As recently elaborated by Tange (2010), language and intercultural learning environments mean that a unique set of differences meet, spawning situations where negative effects on learning may be observed at the same time as the same differences may also be used as catalysts for positive learning experiences. Allan (2003) and Lucas (2003) further elaborate that lecturer priority in regards to how differences in language proficiency are approached changes over time, as lecturers become more familiar with diverse student groups. Compared with the linguistic focus on e.g. English as a lingua franca, this marks a difference in approach as it is not specifically the language proficiency of the lecturer that Allan and Lucas focus on, but the experience and (over time developed) skillset held by the lecturer that affects the potential for intercultural learning environments to be effective.

Responding to this, this paper suggests that student language proficiency interplays with topic knowledge, which subsequently affects suitable lecturing and supervision strategies. This two-dimensional language vs. topic (LVT) model creates a simple tool for lecturers and supervisors to anchor their own experience to. It also acts as a tool for comparison, to ensure that there are strategies in place that suit all categories of students, from those struggling with both language and topic, to those that are highly proficient in both language and topic, and all combinations in between.

It follows on the LVT model that treating those with low language proficiency as one homogenous group could yield negative results, as either those with high topic knowledge are alienated from the simplistic topic examples, or those with low topic knowledge perceive that the examples are too difficult to follow (from a language as well as topic perspective). The same goes for students with high language proficiency, as students that also hold high topic knowledge are more likely to be motivated the most with particularly challenging or nuanced tasks, while students with lower topic knowledge could lose interest in the topic area if the tasks are too hard (even if they can understand the description fully). Using the LVT model, this paper presents all combinations of student groups, and examples of strategies for how to approach the differences. This includes how student-student collaboration from different LVT groups may be formed and provided with tasks that build language proficiency and topic knowledge, as well as promote intercultural learning.