The role and value of multilingualism in the educational institution

Abstract

Discussing the value of language(s), multilingualism or language skills is a field of research in a number of different disciplines. Over the last decades, sociological theories on linguistic capital, economic observations on the human capital value of language skills as well as theories from business studies on the importance of language in international management have emerged and are gaining increasing popularity. More recently, educationalists and linguists have started contributing to the field. In order to establish a clear understanding on the concept of value in the area of multilingualism, the first part of this paper provides a relatively comprehensive overview on the aforementioned field(s). Based on this overview, the second part of this paper presents some descriptive findings from original research on the role and value of multilingualism in the institution. The data originates from a case study that was conducted among staff members at the University of Hamburg. Some of the key research questions in this research evolved around how multilingual a standard German institution is, how multilingual resources among the staff body can be captured and how these resources can be used. The final part of this paper discusses the findings in relation to the theoretical overview.