2. International employees’ Danish-language skills

With this part of the language policy, the university is stating that all tenure-track and tenured members of staff should be able to contribute to teaching in Danish 3 to 6 years after they have been employed, provided that they were employed after the new language policy came into effect. For other members of staff, individual agreements should be made with local management.

For most members of staff who do not speak Danish when they take up their position, it will be difficult in only 3–6 years to achieve a level of competence in Danish that can match the competence they have in the language(s) they have used up to that point in their academic careers. This means that, unless special conditions apply, it cannot and should not be expected that a lecturer who does not speak Danish when hired will be able fulfil all tasks related to teaching in Danish after 3 or 6 years.

On the other hand, with the right kind of support in terms of language learning opportunities and management back-up, it is perfectly possible for new employees to build language competences that will allow them to contribute to teaching in Danish in various ways after a certain period of time.

The key is to realize that using a language does not necessarily have to be ‘all or nothing’. Adopting a more flexible view of language and how languages can be used in combination makes it possible to think of a range of ways in which members of staff can contribute to teaching in Danish, without necessarily being required to do everything in Danish.

Discussing what might and might not work in the local environment is an important conversation to have at regular intervals among all participants involved in teaching activities. The following list might be useful as inspiration for such a conversation (though many other approaches will also be possible).

A lecturer with Danish as an additional language could contribute to teaching in Danish by:

• providing spoken or written feedback in English (or Danish) on student papers written in Danish
  
  
• marking exam papers written in Danish, with feedback given in English
  
  
• including slides in Danish to accompany teaching activities otherwise conducted in English
  
  
• being able to read assigned course texts in Danish and discussing them in class with students (in English or Danish)
  
  
• using a mix of Danish and English in teaching situations – students may prefer to speak Danish while the teacher responds in English

Developing communicative skills in an additional language is a process that requires time as well as a certain level of commitment and motivation. This process varies among different individuals because it is influenced by personal variables (e.g., previous language learning experiences, community involvement). Danish courses offer a safe environment to practice and experiment with the language, so they are essential for language skill development. However, finding opportunities to communicate in Danish outside the language classroom is also important as language fluency comes from extensive language use.

Several approaches to language learning can enhance the development of language skills for effective communication in an academic context. Exposure to the use of Danish in the classroom helps lecturers acquire aspects of classroom language use such as ways to ask questions, give simple instructions, and elicit discussion. Observing colleagues’ Danish-medium classes can provide an opportunity for language immersion and exposure to language use in the academic domain. Experimenting with the language and reflecting on one’s own language use can also promote the development of communicative skills. Finally, finding strategies to overcome language difficulties (rather than focusing on accurate grammar and native-like pronunciation) can contribute to effective communication.

For management, creating a stimulating and safe language learning and teaching environment for members of staff who are learning Danish must be a priority if the goal is to be achieved. Getting to a point where it is possible to contribute to teaching in Danish should not be the responsibility of the individual employee, but a joint effort on the part of management and all employees, including those who have Danish as their first language. This means that it will be important for management to show the necessary support in terms of offering access to relevant language courses (cf. Principles 2.2 and 2.3. of the language policy), just as the necessary time needed to engage actively in the process of learning a new language must be made available.

Management should also create opportunities for collaborating with Danish-speaking colleagues, e.g., preparing for teaching, developing materials, and perhaps engaging in co-teaching with a Danish-speaking colleague. Beyond that, it will also be important to establish clear agreements about what is realistic in terms of ‘contributing to teaching in Danish’. For many employees, the Danish language requirement generates stress and anxiety, and it will be important to offset this by setting explicit and realistic goals, for instance as part of the annual MUS, but also in more general terms, e.g., as part of department policy.

At CIP, we offer Danish language courses that are directed specifically at teaching-related activities. This means that we help in developing language skills that are aimed at meeting specific communicative needs in academic contexts rather than working on language skills in general.

CIP can also facilitate workshops for departments or other units at UCPH that would like inspiration for implementing the language policy locally. We have developed various workshop formats that are useful for facilitating what can be quite difficult conversations about language.

If you’re interested in knowing more about what we offer at CIP, please contact us at cip@hum.ku.dk or +45 35 32 86 39.