FORTHEM Lab “Multilingualism in School and Higher Education”
Coordinator: Tamás Péter Szabó, University of Jyväskylä, Finland (tamas.p.szabo@jyu.fi)
Keywords: resourceful multilingual and multicultural learning environments; integration of language & content studies; linguistic landscapes; multilingualism in the workplace; translanguaging
Description: This Lab aims to develop and promote a better understanding of and address the societal challenges raised by increasing multilingualism which can be seen to characterize contemporary societies in Europe, both through shifting demographics and increasingly common use of deterritorialized online media. Mainstream educational practices often understate the heterogeneity of language practices, competencies and resources which individuals habitually use in their everyday interactions. This Lab adopts a resource-based view of language use and multilingualism, with a central focus on practices in and recommendations for primary, secondary and tertiary education (including vocational education). The resource-based view of language (in) use refers to the inherent need for all individuals and communities in current societies, in Europe and beyond, to be aware of and develop a flexible set of language resources. Multilingualism thus entails a variety of language resources – mother tongue skills, proficiency in additional languages and versatile literacy skills – that are needed to participate in society. Language resources are often referred to as literacies or multiliteracies that involve and support working with different types of texts, media and interaction, in different situations and using different languages. Furthermore, digital services and (social) media environments create new opportunities for multilingual encounters in different domains of life. In order to navigate and critically engage in these environments, multilingual digital literacy skills are necessary.
- Innovative language practices in education with a special regard to multilingual pedagogies and pedagogies enhancing the development of digital literacy skills
- Multilingual and multicultural encounters in education, with a special regard to changing political dynamics (e.g. neo-nationalism, national populism, effects of migration in education policies, etc.)
- Higher Education Institutions and internationalization, with a focus on current practices and opportunities for renewal, e.g. creating genuinely international and multilingual learning and working environments for students and staff
- Semiotics of multilingualism, with a focus on the relationship between organizational culture and material culture (e.g. what languages are represented visually, what languages are invisible and/or inaudible in the linguistic landscape, etc.)
- Development of new resources (e.g. corpora or databases) for studying language-in-use in educational settings