Section 1: Language centres and (higher education) policy changes
Prof. Dr. Andreas Hettiger (Technische Universität Braunschweig) & Dr. Fabienne Quennet (Philipps-Universität Marburg)
The world, characterised by transformations and crises, does not stop at the language centres. Accordingly, a number of questions still remain to be answered: How are language centres responding to the impact of pervasive budget cuts? How do they deal with declining student numbers? What is the impact of centre closures or mergers? What are the implications of the provision of ‘future skills’ or ‘key competences’? Is language teaching integrated into subject teaching and research, or do we also teach in other areas of continuing education – the so-called “third mission”? How are language centres evolving in an increasingly digitalised and artificial world?
In particular, the current geo-political changes are leading to a shift in language needs and interests: Which language programmes should be introduced, and which should be discontinued? Should international co-operations and partnerships be abandoned due to certain political circumstances? How can new collaborations be established instead (e.g. the European University Alliances)? How should politically sensitive issues be addressed in language teaching? How should foreign language teachers position themselves in the political discourse beyond language classrooms?
Admittedly: the above questions may seem disparate, but that is intentional. We would like to explore some of these issues in more depth, while others we will only touch on, because “there is nothing permanent except change”. This conference strand will therefore explore what is in flux and how nonetheless it is possible to work within sustainable organisations and to provide relevant and purposeful language services. It will also provide an opportunity to think outside the box, to exchange views on current (higher education) policy issues and to reflect on what these new realities mean in concrete terms for higher education language centres and their professionals.
The following presentation formats are welcome:
- Talks (25-minute presentations followed by 10-minute discussions)
- A moderated discussion (40 minutes)