Is Lithuanian Higher Education ready for plurilingual approaches?

• In Event: Politics of Plurality in Lithuanian Higher Education

Abstract

The rationale behind the question in the title of this conference contribution lies in the growing internationalisation of Lithuanian higher education and Lithuanian society at large. The increasing multilingualism and multiculturalism of Lithuanian universities not only pose a challenge to university communities to ensure their inclusive diversity but also make them an example for harmonious societal development. Multilingualism has always been an important asset in the EU policies (2017) and has also become one of the main tasks for the European University Alliances (2023), which are expected to sustain linguistic diversity in English-dominated academic contexts (Dafouz, 2021; Druviete, 2020; Galante, 2022). In view of the above, this paper aims to analyse the current situation and potential for Lithuanian universities to promote an inclusive multilingual and multicultural study environment by integrating plurilingual approaches in study process and ensuring the necessary HE teacher competences. The paper presents the research findings of two studies that are based on qualitative and quantitative methodology and focus on the experience and attitudes of Lithuanian university teachers and students. The first study targets the Lithuanian cohort from the European-wide survey of the Erasmus+ project on plurilingual competences of HE teachers (APATCHE), N=65, and the second aims at examining student experience and attitudes regarding plurilingual approaches at VMU, N=70. Both studies, performed in 2022-2023, identified the lack of and the need for the integration of plurilingual approaches that value all languages present in the increasingly multilingual international classroom in higher education as a single, comprehensive set of competences.

References
APATCHE – Adding Plurilingual Approaches to language Teacher Competences in Higher Education. 2022–2023. www.apatche.eu
Dafouz, E. (2021). Exploring the conceptualisation of linguistic diversity and multilingualism in the construction of (Transnational) European Universities: The case of UNA Europa. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, DOI: 10.1080/01434632.2021.1920964
Druviete, I. (2020). University Alliances as a resource for promotion of multilingualism in the European higher education space. In: Dreijers, G. et al. (eds) Bridging Languages and Cultures –Linguistics, Translation Studies and Intercultural Communication, Frank & Timme: pp.19-30.
Galante, A., Chiras, M., dela Cruz, J. W. N., & Zeaiter, L. F. (2022). Plurilingual guide: Implementing critical plurilingual pedagogy in language education. Plurilingual Lab, McGill University. https://www.mcgill.ca/plurilinguallab/files/plurilinguallab/plurilingual_guide.pdf
Language Policy. (2017). European Parliament. https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/fiches_techniques/2013/051306/04A_FT(2013)051306_EN.pdf
The European Universities Initiative: first lessons, main challenges and perspectives. (2023). Policy Department for Structural and Cohesion Policies Directorate-General for Internal Policies. https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2023/733105/IPOL_STU(2023)733105_EN.pdf

Short Bio

Dr. Vilma Bijeikienė is an associated professor at the Institute of Foreign Languages and the Vice-Rector for Communication at Vytautas Magnus University (VMU), Kaunas, Lithuania. With over 25 publications, her main research interests include applied linguistics, sociolinguistics, language policy, English for specific and academic purposes (ESP, EAP), English medium instruction (EMI), content and language integrated learning (CLIL) and linguistically sensitive teaching (LST). She has participated in international projects on multilingualism, multiculturalism and plurilingual competence development in HE and undertaken teaching visits in Germany, Spain, China and Kazakhstan. Her current responsibilities as the Vice-Rector for Communication encompass internal and external communication, focus on community-building and wellbeing, enhancement of diversity and equal opportunities as well as fostering quality internationalisation. She is an Executive Editor of the international Scopus-indexed biannual journal Sustainable Multilingualism and member of the Board of the European Language Council.

Dr. Nemira Mačianskienė is a full professor at the Institute of Foreign Languages of Vytautas Magnus University. Her main research interests include language policy, language education, multilingualism, development of plurilingual competence, linguistically sensitive teaching and intercultural/crosscultural communication. She has published a monograph and over 60 publications locally and internationally. She has taught Cross-Cultural Communication, Multilingualism in Europe, Plurilingual Approaches in Higher Education and other courses for MA program students locally and in Ukraine, and English for Intercultural Communication and Teaching English as a Foreign Language courses for BA program students at VMU. Nemira is the coordinator of European project “Adding Plurilingual Approaches to language Teachers of Higher Education” which aims to develop a descriptive scale of teacher competences and a three-tier multilingual open online course for HE teachers to equip them with knowledge, attitudes and skills to work in multilingual and multicultural classrooms and take all class languages into account. Nemira has been the main organizer and the chair of the international Sustainable Mutlilingualism conference and the Editor-in-Chief of the scientific biannual journal Sustainable Multilingualism.

Author

• Vilma Bijeikiene, Vytautas Magnus University