LPAQ: Language planning and attitudes in Quebec
Outreach
Status: complete
Part of the LPAQ projet is an 'outreach' component, i.e. the dissemination of research among members of the general public. This can, according to ERA guidelines, include workshops, open days, newspaper articles, the creation of Wikipedia articles, or involvement with schools to bring pupils closer to science.
A first outreach activity took place in February 2014 with final-year pupils at Montreal's Alexander von Humboldt German School in Baie-d'Urfé. General aspects of sociolinguistics and societal multilingualism were addressed in the form of a researcher-led presentation, classroom activities, and topics prepared in conjunction with the teachers and the researcher. The demographics and language dynamics of the class ensured a high awareness of language issues. All pupils are trilingual, given the school's language policy: the medium of instruction is German, pupils generally converse with each other in English (which is also the majority language in the municipality), and French is the primary 'foreign' language taught at school.
This outreach activity would not have been possible without the permission of the school's principal, Mr. Thomas Linse, or without the consent and keen interest of the class teacher, Mr. Eckhart Gärtner. I would like to reiterate my thanks to all of them for generously accommodating me and for making time for this project.
An article on the University of Freiburg's outreach platform reports on the project and includes a gallery of linguistic landscape items.