Receptive communication skills to support inclusive learning in the multilingual classroom: a workshop for university teaching staff

The University of Luxembourg, renowned for its multilingual profile, promotes the use of English, French, German and Luxembourgish in its multilingualism policy. English is an important lingua franca in many academic disciplines worldwide, and French, German and Luxembourgish are the administrative languages of Luxembourg. However, data from the ongoing research project “Representations of Linguistic Diversity in Multilingual Universities (RELIDIMU)” reveals a dominance of English and French over German and Luxembourgish in most classroom settings at the University of Luxembourg. This imbalance prompted the design of a trial workshop aimed at familiarising teaching staff with concepts of receptive multilingualism to help them navigate the complexities of teaching and learning in multilingual classrooms and promote cultural and linguistic diversity in alignment with the university’s values. The workshop was given by the university’s Language Centre during the inaugural Teaching Day on the theme “ACT – Advancing Competence in Teaching for Student Success” in February 2024. In this report, we highlight two activities that combine receptive multilingualism with plain language strategies – concepts that, according to data from the research project, are unfamiliar to many members of the teaching staff at the University of Luxembourg. Drawing on participants’ feedback gathered during the trial workshop, we conclude with insights into how we plan to redesign and expand the workshop.