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English and more: a multisite study of roles and conceptualisations of language in English medium multilingual universities from Europe to Asia

English and more: a multisite study of roles and conceptualisations of language in English medium multilingual universities from Europe to Asia
English and more: a multisite study of roles and conceptualisations of language in English medium multilingual universities from Europe to Asia
The rapid increase in English medium instruction (EMI) in higher education has resulted in the need for a greater evidence base documenting EMI in practice spanning a range of settings. Studies of EMI focusing on linguistic issues are beginning to emerge but there are few comparative studies looking at multiple sites, levels and stakeholders. In response to this, the study reported here examined the roles of and conceptualisations of English and other languages in three EMI programmes in Thailand, Austria and the UK. A mixed-methods approach was adopted making use of a student questionnaire (N?=?121) and interviews (N?=?12) with lecturers and students, supported by documentary analysis and observations. Quantitative and qualitative analyses revealed diverse roles of English and other languages, various levels of recognition of multilingualism, and a sophisticated range of conceptualisations of language by stakeholders. In particular, English as discipline-specific language use emerged as a key concept, straddling language and content learning and teaching, as well as problematising simplistic divides between language and content. Furthermore, the complex understanding of the diverse roles of languages by participants offers a counter to perspectives of English in EMI as an unambiguous, monolithic entity.
0143-4632
501-516
Baker, Will
9f1b758c-e6e0-43ca-b7bf-a0d5e1387d10
Huttner, Julia
bb0cd345-6c35-48e1-89f7-a820605aaa2c
Baker, Will
9f1b758c-e6e0-43ca-b7bf-a0d5e1387d10
Huttner, Julia
bb0cd345-6c35-48e1-89f7-a820605aaa2c

Baker, Will and Huttner, Julia (2017) English and more: a multisite study of roles and conceptualisations of language in English medium multilingual universities from Europe to Asia. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 38 (6), 501-516. (doi:10.1080/01434632.2016.1207183).

Record type: Article

Abstract

The rapid increase in English medium instruction (EMI) in higher education has resulted in the need for a greater evidence base documenting EMI in practice spanning a range of settings. Studies of EMI focusing on linguistic issues are beginning to emerge but there are few comparative studies looking at multiple sites, levels and stakeholders. In response to this, the study reported here examined the roles of and conceptualisations of English and other languages in three EMI programmes in Thailand, Austria and the UK. A mixed-methods approach was adopted making use of a student questionnaire (N?=?121) and interviews (N?=?12) with lecturers and students, supported by documentary analysis and observations. Quantitative and qualitative analyses revealed diverse roles of English and other languages, various levels of recognition of multilingualism, and a sophisticated range of conceptualisations of language by stakeholders. In particular, English as discipline-specific language use emerged as a key concept, straddling language and content learning and teaching, as well as problematising simplistic divides between language and content. Furthermore, the complex understanding of the diverse roles of languages by participants offers a counter to perspectives of English in EMI as an unambiguous, monolithic entity.

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Accepted/In Press date: 25 June 2016
e-pub ahead of print date: 9 August 2016
Published date: 2017
Organisations: Modern Languages

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 402482
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/402482
ISSN: 0143-4632
PURE UUID: 4e0731f6-953c-488c-ac98-d2110450c9de
ORCID for Will Baker: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0003-0533-2795

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Date deposited: 09 Nov 2016 13:45
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 06:03

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Contributors

Author: Will Baker ORCID iD
Author: Julia Huttner

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