Die Internationalisierung der Hochschulen und der Umgang mit Mehrsprachigkeit in Studium und Lehre

Due to internationalization in higher education, English is gaining in importance as the language of teaching and learning (LoTL) in European institutions of higher education. Against this background, the question arises of how English can be used for teaching and learning without disadvantaging researchers, teachers and students by forcing them to use a second or foreign language for their cognitive-academic development and, at the same time, neglecting to assist them in developing individual translingual practices from which they could benefit. This article outlines the repertoire of translingual competencies and practices that have been observed in plurilinguals. For these competencies and practices, a range of terms has been coined, such as translanguaging, co-languaging, code-mixing and code-meshing, some of which are vague or overlap and therefore will be clarified in this article. In addition, a translation-studies perspective will be introduced into the current discourse on translingual practices. Based on this clarification, didactical measures will be outlined by means of which “English-plus multilingualism” (van der Walt 2013: 12) can be fostered in higher education on the part of both teachers and students.