Language in Healthcare | Tromsø 2027

This international conference will address how specialized language learning can improve workforce integration, patient safety and care quality across Nordic healthcare systems. With a particular focus on immigrant healthcare professionals and students in Nordic countries, the event will examine evidence-based teaching strategies, course designs, assessment and new technology (including GenAI) to accelerate language competence that matters in the workplace.

Language competence is central to clinical competence: poor communication increases risk to patients, reduces staff retention and impedes equitable access to care. The Nordic countries face growing needs to integrate immigrant healthcare workers. Investing in effective language training solutions supports inclusion and career progression. The conference will establish interdisciplinary collaboration to produce actionable recommendations for educators, employers and policy makers.

Aims and objectives:

• share research and practice on effective methods for teaching informal language and communicative skills essential for communication with patients;
• showcase language course models and curricula tailored to different healthcare professions (pharmacy, nurses, doctor assistants, caregivers, etc.);
• present innovations in AI and ed-tech that support workplace language learning and assessment;
• identify linguistic challenges encountered by immigrant professionals and students;
• produce a set of recommendations and an open-access toolkit for Nordic stakeholders.

We invite presentations on the following topics:

• Linguistic challenges at the workplace: multi-word patterns, grammatical constructions, turn-taking and dialogue flow, openings and closings, effective questioning techniques, and cultural nuances embedded in language (idioms, politeness, indirectness, pragmatics), dialects and sociolects;
• Strategies of healthcare language teaching: workplace-based learning, task-based instruction, content and language integrated learning (CLIL), mentoring and supervision models;
• Designing courses and language support initiatives for medical professionals and students: bridging programs, clinical language modules, simulated patient encounters;
• Language-skill requirements and assessment in healthcare roles: needs analysis, performance-based and workplace assessment, existing tests (e.g., norskprøve), test design and validation, formative vs. summative approaches, and digital testing;
• AI technology solutions: adaptive learning platforms, AI-based conversation tutors, speech recognition for non-native speakers, simulated patient AI, automated assessment.

Organizing committee:

• Anna Endresen
• Jorunn Juliussen Ingilæ
• Ingrid Bondevik
• Knut Ørke
• Janne E. Mjelle

Funding:

We gratefully acknowledge the financial support for this event provided by the Faculty of Humanities, Social Sciences and Education (HSL), UiT The Arctic University of Norway.