The Role of German as a Foreign Language in the Internationalization Policy at the Universities of Brussels: Free University of Brussels

This article discusses the (possible) role of the German language in the strategies for internationalisation at the Brussels universities. It immediately becomes clear that English is the language of internationalisation and that German is only traditionally taught as a foreign language both in the Auslandsgermanistik and in other language courses at university. But, because of internationalising educational programmes, learner groups become more and more heterogeneous, which calls for a more appropriate multilingual pedagogical approach, also in the German classes. It is suggested that the success of German as a foreign language depends on the principles of multilingual education. This way the teaching of German might even function as an example of good practice in the light of a successful internationalisation programme.