Multilingualism in Romance languages
The UNITA alliance is based on a unique linguistic richness: its six partner universities are located in countries where Romance languages are mainly spoken. French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian... these languages, inherited from Latin, form a common foundation that promotes communication and exchange.
Promoting this diversity is at the heart of UNITA's activities. This involves:
- physical and virtual mobility programmes where students and staff discover other languages and cultures;
- Blended Intensive Programmes (BIP) that integrate language learning into joint projects;
- workshops, courses and events to strengthen multilingual skills.
Intercomprehension: understanding without learning?
Intercomprehension in Romance languages relies on the similarities between these languages to enable everyone to:
- understand a large number of languages from the same family,
- communicate effectively using their own language,
- and develop cross-linguistic comprehension strategies.
This method is based on the idea that by knowing one Romance language, it is possible to decode others thanks to their lexical, grammatical and phonetic similarities.
A lively and participatory teaching method
The intercomprehension courses offered within the UNITA alliance are based on an action-oriented and interactive approach. Participants learn to:
- Read and understand texts in different Romance languages,
- Listen to and decipher audio documents (even without prior knowledge of the languages),
- Interact orally and in writing with speakers of other languages, each expressing themselves in their mother tongue.
These activities promote authentic and relaxed communication, without the pressure of having to speak a foreign language perfectly.
The advantages of intercomprehension
- Learn several foreign languages more quickly and effectively.
- Build on the linguistic and cultural skills you have already acquired.
- Develop your ability to adapt, your metalinguistic thinking and your intercultural openness.
- Boost your self-confidence: everyone can express themselves in their own language and be understood.
Testimonies
‘I found this course very interesting. It helped me a lot because I notice that I find it much easier to understand other Romance languages and to make myself understood.’
Aurane, student at UPPA
‘It's a unique experience that everyone should try at least once in their life! I think it will be useful for my future.’
Evie, student at the University of Savoie Mont Blanc
‘This training is intellectually stimulating and promotes exchanges with students and teachers from different linguistic backgrounds.’
Jérémy, lecturer and researcher at ENSGTI
