamic, real-world learning experiences (Guichon et al., 2022) that stimulate curiosity and foster collaboration. These technologies not only transform the way content is presented, but also enable learning to be personalized according to learners' needs, expectations and pace (Suryanarayana, Kandi, Pavani, Rao, Rout, & Siva, 2024).

The aim of this meeting is to clear the ground and shed light on the relationship between global change and the current educational situation. The main objectives of this symposium are to define, describe and analyze how global changes have redefined education, and in particular the teaching/learning of modern languages.

Proposals for papers may fall within these proposed axes:

Axis 1: Educational, linguistic and teaching policies

Neoliberalism is a constraining economic system that has instrumentalized schooling and determined the quality of teaching, the status of languages, academic orientations and labor markets.

Theme 1 - What educational and linguistic policies should decision-makers opt for to prepare cosmopolitan citizens for professional integration and human rehabilitation? What roles do these policies assign to teachers? What can be done to remedy the disparities that stand in the way of equitable education for all?

Theme 2 - What didactic approaches, pedagogical methods and educational content are needed to overcome identity crises and resistance in foreign language teaching and learning?

Axis 2: Education and digital advances

Theme 1 - Digital technology and artificial intelligence for education

Among other things, this theme emphasizes the importance of renewing educational approaches by integrating digital tools and emerging technologies. It values active, immersive and learner-centered pedagogical methods by harnessing the potential of AI, AR and collaborative platforms to develop complex skills, such as problem-solving, critical thinking and adaptability to the challenges of an ever-changing world. How is artificial intelligence transforming pedagogical practices, enhancing personalized learning and supporting teacher training? How are AI tools being integrated into curricula? What technological and ethical challenges are involved?How to implement new assessment methods adapted to digital learning environments, including the use of formative assessment, micro-certifications and digital tools to track learner progress.

Theme 2 - Training the trainers and lifelong learning

It is crucial to focus on the initial and continuing training needs of teachers, so that they can adapt to technological and pedagogical developments.This theme, centered on the concept of lifelong learning, explores how digital technology and artificial intelligence (AI) can facilitate flexible and personalized learning paths, responding to the demands of modern careers and the individual needs of trainees through distance learning and collaborative platforms.

Axis 3: Migration and multimodal literacy

This theme is part of an initiative to bring together researchers and professionals in the socio-educational field (educators, psychologists, specialized teachers, sociologists, didacticians, anthropologists, linguists, etc.).The focus will be on the link between migration and language.

Theme 1 - Multimodal mobile literacy
In a broader disciplinary reflection, it would be interesting to look at migrants' access to digital resources and the impact that (lack of) access can have on their integration into the host country and on their well-being. How does the use of digital tools facilitate or hinder the process of migration and settlement? How does the use of digital tools enable the families of migrants left behind in the country of origin to maintain ties with the person who has emigrated? From a linguistic standpoint, to what extent does contact with the country of origin using digital tools give rise to new forms of métissée language (Blommaert, 2010), or even new “langagiaire” (Canut, 2021) or “pantosemiotic” (Azaoui, 2025) practices; the latter being understood as practices that are constitutively heterogeneous (linguistically and multimodally)?

Theme 2 - Migration, education and multimodal literacy

In the field of education, to what extent has the international student become the figure of the mobile and connected individual (Guichon, 2020)? Given that there are different forms of migration and migrants, are there different forms of multimodal mobile literacy depending on whether the international student plans to settle temporarily in the country of origin or permanently?From a didactic standpoint, how does multimodality permeate educational practices today, especially when dealing with a migrant audience?

Axis 4: Lifelong learning from a multidisciplinary perspective

This area focuses on training in several fields and the use of digital tools as part of an inclusive vision of lifelong learning. Adult education, particularly in fast-changing sectors such as digital technology, requires flexible solutions that meet the diverse needs of trainees. These initiatives rely on technology to develop skills in a changing world of work (CEDEFOP, 2023), such as micro-certifications and collaborative e-learning platforms illustrating this trend.

Theme 1 - As recent studies (Fadel and Trilling, 2022) have highlighted the need to train enlightened citizens, capable of navigating in a complex global and technological environment, the question of rethinking educational systems by taking into account the evolutions of global changes is imperative.
How can human and material resources be mobilized to meet the demands of these transformations?How can political will ensure that education is inclusive and accessible to all?
Theme 2 - Given the need to adapt training to the imperatives of global change (socio-economic, political and digital), it has become essential to plan multi-disciplinary training courses, mainly in digital technology, to meet the needs of today's world. We therefore need to consider the cyclical updating of training courses in the light of digital and multidisciplinary advances, the integration of these courses into adult curricula, and the professional and continuing training of teachers to meet the demands of today's job market.

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