Multilingual university: models and language practices

Importance. The analysis of the “multilingual university” concept (MLU) as an educational institution of a new mode, which is aimed at training competitive specialists for the global labor market in a multilingual term, is made. Multilingual universities develop and implement various patterns of educational programs, distinguished by different combinations of teaching languages. The purpose of the study is to consider the multilingual university concept, its existing models and key characteristics based on the provisions of the institutional language policy. Materials and Methods. The research methods include the analysis of theoretical literature on the research topic, the analysis of information on the websites of multilingual universities and the generalization of the authors’ practical experience. Results and Discussion. Three types of university policies as the basis for developing multilingual universities are described. The multilingual university models classification is introduced with patterns description, which is based on an analysis of theoretical literature and data on the websites of multilingual universities. Three main patterns of educational programs are presented: monolingual, bilingual and multilingual based on the experience of leading Russian universities. The requirement to educate a multinational student contingent at a multilingual university leads to the use of various language practices in the learning process, which are presented in the context of the implementation of a multilingual or plurilingual pedagogical design of academic disciplines. The most common language practices in the implementation of unilingual and plurilingual pedagogical design of disciplines are examined. Conclusion. The presented materials allowed to conclude that the multilingual university is presented in the research as an educational institution, the learning process in which is aimed at developing stimulating environment for students of different nationalities.