Linguistic and cultural diversity is of particular importance to Switzerland and its residents, all the more because it is tightly bound with the long-term political, social and cultural history of the country. It is often referred to as an “asset” or even a “treasure”, with some going so far as to claim that it is essential to the very existence of the country.

As the question of the teaching-learning of French in vocational schools in Switzerland is under debate once again, it is essential to study and understand the place and role of French as a school discipline, a working tool and a subject of discourse in the context of vocational training. A historical perspective will be used for this purpose, since examining current issues from a historical perspective allows for a better understanding of the origins of phenomena and the factors that...

After the positive outcome of the first Cantonal Integration Programme (CIP), the Confederation commissioned the cantons to implement the second CIP (running from 2018 to 2021). Considering that not all migrants have the same needs and requirements with regard to second language acquisition, Fribourg's offer for language courses is to be assessed as part of the second CIP. The assessment is carried out by the Institute of multilingualism, on behalf the Migrant Integration Office and...

On behalf of the Lia Rumantscha (umbrella organisation of all Rhaeto-Romanic associations), the Institute reviewed and assessed sociolinguistic literature to identify potential measures to foster Rhaeto-Romanic or other (autochthonous) minority languages in diaspora communities.

The Swiss Conference of Cantonal Ministers of Education (EDK) planned to verify how well students are mastering the Basic Competences (educational standards) in foreign languages for the second time in spring 2020. Due to the covid-19 pandemic, classroom teaching in schools was prohibited from mid-March to mid-May. As the verification could not be carried out as planned, the EDK decided to postpone it to 2023.

The Cold Rush project examines the transforming Arctic North as an expanding hotspot at the juncture of economic development and cultural transformation, focusing on the ways in which language and identity matter in these processes.

The aim of this project is the empirically-based development of assessments to test the profession-specific language skills in teachers of French, English and Italian as a foreign language in primary and secondary schools.

The standing of German in the Canton and City of Fribourg has been a topic of public debate for decades. Currently, French and German are official languages of the canton, and their use is anchored in the constitution; moreover, it is possible for communes “with a significant traditional linguistic minority” to use both French and German as official languages (art. 6 para. 3). Nevertheless, an implementation act specifying the criteria and legal procedures has not yet been drafted....

The purpose of this project is to conduct a detailed analysis on language census issues in Switzerland since the 19th century and to better understand the role this tool plays in the Swiss political landscape. This project will also support the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) in developing future census tools. This will ensure that actual sociolinguistic facts are taken into account when designing thematic questionnaires on languages.

In cooperation with the University of Lausanne UNIL