Cooperation

In the last few years, a cluster has formed in Graz with regard to know-how and activities in the fields of language acquisition, language didactics and language teaching research, centred round the European Centre for Modern Languages of the Council of Europe (EFSZ) located in Graz. The key components of this Language Network Graz, besides the University of Graz (philological departments and treffpunkt sprachen), are institutions that further contribute to Graz’s reputation as a city for language competence:

Another source of cooperation is the Austrian Association of Language Didactics (ÖGSD), which brings together researchers in the field of language didactics from all over Austria. In terms of university language centres, there is also an active national network, which promotes knowledge transfer and cooperation, and an international network. Furthermore, the university is also a member of the Austrian Language Committee (ÖSKÖ), which deals with socio-politically relevant issues in the fields of language policy and language teaching.

Apart from bilateral cooperation projects with a variety of universities, university centres and individual institutions (among them, School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics – Manchester University, the academies of the sciences in Bulgaria, Serbia, Hungary etc., Charles University in Prague, University of Chicago, Research Institute for the Languages of Finland), there are also cooperation projects both with international organizations (Roma Education Fund of the World Bank, Open Society Institute, Council of Europe – Language Policy Division, Charter for Regional or Minority Languages etc.) as well as with national institutions (among them, the Volksgruppenförderung (advisory body for the promotion of ethnic minorities) of the Federal Chancellery of Austria; the Austrian Federal Ministry for Education, the Arts and Culture (BM:UKK); and the Provincial Government of Burgenland).

 

Owing to the existing networks, there is a wide range of opportunities for cooperation as part of research projects, as well as pilot projects that put the results of research into practice.