UCAM has inaugurated today the 2nd National Conference on Bilingual Teaching: disciplinary languages in the bilingual classroom of English, French and German, organised by the Faculty of Education and the Interdisciplinary Research Group in Specific Didactics. Held at the Los Jerónimos Campus on 8 and 9 May, this event has brought together more than a hundred participants–teachers, researchers and students–with the aim of promoting the understanding and implementation of bilingual teaching from an innovative and research-based perspective. 

The inaugural session featured a speech by Estrella Núñez, UCAM Vice-Rector of Research, who stressed the need for universities to adapt to social challenges through educational research. ‘We have to support and promote training in bilingualism skills so that teachers can feel comfortable teaching their students,’ she said, noting that the current reality demands a solid preparation of teachers in this area. 

Meanwhile, María del Carmen Balsas, Director General of Human Resources, Educational Planning and Innovation of the Regional Ministry of Education of the Region of Murcia, highlighted the educational nature of these conferences: ‘Bilingual teaching is not only about knowing languages, it goes much further; you need to know strategies to teach the subject in another language, and that is why these conferences are essential to prepare innovative teachers’. She highlighted the fact that more than 70 of the attendees are teachers from schools in the region, which reinforces the connection between the university and the education system. 

José María Mesa, Director of the UCAM Master's Degree in Bilingual Teaching, explained that this meeting offers specific training for both teachers and students interested in the use of disciplinary languages within the framework of the CLIL approach (Content and Language Integrated Learning). ‘This conference is a meeting point to discuss and outline the next steps to be taken not only in the Region of Murcia, but also beyond,’ he commented, underlining the excellent reception of the event and its educational and research dimension. 

The conference is part of the Cycle of Scientific Conferences and Seminars of the UCAM Research Plan and aims to promote an approach that effectively combines language and content, to train teachers in the use of the target language, to identify good practices, to promote research in bilingual teaching and to facilitate spaces for reflection and collaboration between professionals in the field of education.