Open Conversation: From Recognition to Inclusion – Rethinking European Languages in Education

Across Europe, educational systems tend to focus on hegemonial national languages – German in Germany, French in France, and so on – as legitimate means for classroom interaction. It is also these languages that are associated with European nation-states, understood as “modern languages” for educational curricula, and targeted as desirable competences in “European languages” by multilingualism policies.

However, the linguistic reality of Europe is far more diverse. Languages such as Turkish, Arabic, Russian, Kurdish, and Romani are spoken daily by large communities in Europe, and in this sense they are European languages, yet they are rarely treated as valuable cultural or educational resources.

This open conversation explores how educational systems might move beyond narrow definitions of “European languages” and “multilingualism” towards practices of genuine linguistic inclusion – where all students’ languages are made visible, valued, and meaningfully integrated into educational life.

Organisers: Heike Wiese, İrem Duman Çakır, Annika Labrenz

Programme 

10:00 – 12:00 hybrid (online, and onsite at Humboldt-Universität)

• Keynote by Christoph Schroeder: "When does a language become a heritage language, when a foreign language, when a minority language? On the necessity to rethink language naming in the multilingual school"
• Panel discussion
• Commentary by Elizabeth Beloe: „The Politics of Language Naming: From Description to Discrimination

13:30 – 17:30 onsite at Humboldt-Universität

Roundtables with all Panel members, followed by an Open discussion

• Roundtable 1: Educational Policy; chairs: Simon Calmar Andersen, Mehmet Fatih Özcan
• Roundtable 2: School Culture & Belonging; chairs: Ben Rampton, Eva Vetter

Panel

• Christoph Schroeder, Professor of German as a Second and Foreign Language, Universität Potsdam
• Elizabeth Beloe, head of German Federal Association of Networks of Migrant Organisations
• Simon Calmar Andersen, Professor of Political Science, Aarhus Universitet
• Ben Rampton, Professor of Applied and Sociolinguistics, King’s College London
• Eva Vetter, Professor of Language Teaching and Learning Research, Universität Wien
• Mehmet Fatih Özcan, Multilingualism Officer of the Berlin Senate Department for Education, Youth and Family
• Fanny Meunier, Professor of English language, linguistics, and teacher education and Academic Director for CU.mil, UCLouvain
• Heike Wiese, Professor of German in Multilingual Contexts and chair at CU.mil, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
• İrem Duman Çakır, PhD student at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Research Unit “Emerging Grammars in Language Contact Situations”
• Annika Labrenz, PhD student at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Collaborative Research Centre “Register”
• Marius Keller, MA student at the Professional School of Education, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
• Josefine Hundelt, MA student at the Institute of German Language and Linguistics, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin