Symposium brings together teachers of Indian and German languages, Linguistics students

SHILLONG, Nov 19: An international symposium on multilingualism entitled ‘Crossing Borders: Innovations for a Multilingual Environment’ was recently organised at English and Foreign Languages University (EFLU), Shillong, which saw participation of teachers of Indian and German languages as well as students of Linguistics.
According to a statement, the symposium entitled ‘Crossing Borders: Innovations for a Multilingual Environment’ was inaugurated on November 17 at EFLU by Zonal Director of ICCR North Eastern Region, N Munish Singh, who was the chief guest during the programme.
The symposium was jointly organised by the Goethe-Institut Kolkata and Department of Germanic Studies and Department of Linguistics, EFLU.
Head of the Department of Germanic Studies, Rebekah Tham, during the symposium, said the goal of the programme was to open up spaces for dialogue among different mother tongue speakers along with German.
Educational Cooperation Officer of the Goethe-Institut Anita Mitra, on the other hand, maintained that “every language spoken in the world represents a special culture, a melody, a colour and a value, and for everyone, the mother tongue is certainly one of the most precious treasures in our lives.”
“On the one hand, it (mother tongue) is a responsibility to preserve it and pass it on from generation to generation; on the other hand, learning another language brings many benefits to our lives. A new language opens a new window into our worldview and makes us more open-minded and respectful of other cultures, lifestyles, customs and beliefs. Being multilingual allows us to participate in more than one language community. The better we master a language, the larger our network, the deeper our understanding of our mother tongue and the rediscovery of our roots,” Mitra added.
It may be mentioned that during the symposium, both Indian language teachers and foreign language teachers shared their ideas on teaching methods in a multilingual setting.
“With a focus on multilingualism, the symposium provided a platform for exchange and discussion not only on the German language but also on the Indian regional languages of Eastern and Northeastern India. It addressed topics such as the meaning of multilingualism in the East Indian context, theories of multilingualism in the teaching of German and the promotion of cultural diversity in the classroom,” a statement in this regard said.