International multilingual conference

The integration of Ukraine into the European educational space and the growth of academic exchange have made intercultural communication and coexistence in pluricultural and plurilingual societies increasingly crucial. These new realities demand changes in foreign language policy and call for innovative strategies that address Europe’s linguistic and cultural diversity.

In recent years, Ukrainian has been added to foreign and heritage language programmes offered at schools, universities, and institutes across Europe (Kiss et al., 2025). This development poses new didactic tasks for teaching, research, and teacher training, while opening opportunities to expand specialist discourses on cross-linguistic issues.

In today’s pluricultural world, communicative competence involves more than transmitting information: it requires articulating positions, evaluating diverse views, persuading, defending arguments, and making informed decisions. Such skills hinge on critical and reflective thinking (Brendel 2018; Pfister 2020), which has become indispensable in an era of super-diversity, artificial intelligence, and information warfare (Synekop et al., 2023).

Reflective thinking – a metacognitive process of purposeful, self-regulated judgment – enhances the likelihood of producing logical, innovative solutions (Dwyer & Walsh, 2019; Quinn et al., 2020). Identified as a core learning outcome (Bezanilla et al., 2019), it deepens understanding (Halpern, 2014; Zadorozhna, 2018), improves judgment, and reduces reliance on biases and heuristics (McGuinness, 2013). Its benefits extend well beyond education, especially in intercultural and transcultural contexts where swift and informed decisions are crucial (Korol, 2023).

Developing reflective thinking is therefore a central goal of modern language education. It equips students to analyse information critically, distinguish fact from belief, and form independent attitudes in contexts often shaped by propaganda. At the same time, foreign language teachers must themselves act reflectively, attending to learners’ linguistic and cultural diversity and fostering subject-specific reflective competence (Bechtel & Rudolph, 2022; Schädlich, 2019; Skintey, 2023; Stadler & Buchwald, 2022). In this way, language education becomes a fertile ground for inter- and transcultural learning, where diversity is actively integrated into reflective classroom dialogue.

The aims of this conference are to share and discuss:

• Theoretical perspectives and innovative approaches to reflective thinking and/or inter- and transcultural learning in educational psychology, didactics, and cultural studies;
• Empirical research examining reflective thinking and/or inter- and transcultural learning;
• Best practice examples (e.g., lessons, extracurricular activities, projects, seminars, lectures) that foster reflective thinking in language learning at different educational levels (from secondary school to higher education) or in real-life contexts.

This event offers an international platform for academics, researchers, and practitioners to exchange insights and experiences in person. It also aims to foster lasting research relationships and international collaborations, contributing to the advancement of knowledge in these key fields.

We invite you to submit an abstract proposal (max. 300 words; indicate the desired presentation format) by 1 November 2025 to multilingualism_conference@uibk.ac.at. Notification of acceptance will be sent by 15 November 2025.

Formats

• Individual papers: 20 minutes (15 minutes presentation + 5 minutes discussion). Sessions will run in parallel.
• Posters: Displayed on both conference days, with a dedicated session in the main programme.

Languages: The working languages are English, German, and Ukrainian. If presenting in German or Ukrainian, please prepare slides or posters in English.

Practical Information: For presenters travelling from Ukraine, accommodation costs can be reimbursed for the period 25–28 February 2026.

We look forward to your contributions and to welcoming you in Innsbruck in February 2026!