International Colloquium
International Colloquium on “Language Skills for Economic and Social Inclusion”
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany
12-13 October 2017
General goals
This conference aims at exploring the relationship between individual language skills and people’s integration in the economy and in society in general with a special focus on the labour market. Language skills can be viewed as human capital having a positive influence on people’s income, employability and social inclusion. This holds for immigrants, refugees and mobile people who can benefit from the knowledge of the official language(s) of the host country, but also for citizens learning foreign languages and using them in the workplace.
Research questions
The number of potential research questions that are relevant for the conference is large. Here we present a non-exhaustive list that can help orienting prospective participants:
Do language skills significantly contribute to the participation of individuals in the labour market?
Which languages are more rewarded in the labour market and at which level of fluency? What differences among countries or regions can be observed in this respect?
Do language skills improve international economic integration and trade?
How does language competence affect the social inclusion of migrants and refugees? Which sociolinguistic barriers can hinder inclusion?
Are language skills an important variable in employers’ recruiting decisions?
Do some economic sectors make a more intensive use of language skills than other?
What is the role of language policy in facilitating social inclusion and social cohesion?
How do language education policies affect individuals’ migration decisions? Do foreign language skills significantly facilitate international labour mobility and therefore the economic integration of the European and the global labour market as a whole?
What is the relationship between language skills in a lingua franca (e.g. English) and social integration in the host country where the lingua franca is not the locally dominant language? What differences can be found among low-skilled migrants and high-skilled (or “expats”) in this respect?
Does a lingua franca increase social inclusion, or does it promote the emergence of separate networks of communication? What are the sociological implications of this?
Submission and deadlines
The length of abstracts should not exceed 350 words. Abstracts must be submitted to the address “templito@hu-berlin.de” by 15 May 2017. The successful applicants will be notified by 30 June 2017.
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany
12-13 October 2017
General goals
This conference aims at exploring the relationship between individual language skills and people’s integration in the economy and in society in general with a special focus on the labour market. Language skills can be viewed as human capital having a positive influence on people’s income, employability and social inclusion. This holds for immigrants, refugees and mobile people who can benefit from the knowledge of the official language(s) of the host country, but also for citizens learning foreign languages and using them in the workplace.
Research questions
The number of potential research questions that are relevant for the conference is large. Here we present a non-exhaustive list that can help orienting prospective participants:
Do language skills significantly contribute to the participation of individuals in the labour market?
Which languages are more rewarded in the labour market and at which level of fluency? What differences among countries or regions can be observed in this respect?
Do language skills improve international economic integration and trade?
How does language competence affect the social inclusion of migrants and refugees? Which sociolinguistic barriers can hinder inclusion?
Are language skills an important variable in employers’ recruiting decisions?
Do some economic sectors make a more intensive use of language skills than other?
What is the role of language policy in facilitating social inclusion and social cohesion?
How do language education policies affect individuals’ migration decisions? Do foreign language skills significantly facilitate international labour mobility and therefore the economic integration of the European and the global labour market as a whole?
What is the relationship between language skills in a lingua franca (e.g. English) and social integration in the host country where the lingua franca is not the locally dominant language? What differences can be found among low-skilled migrants and high-skilled (or “expats”) in this respect?
Does a lingua franca increase social inclusion, or does it promote the emergence of separate networks of communication? What are the sociological implications of this?
Submission and deadlines
The length of abstracts should not exceed 350 words. Abstracts must be submitted to the address “templito@hu-berlin.de” by 15 May 2017. The successful applicants will be notified by 30 June 2017.
Posted: May 9, 2017, 1:01 PM