The Concept of Functional Multilingualism in the Context of Internationalisation at German Universities

Internationalisation is a key word for Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in Germany. It also encompasses mobility policies in order to increase the numbers of incoming international students from all over the world as well as the numbers of outgoing national students. For this reason, among others, English as lingua franca/lingua academica is becoming more and more often the teaching and communication language in German international university courses. The authors argue that this attitude often labelled as English Only neither mirrors nor exploits the vast multilingual repertoires of today’s societies in general and European HEIs in particular. Nevertheless, building truly inclusive (scientific) communities deeply committed to democratic and pluralistic principles allowing participation for all citoyens needs to encompass our multilingual and multicultural realities. Anchoring the concept of functional multilingualism in the institution’s internationalisation and languages strategies, the Technical University Darmstadt serves as an example of a German HEI following multilingual paths beyond German and English.