Initiatives of a European University in creating plurilingual ethos: challenges and solutions

Abstract

The experience and challenges of a European University in promoting European values and identity and ensuring the quality and competitiveness of a European higher education institution in today’s complex life will be discussed with the focus on plurilingual ethos creation at an institutional level. The study aims at answering two research questions: How can local initiatives contribute to language policy development at an institutional level? How can institutions benefit from international cooperation and networking in developing their plurilingual ethos? The language learning ecosystem created at VMU, based on the values of personal and academic freedom, democracy, openness, sustainability, responsibility, and community development, will be presented, including opportunities for plurilingual competence development for all university students (linguistic and non-linguistic study programs) and staff. The development of the plurilingual ethos system will highlight the importance of a participatory approach – initiatives of teachers and students – which can lead to the institutionalization of the suggested practices and ambitions. Another part of the study will proceed from local to global: challenges and opportunities provided by international cooperation networks and participation in the European university alliance Transform4Europe will be discussed, basing the claims of benefits on concrete examples, and identifying their impact upon plurilingual ethos development at a HE institution.