Sustainable Multilingualism 2025

The Institute of Foreign Languages of Vytautas Magnus University and the Language Teachers’ Association of Lithuania are pleased to invite you to the 8th International Scientific Conference “Sustainable Multilingualism 2025”, which will be held in Kaunas, Lithuania, on 29–31 May 2025. Abstract submission is open until 17 February 2025.

The aim of the Conference is to bring together language policymakers, researchers in language and multilingual competences, teachers, students, and all those who are interested in multilingualism to share their experiences and insights.

The first two days of the Conference will focus on research topics related to multilingualism in society (implementation of language policy, preservation of languages, enforcement of linguistic rights, etc.); language teaching/learning and the development of multilingual and intercultural competence; multilingualism and professional practice; the development of the teacher’s multilingual competence; and the contemporary Lithuanian language, which is the basis of our multilingual

competence. On the third day, the Conference participants will be invited to explore Lithuania and its cultural heritage on a guided excursion in Dzūkija.

The keynote speakers of the Conference, world-renowned scholars, will present their latest research on the challenges faced in language teaching/learning and translation and on the future of a multilingual world. This year’s Conference programme includes four keynote speeches that will be given by the following speakers:

· Dr. Karina Firkavičiūtė, who is the Head of the Lithuanian Karaim Association of Culture, a civil servant of the EU Research Executive Agency, an associate professor of Humanities, a musicologist, a member of the Lithuanian Composers’ Union, and a holder of a Master’s degree in Interdisciplinary European Studies.

· Dr. Jūratė Ruzaitė, who is a Professor at the Department of Foreign Languages, Literary and Translation Studies at Vytautas Magnus University. She has rich experience in (inter)national research projects, including a national project “Semantika-2” (2018–2019), which developed software for automatic detection of offensive online comments in Lithuanian. Her research interests include sociolinguistics, pragmatics, discourse analysis, language and ideology, hate speech, propaganda and disinformation.

· Johan Sandberg McGuinneis, who is a South Saami and Scottish Gaelic poet, traditional yoik singer, writer, literary scholar and language activist, the president of Tjállegoahte, the Saami Writers’ Centre in Sweden, and the Regional Representative for Sápmi in the Swedish Writers’ Union.

· Dr. John W. Schwieter, who is a Professor of Psychology, Linguistics, and Spanish at Wilfrid Laurier University and adjunct professor of Linguistics at McMaster University, both in Canada. Dr. Schwieter’s research interests include cognitive and neuroscientific approaches to multilingualism and language acquisition; translation, interpreting, and cognition; and second language teaching and learning. He has published more than 100 journal articles and book chapters and is the author or editor of 23 books.

Abstract submission and registration for the Conference “Sustainable Multilingualism 2025” are open until 17 February.

Abstracts may be submitted in English, Spanish, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, French, German and Ukrainian.

We kindly invite you to register, share your research or simply join us to listen to the papers and converse in a foreign language with the Conference guests, which will help you improve your multilingual competence. Abstract submission and registration are available on the Conference website.

SUSTAINABLE MULTILINGUALISM 2023

The Institute of Foreign Languages of Vytautas Magnus University (VMU IFL), in cooperation with the Language Teachers’ Association of Lithuania, organizes the 7th International Scientific Conference “Sustainable Multilingualism” (Lith. Darnioji daugiakalbystė). The conference will be held on June 9-10, 2023 in Kaunas.

“Sustainable Multilingualism 2023” aims at bringing together researchers, language policymakers, language teaching professionals and students and all the interested in the discussion on preserving and nurturing multilingualism. Scholars are invited to present their research on the topics related to Multiligualism in society, Language education in multilingual and multicultural settings, Multilingualism in (professional) practice and Contemporary Lithuanian language studies. Presentation session languages: English, French, German, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Spanish, Ukrainian.

Keynote speakers of the conference:

Auksė Balčytienė, a Professor of Journalism in the Department of Public Communications in Vytautas Magnus University Kaunas, Lithuania. Her research interests are in media policy, political and journalism cultures, media system change and comparative studies, media and information literacy, European public sphere and Central and Eastern European Studies;

François Grin, a Full Professor in economics at the Faculty of Translation and Interpreting of the University of Geneva and the Director of the Observatory on Economy, Languages and Training. Prof. Grin specialises in language economics, education economics, and the evaluation of public policies in these fields;

Enrica Piccardo, a Professor of Applied Linguistics and Language Education at OISE – University of Toronto and the Head of the Centre for Educational research in Languages and Literacies. She has extensive international experience in second/foreign language education research, teacher development and teaching of multiple languages;

Maria Teresa Zanola, a Full Professor of French Linguistics. She is rewarded as Officier dans l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres at the French Ministry of Culture. Prof. Zanola is a highly qualified expert in specialised languages and terminologies in diachronic and comparative perspective and an internationally recognised specialist in language policies in Higher Education.

More information about the conference and registration are available at the website sustainablemultilingualism.com

6th International Conference Sustainable Multilingualism 2021

The Institute of Foreign Languages of Vytautas Magnus University (VMU IFL), in cooperation with the Language Teachers’ Association of Lithuania, organizes the 6th International Scientific Conference “Sustainable Multilingualism” (Lith. Darnioji daugiakalbystė). The Conference will be held online on June 4-5, 2021. Abstracts are submitted by April 1.

The importance of Sustainable Multilingualism

“Sustainable multilingualism is the process of ensuring the harmonious coexistence of languages in a country, city or institution and human consciousness. It is the education of a multilingual person who, through learning the home language and other languages and his/her intercultural experience, develops and improves his/her general communicative competence. This competence allows improving mother tongue, communicating in several languages, understanding, comprehending the written or spoken text of other languages, and mediating with others who do not speak a common language. The future belongs to multilingual people who have general communicative competence in several languages and are able to use those languages flexibly,” says VMU IFL Prof. Dr. Nemira Mačianskienė, Chair of the Scientific Committee of “Sustainable Multilingualism”.

VMU IFL organized the first Conference dedicated to multilingualism in 2011. The aim was to contribute to the development of language policy in the country by providing a platform for researchers and language teaching practitioners to discuss the development of multilingualism, i.e. aspects of language preservation and language teaching and learning.

A Wide Range of Conference Themes

“Sustainable Multilingualism 2021” aims at bringing together researchers, language policymakers, language teaching professionals and students, and all the interested in the discussion on preserving and nurturing multilingualism. As the Conference will be held online this year, researchers from all over the world are invited to present their research and insights on the following topics (in English, Spanish, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, French, Russian and German):

Language policy implementation (regional, national, institutional levels)

Language preservation, revitalization, linguistic human rights
Less widely spoken & taught languages
Minority & regional languages
Psycholinguistic perspectives of multilingualism
Contemporary Lithuanian language studies
Issues in translation and interpreting
Virtual language teaching & learning
Innovations in classroom language teaching and learning
Plurilingual approach to language teaching & learning
Linguistically sensitive teaching
Content and Language Integrated Learning
Intercultural communication in language teaching and learning
Teaching and learning mediation competences
Formative assessment
Language teacher professional competence development

Keynote Speeches Will Be Delivered by World-Famous Scholars

The conference “Sustainable Multilingualism” always receives attention from world-famous scholars and multilingualism specialists. This year’s plenary speeches in English, German and Lithuanian will be given by Ghil’ Ad Zuckermann, Professor at the University of Adelaide (Australia), Britta Hufeisen from Darmstadt Technical University (Germany), Déirdre Kirwan from Trinity College Dublin (Ireland) and VMU IFL Latin Lecturer, Sigitas Lūžys, the winner of the Martynas Mažvydas Prize. The keynote speakers will present their latest research on the challenges of language teaching and learning as well as translation and the future of a multilingual world.

Submission of abstracts and registration takes place on the conference website.

Sustainable Multilingualism 2019

Institute of Foreign Languages (IFL) of Vytautas Magnus University in cooperation with Language Teachers’ Association of Lithuania (LKPA) are pleased to invite you to the 5th VMU IFL and the 13th LKPA international conference SUSTAINABLE MULTILINGUALISM 2019 24–25 May, 2019 Vytautas Magnus University, Kaunas, Lithuania.

The conference aims at bringing together scholars and language education professionals to share their research insights and discuss the issues relevant to the development of individual and societal multilingualism, including language policy, linguistic human rights, plurilingual pedagogy and language education in higher education.

For more information press the link.

Sustainable Multilingualism 2017

Institute of Foreign Languages (IFL) of Vytautas Magnus University (VMU) successfully carries out its mission to provide efficient foreign language teaching, offering the broadest range of languages in Lithuania (currently 30 languages on offer), and also to perform research in plurilingual competence development and disseminating the scientific research internationally.

The 4^th biennial international conference “Sustainable Multilingualism”, which was organized by IFL on 26-27 May 2017 (11^th conference of the Lithuanian Language Teachers’ Association, with VMU as one of its founders) rallied over one hundred of researchers and language teaching professionals from over twenty countries of the world for discussion on individual plurilingualism and societal multilingualism in higher education. This year’s conference was exceptional in its focus on language preservation, linguistic human rights, minority language teaching and learning, challenges for culture and identity and continuing discussions on major issues in higher education language policy and language education in multilingual and multicultural learning space.

The conference was honored by world famous researchers and fighters for linguistic human rights – prof. ROBERT PHILLIPSON – the author of books on linguistic imperialism, challenges for language policy and language, who gave a plenary presentation “Linguistic challenges in global and regional integration” and prof. TOVE SKUTNABB-KANGAS – researcher into linguistic human rights, linguistic genocide and crimes against humanity in the education of Indigenous/ tribal/ minority/ minoritised children, linguicism (linguistically argued racism), mother-tongue-based multilingual education, linguistic imperialism and the subtractive spread of English, support for endangered languages, and the relationship between biodiversity and linguistic diversity. She gave a plenary presentation “Linguistic diversity, language rights and language ecology.”

President of the European Language Council / Conseil europeen pour les langues (CEL/ELC) MANUEL CÉLIO CONCEIÇÃO, professor of French linguistics at the University of Algarve, Portugal, researcher in language policy, intercultural communication, multilingualism in higher education, terminology and professional communication in the area of language studies and literature gave a plenary presentation “Higher Education Linguistic Landscape and Societal Challenges: Sustainable Perspectives for Real Evidences”. President of International Association of Multilingualism (IAM) and the General Editor of the International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, JEAN-MARC DEWAELE, professor of Applied Linguistics and Multilingualism at Birkbeck College, University of London, United Kingdom, discussed the development of sociopragmatic and sociocultural competence as well as the effect of emotional acculturation to a new language and culture in his plenary speech “Communicating Emotions in a Foreign Language”.

Research findings on various topics were presented and discussed in parallel sessions: migration and language policy, bilingualism and multilingualism, issues in language policy in Ukraine, Hungary, Spain, Slovenia, Bangladesh and India; language education in multilingual and multicultural space in Lithuania, issues in minority language teaching/ learning and less wisely taught and spoken languages such as Valencian, Welsh, language of Hungarian minority in Ukraine, Lithuanian as a foreign language, use of Samogitian dialect for preservation of identity, hybridity and belonging to Greek Cypriot community in London. Language teacher education problems were also discussed by presenters from Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, Sweden and Lithuania, as well as development of plurilingual competence in formal, non-formal and informal ways, issues of translation in multilingual environment. Problems of the use of various languages in literary texts were analyzed from a historical perspective, multilingualism in European literature, languages and literatures in Scotland were presented. Parallel sessions were held in Lithuanian, French, German and English languages.

127 registered participants – researchers and higher education language professionals – represented 24 countries of the world: Bangladesh, Belgium, Byelorussia, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Kazakhstan, Poland, Russia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom. 87 presentations were given during the two days of the conference: 60 oral, 12 virtual and 15 poster presentations.

The highest outcome of the conference, though, was expressed not in numbers but in the synergy which was sparked when the issue of multilingualism was viewed from different perspectives by presenters from various cultures, sharing their experience and ideas, attitudes and solutions to problems, expanding the networks of like-minded people, foreseeing common future research and projects. It is the joy of communication that is the highest value such events as international conferences can bring about.

CONFERENCE ABSTRACTS

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PHOTO COVERAGE

Sustainable Multilingualism: Language, Culture And Society

Good competence of several languages has become one of the key characteristics of the 21st century citizen. The purpose of every contemporary higher education institution is to provide opportunities for graduates to acquire communicative skills in several languages to enable them to maintain intercultural dialogue and be competitive in the international academic, scientific and labour market.

On the 29-30^th of May, 2015, Language Teachers’ Association of Lithuania (LKPA) together with VMU Institute of Foreign Languages (IFL) is organizing the 9th LKPA and the 3rd VMU IFL international scientific conference SUSTAINABLE MULTILINGUALISM: LANGUAGE, CULTURE AND SOCIETY and welcomes everyone who intends to share their insights into research in and opinions about multilingualism from the perspectives of language, culture and society.

Language Teachers’ Association of Lithuania (LKPA), founded in 2006 by Kaunas Technological University, Klaipeda University, Association of the Lithuanian Language Teachers, Public Service Language Centre, Vilniaus kolegija/University of Applied Sciences, Vytautas Magnus University and Foreign Languages Institute (Vilnius University), aims at protecting and promoting the Lithuanian language and multilingualism in Lithuania, developing tolerance in multicultural society and helping teachers improve professional competence and qualification.

The Institute of Foreign Languages at Vytautas Magnus University has an exceptional experience in Lithuania and Europe in the development of plurilingual competence: a variety of language courses (more than 30 languages offered), intensive blended language teaching and learning, use of modern language teaching methods, integrated language and culture courses, initiatives of non-formal language learning and research into multilingualism. The experience challenges us to initiate a dialogue among different stakeholders promoting language policy development, searching for solutions to urgent problems and sharing best practices.

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2nd International Scientific Conference “Sustainable Multilingualism: Research, Studies, Culture”

On 27-28 September VMU hosted the 2nd international scientific conference Sustainable Multilingualism: Research, Studies, Culture organised by the Institute of Foreign Languages. The conference aimed at assembling international researchers, experts, language teaching professionals, and other stakeholders to share research insights and discuss multilingualism viewed from perspectives of various fields including language policy, language didactics, foreign language teaching, linguistics, translation and others.

The conference started with the plenary session on the issues in the EU language policy. The first plenary presentation was delivered by the president of the European Language Council (ELC), the chair of the European Commission’s Business Platform and the Professor of English philology at Berlin Freie University Wolfgang Mackiewicz, the other presentation was given by the member of ELC Board and the Associate Professor at the Department of Language and Business Communication at the University of Aarhus, Denmark, Karen M. Lauridsen.

Photos of the 2^st International Scientific Conference “Sustainable Multilingualism: Research, Studies, Culture”, 27-28 September, 2013

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1st International Scientific Conference “Multilingualism and Language Studies in Higher Education”

The conference was held on 8-10 December, 2011 at Vytautas Magnus University (Kaunas, Lithuania).

The aim of the conference was to assemble researchers, international experts, language teaching specialists, politicians, heads and teachers of higher education language centres and institutions, and other social stakeholders for the discussion about the state and problems concerning multilingual competence development in higher education.

The conference discussions were proceeded in four stages:

Plenary sessions
Round table discussions
Oral, poster, and virtual presentations
Language forums

After the conference, the book was published. The book contains summaries of presentations for International scientific conference „Multilingualism and Language Studies in Higher Education“ in English, Lithuanian, French, German, Spanish and Latvian languages, including conference programme, list of conference participants and project information. The presentations investigated the issues on language policy, development of plurilingual competence in higher education, language diversity, multilingualism for economic competitiveness and content and language integrated learning. Also the electronic edition of selected papers “Research in Multilingualism” was issued. The volume of selected papers presents research in issues in language policy, language teaching and learning in higher education, development of plurilingual competence and intercultural dialogue.

Photos of the 1^st International Scientific Conference “Multilingualism and Language Studies in Higher Education”, 8-10 December, 2011:

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