Language agreement as a tool to support learning of local languages in international research groups

Research groups in non-Anglophone countries are often highly international, multilingual work environments with a predominant use of English but also a strong role of  the local language(s). It is important that international staff and students are given possibilities and support for learning the local language(s) to facilitate their integration within the research group and society. Also, personnel without sufficient local language qualifications are often excluded from work opportunities such as teaching, outreach activities, giving presentations, and high-level positions where all or some of the meetings are often held in the local language(s).

At Institute for Atmospheric and Earth System Research (INAR), University of Helsinki, Finland,  we have introduced a language agreement, drafted by members of the scientific community, to support learning and communication in Finnish. The aim of the language agreement is not to force the use of Finnish, but  to agree on common practices that will ensure a safe space for language learning for both international staff and native Finnish speaking colleagues, create opportunities and support for language learning in work settings, and take individuals’ different needs, aims and interest for language learning into consideration. A few examples of items listed in our language agreement:

• The unit accepts the use of multilingual resources so that even within a sentence, speakers can use words from different languages, depending on how they can best express their meaning.
• Everyone can/should encourage, but not force, others to speak in Finnish. For example, it is appropriate to ask, at the beginning of a meeting or coffee break, if the conversation should be in Finnish. The agreement to keep the meeting in Finnish can be revoked at any time.

We encourage other international research groups to adopt language agreements as a practice to promote fairness and decrease linguistic obstacles for international researchers.