The goal of the initiative launched by Dr. Michael Dobstadt (Chair of German as a Foreign Language), Nina Melching (Project Writing Center@TUD) and Monika Ruszó (Teaching Center for Languages and Cultures) is the development of a practice-oriented, contemporary language policy concept for the TUD.

In accordance with the guiding principle of networking and activating the expertise available at the TUD, the participants of the founding conference included, in addition to the initiators, Prof. Michael Kobel (Prorector Education) as well as representatives of the teaching staff, the TUD Writing Center, the International Office, the International Campus, the ING TUD department and the SLUB TextLab.

A special highlight of the conference were the inputs of the three external invited experts Prof. Dr. Ines Busch-Lauer (Westsächsische Hochschule Zwickau); Dr. Dagmar Knorr (Leuphana University Lüneburg); Dr. Stefan Rahn (FU Berlin) on the practical integration and relevance of language competences in studies at their respective institutions.

Following on from this, discussions unfolded under the moderation of Michael Sommer (ZiLL) around the relevance of language competencies for university examination formats, advantages and disadvantages of curricular anchoring of language competency courses, and the question: "What competencies/skills/knowledge do (national and international) students need in order to be able to linguistically meet the disciplinary and professional challenges?"

A SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) with a focus on language support and language education at TUD revealed, among other things, that the multitude of institutions and initiatives for language competence support is undoubtedly a strength of the TUD. Those present saw the greatest potential in better networking and communication among these actors.

The second day of the conference served to develop a concrete catalog of measures, the implementation of which will set in motion the development of a new language policy concept for the TUD. By the end of April 2023, the founding members of the network plan to have processed the preparatory steps in order to then devote themselves to the development of recommendations for action tailored to the needs of teachers and learners at TUD.

If you are interested, you and your institution are cordially invited to participate in the network "Promoting Language Competencies in Academic Studies" or to otherwise share your expertise with us.

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