Focus on Higher Education

ECSPM is concerned about the persistent monolingualism in all levels of education, but for three consecutive years the annual symposia (2021, 2022, 2023) concentrated on higher education (HE), which has traditionally been and continues to be a monolingual topos – more so than primary and secondary education; that is, only one language at a time is used for lectures, seminars, project work, textbooks, etc., whether at under- or post-graduate level – be it the official home language, English or any other languages – even in foreign language and literature departments. During classes there is rarely code switching and/or translanguaging and subject content is delivered mono-discursively – transmitting the discourse and jargon of the discipline – whether the subject being taught is in the natural sciences, the social sciences, or the humanities. Monolingualism is viewed as the necessary condition for the development of disciplinary (even interdisciplinary) knowledge which is, of course, constructed through language. Specifically:

  • 2021 “MULTILINGUALISM IN HIGHER EDUCATION (HE)” hosted by the University of Konstanz, in Germany, and the European Reform University Alliance (ERUA), it focused on the role of English in HE, linked to the internationalisation and commercialisation of European universities.
  • 2022 “LANGUAGE(S) AND THE CONSTRUCTION OF KNOWLEDGE IN EUROPEAN HE” hosted by the University for Foreigners in Siena, Italy, it focused on explicit and implicit policies of HE institutions, as well as multilingualism, academic literacies and the linguistic construction of academic knowledge in European universities.
  • 2023 “THE SOCIAL ROLE OF HE” Developing the civil society’s awareness and impacting policies on the role of multilingualism in education” hosted by the University of Strasbourg, France and supported by the Education Department of Council of Europe, it focused on HE as producer of knowledge, and its important role in democratic societies through increasing access to quality education for all, on raising awareness about issues of social importance, on helping transform societies for sustainable development through technology transfer and practical application of knowledge and ideas, and on engaging with the community at local and transnational levels in pursuit of human and social development.