Short presentation

Petra Daryai-Hansen is Professor of Multilingualism and Foreign Language Education and holds the position of coordinator of cross-disciplinary courses and degrees at the Department of English, German and Romance Studies, University of Copenhagen.

Her main research areas include plurilingual education, Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL), intercultural education, and teacher/student cognition.

She is the coordinator of the research group Languages and Cultures in Education (LaCiE) and the Chief Editor of the Nordic Journal of Language Teaching and Learning (NJLTL). She has been a member of the Council of Europe's Working Group for preparing a Draft Recommendation of the Committee of Ministers on the contribution of plurilingual education to democracy, and since 2024 she has been a member of the Council of Europe’s Language Policy Expert Group. 

In a European context, she has in recent years coordinated the following project: 

• CLIL in Languages Other Than English – Successful Transitions across Educational Stages (financed by European Centre for Modern Languages, Council of Europe).

In a Danish and Nordic/Baltic context, she has, for example, coordinated the following projects:

• Tidligere sprogstart - ny begynderdidaktik med fokus på flersprogethed (financed by A.P. Møller og Hustru Chastine McKinney Møllers Fond til Almene Formaal)
• Developing Early Foreign Language Learning and Teaching in the Nordic/Baltic Context (financed by Nordplus Horizontal)
• Kvalitetsudvikling og efteruddannelse i et brobygningsperspektiv – en behovsanalyse i faget tysk (financed by NCFF)
• Tyskelevernes og -studerendes kognition (financed by NCFF).
• Plurilingual Education – Minority and Majority Students' Language Awareness across Educational Levels (financed by the Independent Research Fund Denmark)

Since 2009, she has been involved in a wide range Danish and international collaboration research projects, e.g. the projects Framework of Reference for Pluralistic Approaches to Languages and Cultures (European Centre for Modern Languages, Council of Europe), Elevernes internationale kompetencer i de gymnasiale uddannelser (Danish Ministry of Education), Sprogprofilerne i fransk, spansk og tysk (Roskilde University), Den sprogstrategiske satsning - flere sprog til flere studerende (University of Copenhagen), Developing teacher competences for pluralistic approaches (European Centre for Modern Languages, Council of Europe), Education for plurilingualism: Metalinguistic awareness in early instructed language learning (National Research Foundation Norway), Developing the Language Awareness approach in the Nordic and Baltic countries (Nordplus Horizontal), and INTERREG projects focusing on language skills and intercultural competences in the Danish-German Fehmarn Belt region Den Mentale bro, Belt Science, kultKIT and KursKultur.

In 2021, she has coordinated the "Digital series of talks on plurilingualism and interculturality".  

Find more information here:

- Curriculum Vitae

- List of publications

- Lectures and oral contributions

Teaching

Foreign Language Education, Intercultural Education, Sociology of Language/Sociolinguistics, Intercultural Market Studies 

CV

Employment                                          

2026-Present: Professor of Multilingualism and Foreign Language Education, Department of English, German and Romance Studies, University of Copenhagen

2015-2025: Associate Professor, Department of English, German and Romance Studies, University of Copenhagen

2018-2021: Visiting teacher, UiT The Arctic University of Norway

2015: Associate Professor, Department of Culture and Identity, Roskilde University

2015-2018: Docent in foreign language education, University College Copenhagen

2012-2014: Assistant Professor, Department of Culture and Identity, Roskilde University

2011-2013: Course coordinator and lecturer, Department of Intercultural Communication and Management, Copenhagen Business School

2009-2011: External lecturer, Department of Culture and Identity, Roskilde University

2007-2011: Course coordinator and language consultant, Ministry of Foreign Affairs

1990-2011: Translator, e.g. for Arte and SFB

Education

2023: Leading Research, leadership development course, University of Copenhagen

2022-2025: Promotion programme for the position as Professor at the Department of English, German and Romance Studies, University of Copenhagen

2017-2018    Professional project management, Module 1-3, Attractor/Manaz, financed by University of Copenhagen

2012-2014: Assistant Professor, Department of Culture and Identity, Roskilde University 

2010: PhD, Cultural Encounters, Roskilde University, ‘Begegnungen mit fremden Sprachen. Sprachliche Hierarchien im sprachenpolitischen Diskurs im Dänemark und Deutschland der Gegenwart’

2000: First State Examination in German and French, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany

Academic administration

2020-Present: Head of study programme / Coordinator of cross disciplinary courses and degrees, Department of English, German and Romance Studies, University of Copenhagen

2023-Present: Coordinator of the research group Languages and Cultures in Education (LACiE), Department of English, German and Romance Studies, University of Copenhagen

2024: Chairperson, Department Faculty Board, Department of English, German and Romance Studies,University of Copenhagen

2020-Present: Coordinator of cross disciplinary courses and degrees, Department of English, German and Romance Studies, University of Copenhagen

2016-2018: Head of the Foreign Language Education Programme, University College Copenhagen

2014-2015: Head of the Language Profiles in French, German and Spanish, Roskilde University

2012-2014: Deputy head of the Language Profiles in French and German, Roskilde University

2011-2013: Course coordinator, Department of Intercultural Communication and Management, German Area Studies, Copenhagen Business School

International Committees, Boards and Panels, e.g.

2025-Present: Member, Scientific Committee, Rivista LEND. Lingua e nuova didattica.

2024-2025: Appointed member, Council of Europe’s Language Expert Group, tasked – based on Recommendation CM/Rec(2022)1 on the Importance of Plurilingual and Intercultural Education for Democratic Culture – with contributing to the conceptualisation and the development of the self-assessment tool and initial draft of the related policy toolbox with key messages.

2024-Present: Member, Committee, Association for Language Awareness

2024-Present: Chief Editor, Nordic Journal of Language Teaching and Learning (NJLTL)

2024-2025: Member, Scientific Committee, 18. Internationale Tagung der Deutschlehrer und Deutschlehrerinnen: Vielfalt wagen – mit Deutsch.

2024: Member, External review panel, Einstein Stiftung Berlin

2022: Member, External review panel, The Dutch Research Council (NWO)

2021-2023: Head of Editorial Board, Nordic Journal of Language Teaching and Learning (NJLTL)

2021: Member, External review panel, Icelandic Research Fund (IRF) 

2020-2024: Member, International Advisory Board, Education for plurilingualism: Metalinguistic awareness in early instructed language learning (MetaLearn), National Research Foundation, Norway

2020-2021: Appointed member, Ad-Hoc Working Group for preparing a Draft Recommendation of the Committee of Ministers on the contribution of plurilingual education to democracy, Council of Europe

2019: Appointed member, Review Panel for research project grants into migration and integration, Swedish Research Council

2019: Member, Scientific Committee, International Conference on Language, Identity and Education in Multilingual Contexts (LIEMC19)

2019: Member, Scientific Committee, International Conference on Multilingual and Multicultural Learning: Policies and Practices

2019: Member, Scientific Committee, International Conference on Multilingual Awareness & Multilingual Practices (MAMP19)

2019: Member, Scientific Committee, EDiLiC Conference 2019

2019: Appointed expert, Report on access to language education and policies promoting equality in comprehensive education in EU countries, University of Jyväskylä

2018-2019: Member, Evaluation committee for postdoctoral position, Department of Foreign Languages, University of Bergen

2018: Member, Scientific Committee, International Conference on Multilingualism and Multilingual Education (ICMME18)

2018: Member, Scientific Committee, International Conference on Language, Identity and Education in Multilingual Contexts  

2017-Present: Member, Outer International Assessment Board, Irish Research Council

2017: Member, Scientific Committee, International Conference on Multilingualism and Multilingual Education (ICMME17)

2014-Present: Member, International Committee, representative of the Nordic and Baltic countries, Education et Diversité Linguistique et Culturelle (EDiLiC)

National Committees, Boards and Panels, e.g.

2026-Present: Coordinator, Working Group for the language support in French, German, Italian and Spanish, funded by the Danish government, Department of English, Germanic and Romance Studies

2025-Present: Appointed expert for language subjects curricula, Fagdidaktisk fagplansgruppe under rådgivningsgruppen for folkeskolens fagplaner

2024: Appointed external collaborator, Working Group Fremtidens fremmedsprogsuddannelser, Aarhus University

2024: Member, Working Group responsible for developing continuing education activities, Faculty of Humanities

2023: Appointed expert, Evaluation of the Bachelor's and Master's programmes in French, Spanish and German language, literature and culture, Aarhus University

2022: Member, Faglig gruppe til udarbejdelse af nye fagbeskrivelser til læreruddannelsen (German)

2022-2025: Member, Coordination Committee for the language support in German and French funded by the Danish government, Faculty of Humanities

2022-2025: Member, Working Group for the language support in German and French funded by the Danish government, Department of English, Germanic and Romance Studies

2021-2025: Member, Det nationale netværk for fremmedsprogsundervisere på de videregående uddannelser, The National Centre for Foreign Languages

2020-2021: Member, Strategic Committee, Department of English, Germanic and Romance Studies, University of Copenhagen

2019-Present: Member, Research Committee, Department of English, Germanic and Romance Studies, University of Copenhagen

2019-2021: Member, PhD Committee, Faculty of Humanities, University of Copenhagen

2019-2022: Appointed member, Advisory Board, KursKultur 2.0, EU’s Interreg-programme

2019-2021: Member, Advisory Board, Udvikling af undervisningsforløb og digitale læremidler til fremmedsprog i folkeskolen, The National Centre for Foreign Languages NCFF

2019-2025: Appointed member, Faggruppe for tysk, Ministry of Education

2019-2020: Member, Advisory Board, The National Centre for Foreign Languages NCFF.

2019: Member, Advisory Board, Udformning af lokal sprogstrategi på Nørre Fælled Skole, The National Centre for Foreign Languages, NCFF.

2018: Appointed member, Advisory Board, kultKIT: dansk-tyske møder, EU’s Interreg-programme

2017: Appointed member, Working Group on Adjusting the Academic Minimum Standards, Ministry of Education

2017-2024: Appointed member, Fagligt forum for tysk, Ministry of Education

2016-Present: Appointed member, Quality assurance of General Certificate of Lower Secondary Education in German, Ministry of Education

2016-2021: Appointed member, Think Tank about Language, Gymnasieskolernes Lærerforening

2016: Appointed member, Curriculum group in German, Ministry of Education

2015-2017: Member, Advisory Board, kultKIT, EU’s Interreg-programme

2014-Present: Member, Consortium for Language and Subject Matter Didactics in Primary and Lower Secondary School, University of Copenhagen

2014-2016: Member, Board committee, ECML-DK

2012-2016: Chairman, InfoDOK

2013-2014: Member, Department Council, Roskilde University