The Language Teaching Centre (SLI) at the University of Freiburg will hold a conference from April 18 – 20, 2012 entitled “Multilingualism in Society, the World of Work, and Politics. New Challenges for Teaching at Institutes of Higher Education/Universities”

This year, the discussion concerning multilingualism is to focus on the areas of “the economy”, “the employment market” and “integration”.

Using analysis and discussion, the conference aims to shed light on the challenges involved in multilingualism policies and their implementation in the EU and its institutions. A further goal is to examine the intercultural aspects that impact upon the realization of such policies. Special emphasis will be paid to the role intercultural aspects play in the heterogeneously comprised lecture rooms at colleges and universities. Closely connected to this is the question of the purpose and quality of study paths that are offered and occur in a foreign language. Particularly at German institutions of higher learning, English is most often the language of choice. Among the issues to be considered here are: what language barriers must instructors and students overcome during class or in advising sessions or working groups?  What level of language proficiency is needed in order to competently convey and understand course content?  What standards apply, for example, when selecting “the right” English to be used in the learning environment, or which pronunciation rules can, will, or must be adhered to in class? 

Section 1:
Multilingualism and the (global) employment market
Section 2:
Multilingualism in the European Union and its institutions
Section 3:
Multilingualism and integration in society and at colleges and universities
Section 4:
Intercultural aspects of (foreign) language teaching and foreign language didactics
Section 5:
University teaching in a foreign language: new challenges for educators and students?