TU Darmstadt’s Languages Policy seeks to encourage all members of the University to take small steps to foster functional multilingualism. The following suggestions can help you:

This is how you can make (your own) multilingualism visible:

You can…

• Create a multilingual signature: This way, you can let your dialogue partners know which other languages you can use to communicate with them;
• Create a multilingual office sign for your office. This facilitates communication with international (guest) researchers, students, and guests;
• Ask your students if they speak or understand other languages. Ask if they can put these skills to good use in the course;
• At events, add the languages you can and would like to use to communicate to your name tag.

This is how you can make multilingual communication easier:

You can…

• Find out which other languages your fellow students or colleagues speak or understand;
• Make multilingualism visible at international conferences, for instance by providing tables where languages other than German and English are spoken during a break or as an icebreaker;
• Encourage your participants in a course to constructively use literature and media in other languages.

This is how you can practice and enhance your own multilingualism:

You can…

• Learn a new language or enhance your existing language skills, for instance by registering for a course in one of the 22 language courses at the Language Resource Centre;
• Acquire specific language competencies for your work or studies in LSP courses in specialist languages at the Language Resource Centre;
• Practise languages, for example at the Sprachencafé (language café), which meets weekly on Thursdays at 5 p.m.);
• Share ideas in two languages in a language tandem, which is offered by the SPZ on site or digitally via the Unite! Alliance of European Universities;
• Take part in a stay abroad or an Erasmus mobility programme as well as work in one of the Unite! teams.

Did you know that participating in language courses offered by the Language Resource Centre is free of charge for all members of TU Darmstadt?

Functional multilingualism is a voluntary offer to all members of TU Darmstadt to proactively use and enhance their own linguistic resources in studies, teaching, research, and administration.

Do you have any other inspiring ideas? Then write a message to mehrsprachigkeit@spz.tu-…