The Institute of Multilingualism was founded in 2008 as a joint institute of the University of Fribourg and the University of Teacher Education, Fribourg. Its activities include carrying out research projects in the area of multilingualism, supporting teaching at all levels of higher education (Bachelor, Masters, Doctoral, continuing education), collaborating with various stakeholders on a regional, national as well as international level, sharing knowledge gained with the world of science and the general public, carrying out academic events, managing services and information.
The Institute of Multilingualism is committed to researching multilingualism and its linguistic, social, political, economic and educational aspects. Major areas of research include multilingualism in education, human migration and the workplace as well as the evaluation of language competence. The Institute of Multilingualism pursues its own research projects and participates in national and international projects. In addition, the Institute assumes external mandates in research and development.
The Institute of Multilingualism cultivates contact to and co-operation with diverse institutions:
- Study programme Multilingualism and Foreign Language Education
- Language Centre, University of Fribourg
- Study programme English linguistics, University of Fribourg
- University of Teacher Education, Fribourg: teaching and research unit “Inegality, Diversity and Educational Institutions"
- Forum du bilinguisme Biel/Bienne
- University of Teacher Education Grisons
- University of Berne, Center for the Study of Language and Society
- ADLES Swiss association for foreign language teaching and learning
The Institute of Multilingualism is interconnected to a number of partner institutions and works closely with other Swiss and foreign universities.
The Institute of Multilingualism is financed in large by the Adolphe Merkle Foundation and the Foundation for Research and Development of Multilingualism of the Canton of Fribourg.