6. Management tasks

Actively thinking about the importance of language and the way language is used is an important aspect of practicing a reflective language policy at a multilingual university. Principle 6.1 stipulates that not only is this good practice but in fact mandatory and that the responsibility for doing this rests with management.

The principle also stresses that considerations about language use (Danish, English, and potentially other languages – alone or in conjunction) is something that pertains to all spheres of activity at the university. The university as a workplace is one important arena; language choice in teaching and learning, i.e. the university as an educational institution, is another. Similarly, it will be relevant to consider language choice in research and research dissemination settings.

How language is used – and which languages are used – will inevitably have an impact on the kind of workplace, research and teaching environment that a faculty, department or section is able to build. Principle 6.1 highlights the fact that this is something that management is responsible for ‘putting on the agenda’, thereby actively engaging members of staff, faculty and students in an ongoing conversation about ‘what we’re doing’, ‘why we’re doing it’ and ‘how we might do it differently.’

Questions related to language use and the challenges posed by working in a multilingual environment can be difficult to raise, because they tend to involve dilemmas and tensions that are not easily resolved. This means that questions concerning language and local ‘language policy’ are often not talked about. The problem with this approach is that the tensions are likely to be there no matter what. Things may look fine on the surface, but there may be considerable tensions brewing amongst those who feel disadvantaged by what has been established as the norm – what has become a habit.

Bringing these issues up for explicit discussion is a necessary first step in creating a more open environment that will allow all relevant stakeholders to jointly identify challenges as well as opportunities presented by the language situation at the faculty, department, section, group, educational programme – or whatever the relevant context might be. It is unlikely that all tensions can be resolved, but even bringing them to light can be a useful exercise.

For management, it requires dedication and careful planning if discussions about language-related issues are to take place at regular intervals and have the desired results. Hence, making sure that questions regarding language use and language choice are regularly raised in relevant fora should be a priority for management at all levels, and in all areas of university life (e.g., boards of study, academic councils, departments, research groups).

Establishing local language policy guidelines that clearly spell out who the responsible managers are and how often and in what forum and what form language use and language choice is to be discussed will be a useful step in putting the language policy to work.

CIP can 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.

CIP also offers tailor-made language courses in Danish or English – for individuals or groups – focused on language needs associated with specific activities at the university.

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.