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Heritage Speaker Status: Supporting Berlin's Language Communities

Academic Research Opportunity

A funded X-Student Research Group (summer semester 2026) under the Berlin University Alliance Student Research Opportunities Program (StuROPx), led by Olga Olina (Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Deutsche Sprache und Linguistik). The group investigates grassroots initiatives in Berlin's heritage language communities and the forms of institutional support currently missing or difficult to access, aiming to develop concrete ideas for a proposed 'Heritage Speaker Status'. Through interviews with Berlin-based NGOs supporting linguistic diversity and with minority-language speakers, complemented by archival research, it explores (i) heritage languages and support structures in Berlin and (ii) minority languages and language policy in Germany and beyond. Research is linked to outreach via two Berlin events (Karneval der Kulturen and 48 Stunden Neukölln) to exchange directly with communities and map initiatives across the city.

Program

Organizers: Berlin University Alliance, Berlin University Alliance / Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
Host: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
Timeframe: Summer semester 2026 (SoSe 2026): weekly Thursdays 18:15–20:00, 16 April 2026 to 16 July 2026 (Start: 2026-04-16; End: 2026-07-16; Workload: Weekly seminar session Thursdays 18:15–20:00 (2 SWS) throughout the semester; in addition participants work on a sub-question of the research project (possibly in small groups), prepare and present results, and write a short reflection — exact weekly hours beyond the session are not stated)
Locations: Europe, Germany, Berlin
Study Areas: Language policy, Linguistics, Social justice, Urban multilingualism
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Application

Criteria: Eligibility: The group invites students interested in language policy, urban multilingualism and questions of social justice. Speakers of heritage languages are especially welcome! (Programme-wide, per the BUA FAQ: 'An einer X-Student Research Group können Studierende aus allen Verbundpartnerinnen teilnehmen (Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Technische Universität Berlin, Charité). Eine Teilnahme ist aus allen Fächern und sowohl für BA- als auch MA-Studierende möglich.') Prerequisites: Enrolment at one of the four BUA partner institutions (Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Technische Universität Berlin, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin); course language is English; interest in language policy, urban multilingualism and questions of social justice (heritage language speakers especially welcome). No formal admission prerequisites are set by the group leader. Selection process: Interested students choose the group from the project overview, attend the first session of the course and, if they wish to participate, declare their binding interest to the instructor (Olga Olina) immediately after the session. If more than 15 students are interested, places are drawn by lot (conducted by the StuROPx coordination office); the instructor informs students whether they received a place. Students enrolled at another BUA partner institution must additionally submit the completed and signed BUA module participation application plus their current enrollment certificate to studium.bua-buero@hu-berlin.de by the end of the second lecture week. The module is completed without an exam (active participation, working on a sub-question of the research project, preparation and presentation of results, short written reflection), and results are presented at the Berlin Conference for Student Research.
Required Degree: No Degree
Target Degrees: Bachelor, Master
Required Documents:
  1. Attendance at the first course session (16.04.2026, weekly Thursdays 18:15–20:00) and declaration of binding interest in participation directly to the instructor after the session (no online enrollment via AGNES)
  2. Completed and signed 'Antrag auf Teilnahme an BUA-Modulen' form (Module title: 'X-Student Research Groups: Heritage Speaker Status: Supporting Berlin's Language Communities') — only for students enrolled at another BUA partner institution
  3. Current enrollment certificate (Immatrikulationsbescheinigung) from the home university — only for students enrolled at another BUA partner institution
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Costs & Contact

Stipend: No stipend for student participants is stated. The StuROPx program provides project funds (Sach- und Reisemittel) to the funded X-Student Research Groups themselves (e.g., for materials and travel connected to the research project), not as individual payments to students.
Cost: No participation fees are stated on the official pages; the X-Student Research Group is offered as a regular university course (Projektseminar) within the BUA teaching program for enrolled students.
Contact: Project leader (Heritage Speaker Status group): Olga Olina - olga.olina@gmx.net; BUA student enrollment at HU Berlin: studium.bua-buero@hu-berlin.de
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