1 Introduction

Multilingualism has become the norm of global communication, and language education planning is crucial for enhancing national competitiveness. Central European countries such as the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, and Poland are facing complex tasks in language education planning during the transition period, aimed at promoting exchanges with Western Europe, enhancing national identity, and maintaining inter ethnic relations. After joining the European Union, these countries have continuously reformed their language education policies, seeking a balance between integrating into the multilingual environment of Europe and protecting their own language and culture, which has important research value.

2. Preliminary research and theoretical framework

The international academic research on language planning in Central and Eastern Europe began during the Cold War, with a focus on national language policies, regional comparisons, international political games, etc., but with a Western centric color. Domestic research mostly focuses on the language policies of the European Union, with some studies delving into the language and ethnic policies of Central European countries. This article explores the common characteristics of language education planning in the transitional period of Central European countries from the perspective of language planning. The theoretical framework is based on the "Language Management Theory" originating from Central Europe, which divides language management behavior into simple management and orderly management, emphasizes the cyclic relationship between different levels, advocates the combination of bottom-up and top-down management methods, focuses on the status and power of language users, and combines language management with social and cultural backgrounds.

Social Background and Language Relations of Three Central European Countries

Central European countries underwent social transformation in the late 1980s and early 1990s, shifting from socialism to Western democracy and market economy systems, while facing challenges in constructing national identity and repositioning ethnic relations. The main task of this transition period is to align with Western standards, including language planning. The language education planning of Central European countries is influenced by international forces, governments, and minority groups within their borders. Joining Western organizations such as NATO and the European Union means accepting international norms, cultivating foreign language talents, enhancing the market value of international languages such as English, and putting pressure on national and minority languages. In the constitutions of Central European countries, they belong to nation states and use the main ethnic language as the national language for national governance and identity identification. During the transition period, the democratization of ethnic relations has become a focus of attention for Western countries. Central European countries have implemented reforms to protect human and minority rights mechanisms, allowing small ethnic groups to access more resources and legal means to safeguard their interests.

Practice of Language Education Planning during the Transformation Period

During the transition period, the four Central European countries strengthened their national language status and enhanced national cohesion through legal, curriculum reform, and textbook management. Slovak legislation establishes Slovak as the official language, Czech Republic ensures the core status of Czech language through curriculum reform, Poland strengthens Polish language learning through multiple curriculum reforms, and Hungary designates Hungarian as the official language. Four countries have switched their first foreign language from Russian to English, added Western languages, reformed curriculum design, and accelerated the process of foreign language education. In terms of minority language education, the Czech Republic and Poland adopt a policy of external looseness and internal tightness, Slovakia implements a comprehensive squeeze policy, and Hungary provides autonomy and financial support for minority language education.

Analysis of the Dynamic Mechanism of Language Education Planning

Since the 1990s, Central European countries have undergone national transformation, and the fundamental driving force of social background has prompted language planning entities to shift towards multi-party participation, diverse and inclusive ideas, legal constraints, and open and interconnected environments. The three major stakeholders influence the direction of language education planning reform: international forces, national governments, and minority groups. International forces expand political and market influence by promoting language, national governments strengthen Mandarin teaching to maintain cultural identity, and minority groups fight for the right to mother tongue education to uphold cultural identity. In the transitional period of social changes, the interaction between officials and civilians stimulates official management behavior through practical communication problems in micro language life, and feeds back to grassroots communities to facilitate problem resolution. The demand for foreign language education is driving the government to increase Western language education, and the main ethnic elites in national language education are promoting language legislation in some countries. In terms of minority language education, there has been a long-standing competition between minority groups and the interests of the main ethnic group, but the establishment of negotiation mechanisms in the later stage has transformed the game into an orderly competition. The model of the driving force mechanism of language education policies in Central European countries shows that the fundamental driving force of policy reform comes from the background of transformation, and the direction of evolution is led by the national government. It continues to compete with international forces and ethnic groups, and the interaction between officials and the public determines the policy operation mechanism.

6 Conclusion

During the transition period, the four Central European countries served their national strategic goals through language education planning, including integrating into the Western European integrated market, constructing national identity, and maintaining inter ethnic relations. Introduce international languages into the education system, ensure the status of national languages, and incorporate minority languages. In the context of transformation, language education needs to respond to the needs of the people, while relying on top-level government design and administrative measures. The formation of the government civilian interaction mechanism is based on the needs of national construction and a comprehensive top-down design. There is competition and conflict among the planning goals of national languages, international languages, and minority languages, and the government needs to balance them. In the future, Central European countries will strengthen international language education, especially English, while leaving room for the development of other European languages. Minority language education will respect linguistic and cultural diversity, safeguard minority language needs, and enhance centripetal force.