Language Perceptions and Practices in Multilingual Universities

✍ Scribed by Maria Kuteeva (editor), Kathrin Kaufhold (editor), Niina Hynninen (editor)

• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
• Year: 2020
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 413
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

This edited book examines language perceptions and practices in multilingual university contexts in the aftermath of recent theoretical developments questioning the conceptualization of language as a static entity, drawing on case studies from different Northern European contexts in order to explore the effects of phenomena including internationalization, widening participation, and migration patterns on language attitudes and ideologies. The book provides cutting-edge perspectives on language uses in Northern European universities by drawing attention to the multiplicity of language practices alongside the prominence of English in international study programmes and research publication. It will be of interest to students and scholars of multilingualism, sociolinguistics, applied linguistics, and education, as well as language policymakers.

bfiqo

✦ Table of Contents

Acknowledgements
Contents
Notes on Contributors
List of Figures
List of Tables
1: Introduction: Language Perceptions and Practices in Multilingual Universities
1 Whose Language First?
2 Where One Language Ends and Another Begins: Monolingualism and Multilingualism at Universities
3 What a Language Means: Language Ideologies and Discourses of Language Use
4 Methodological Diversity in the Contributions
5 Overview of Chapters
6 What’s Next?
References
Part I: Tensions Between Monolingualism and Multilingualism on the National and Institutional Levels
2: If Not English, Then What? Unpacking Language Hierarchies at University
1 Introduction
2 Background
3 Method
4 Results
4.1 Discourses Concerning the Use of Languages Other Than English and Swedish
4.1.1 “Epistemic Monolingualism”: Insufficient Access to Knowledge Generated Outside the Anglophone World
4.1.2 “(Wishful) Academic Multilingualism”: Using or Learning Other Academic Languages
4.1.3 “Deficient Multilingualism”: Perceived Lack of Linguistic Resources in Swedish and/or English Among Specific Groups of L2 Users
4.2 What Languages Constitute a Symbolic Capital at a Multilingual University?
5 Discussion and Conclusion
References
3: Multilingualism as Problem or Resource? Negotiating Space for Languages Other Than Swedish and English in University Language Planning
1 Introduction
2 Language as Problem, Right or Resource
3 The Study
4 The Language Policy Committee and Its Charge
5 Discourses in Place and Named Languages
6 Language(s) as Problem
7 Language(s) as Resource
8 Discussion and Concluding Remarks
References
4: Tensions on Finnish Constitutional Bilingualism in Neo-nationalist Times: Constructions of Swedish in Monolingual and Bilingual Contexts
1 Introduction
2 Method and Analysis
3 Societal and Higher Education Policy Backdrop
3.1 Internationalization: Discourses of National Competitiveness
3.2 Language Policies of Finnish Universities and Its Implications to Higher Education Policy
4 Swedish in Higher Education Settings
4.1 “Everyone speaks their own language”. Monolingual and Bilingual with English on Top
4.2 “We need to use English”. Role of Staff and Student Recruitment
4.3 Profiling of Higher Education Institutions: Higher Education Policy or Language Policy as Motivation?
5 From Being Contested to Being Invisible: Discussion of Swedish in Finnish Higher Education
References
5: Redesigning the Curriculum to Develop Multilingual Academic Literacies: An Analysis of Language Conceptualizations
1 Introduction
2 Background
3 Data and Analysis
4 Changing Role of Languages in Academic Study
5 Construction of ‘Language’ in Learning Outcomes
5.1 Languages for Academic Literacies
5.2 Focus on a Specific Language
5.3 Multilingual Resources and Literacies
6 Conclusion
References
6: University Branding and the Internationalization of Higher Education in the Baltic States: The Role of Language
1 Introduction
2 Background: Language Policy and the Internationalization of Higher Education in the Baltic States
2.1 University Branding, Nation Branding, and Their Metapragmatics
3 The Study: Higher Education Organizations in the Baltic States and the Promotion of Baltic Universities
4 Results and Discussion
4.1 Content Analysis of the Material: An Inventory of Multimodal Resources
4.2 Thematic Analysis: Key Recurring Themes in the Promotional Videos
4.3 Critical Analysis: The Metapragmatics of the Promotional Videos
5 Conclusions
References
Part II: Stakeholders in Multilingual Universities: Students
7: Language Ideologies and the Experiences of International Students
1 Introduction
2 Language Ideologies
2.1 International Students’ Use of and Attitudes Towards Language: Previous Studies
3 Task-Based Focus Group Methodology
4 Student Reactions to and Experiences of Language Use at University
4.1 Continuum 1: From Excluded/Ignored to Included/Valued
4.1.1 “I think that the university believes my languages are valuable”
4.1.2 “The university believes that learning languages other than Finnish, Swedish and English is valuable”
4.1.3 “I feel supported by the university in my efforts to improve my language skills”
4.1.4 “In terms of the teaching offered, I am given consideration as a student who does not speak either of the national languages”
4.2 Continuum 2: From Inequality to Empowerment
4.2.1 “In terms of the teaching offered, I am given consideration as a student who does not speak either of the national languages”
4.2.2 “The university encourages the parallel use of languages that I speak”
4.2.3 “My multilingual skills are exploited in the development of the university’s international efforts”
5 Discussion and Conclusions
Appendix: Transcription Notation
References
8: “I need to know this in Swedish because it’s the kärnspråk”: Language Ideologies and Practices of Multilingual Students
1 Introduction and Background
2 Theoretical Framework
3 Data Collection and Analysis
3.1 Participants
3.2 Data Collection
4 Findings
4.1 Educational and Linguistic Resources
4.2 Experience of Language Use in Frontstage and Backstage University Settings
4.3 Evaluation of Multilingualism in University Settings
4.4 Previous Academic Knowledge
5 Discussion and Conclusion
References
9: Plurilingual Students in EMI: Perceptions of Educational Democracy and Linguistic Justice
1 Introduction
2 Theoretical Background
3 Method
3.1 Context
3.2 Participants
3.3 Instrument
3.4 Analysis
4 Findings
4.1 Descriptive Statistics
4.2 Educational Democracy
4.3 Linguistic Justice
5 Discussion and Conclusion
References
10: English at the University of Iceland: Students’ Perceptions and Practices
1 Introduction: The New Linguistic Context in Iceland
2 Background: English at Large
2.1 English in Education: University Students’ Perceptions of Their Language Practices
3 Results of the Surveys and Interviews
4 Discussion
5 Conclusions
References
Part III: Stakeholders in Multilingual Universities: Academic and Administrative Staff
11: Disrupting Dual Monolingualisms? Language Ideological Ordering in an Internationalizing Swedish University
1 Introduction
2 Modern Higher Education Institutions as Both “national” and “international”
3 Static and Flexible Multilingualism
4 Constructing Orders of Visibility
5 Material and Methods
6 Results and Discussion
6.1 Susan: Iconization and Categorizations of National Belonging
6.2 Brian: A More “international” Employee
6.3 Wanda, Fractal Recursivity and Invisible International Working Practices
7 Concluding Remarks
References
12: Perceptions of Language (Mis)fit at a Multilingual Workplace: The Case of the University of Vaasa
1 Introduction
2 Englishization of Higher Education
3 The Notion of Language (Mis)fit
4 The Case Study
4.1 Research Setting
4.2 Data Collection and Analysis
5 Findings
5.1 Self-reported Language Skills and the Frequency of Experienced Challenges
5.2 Sources of Linguistic Challenges
5.3 Contexts of Linguistic Challenges
5.4 From Linguistic Challenges to Language Misfit
6 Discussion and Conclusions
References
13: Researchers’ Language Practices Concerning Knowledge Production and Dissemination: Discourses of Mono- and Multilingualism
1 Introduction
2 Data and Methods
2.1 Context of Study
2.2 Study Participants and Data Collection
2.3 Data Analysis
3 Findings: Discourses of Mono- and Multilingualism
3.1 Disciplinary Monolingualism
3.2 Dual Monolingualism
3.3 Functional Epistemic Multilingualism
4 Discussion and Conclusion
Appendix: Transcription Conventions
References
14: Language Assessment of EMI Content Teachers: What Norms
1 Introduction
2 English Medium Instruction: Definitions of Contexts and Language Uses
3 Methods for Assessing Lecturers’ Language
4 Methods
4.1 The Test of Oral English Proficiency (TOEPAS) at the University of Copenhagen
4.2 Written Formative Feedback Analysis
4.3 Semi-structured Interviews
4.4 Participants
5 Results
5.1 How Are Native-Speaker References Used in the TOEPAS 1.0 Feedback Reports Written by Raters?
5.2 How Do EMI Lecturers Perceive Their Own Language Proficiency and the Use of English in the EMI Classroom After Receiving the Feedback?
6 Discussion
6.1 New Version of the Test: TOEPAS 2.0
7 Conclusions
References
15: Epilogue: Multilingualism in Northern European Universities—Reflections from the South
References
Index