Call for Papers - Heritage Language Week 2027

Call for Papers

Heritage Language Week 2027

“Languages build bridges: connecting through diversity, shaping the future”

Dear colleagues,

This year, Frankfurt’s Heritage Language Week is going on the road and will take place from February 23 to 25, 2027 as a guest event at the Saarland University (Saarbrücken).

To mark International Mother Language Day, the Language Centers at the Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences and the Goethe University are pleased to announce the seventh annual Heritage Language Week, themed “Languages build bridges: connecting through diversity, shaping the future”. This event is aimed at students, faculty, researchers, and administrators.

The event is organized in cooperation with the Saarland Ministry of Education and Culture, Saarland University, the Saarland University Language Center, and the Saarland Language Council.

We invite all faculty, researchers, and administrators in the field of heritage languages to submit proposals for presentations, workshops, and posters from July 1 to September 30, 2026. Submissions should be aligned with the event’s central theme and address teaching and/or research in heritage languages.

Goal and Concept

The goal of the Heritage Language Week is to raise awareness of issues surrounding heritage languages and to promote networking between practice, research, and education policy. The central question is how languages can be used to build bridges between educational sectors as well as institutional and societal actors.

The event will take the form of a good-practice exchange, enabling participants to discuss methods and techniques in the teaching of heritage languages and to share experiences.

Thematic Focus

We are particularly interested in contributions that address networking in the context of multilingualism and heritage languages and fall within one of the following thematic areas:

1. Formats and Methods

Which didactic approaches offer particular added value in the teaching of heritage languages?

What role do project-oriented, task-based, or CLIL-inspired approaches play?

What potential do digital and hybrid formats offer?

2. Bridges Between Languages

How can heritage languages be systematically linked with German and other languages?

How can writing and learning strategies be transferred between languages?

How can multilingualism be harnessed as a resource in the classroom?

3. Bridges Between Educational Sectors

How can the teaching of heritage languages be integrated with regular instruction (e.g., German, academic subjects)?

Which sustainable models of collaboration between the teaching of heritage languages and regular school teachers are there?

4. Bridges Between Institutions and Stakeholders

How can collaboration between schools, universities, ministries, and other stakeholders be structured in a sustainable way?

What role do migrant organizations and civil society initiatives play in language education?

How can different perspectives (practice, administration, research) be productively brought together?

5. Federal States and Countries (including proficiency assessments)

What different models of teaching heritage languages exist in the federal states—and what can be learned from them?

What role do proficiency exams play in the recognition of heritage languages within education systems?

What insights can be gained from exchanges with neighboring countries (e.g., France, Luxembourg, Austria)?

6. Research and Practice

Which research findings can be applied to the teaching practice of heritage languages?

What examples of successful collaboration between research and practice exist?

How can evidence-based development in the teaching of heritage languages be strengthened?

Presentation Formats

Presentations should last approximately 20 minutes, followed by a 5-minute Q&A.

Presentations can be submitted to the following formats:

General Sections
You can submit a presentation to one of the thematic sections listed above.
Working languages: German/English

Language-Specific Sections
You may propose a separate section for the heritage language you work in. At least three presentations in the same language are required for such a section to take place. The final number of submissions will determine if the section takes place.
Working language: the respective heritage language or German/English.

Submission of Abstracts

Please submit your unpublished abstracts (max. 250 words) in one of the conference languages (German or English).

Please include the following information: