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To be a native-speaker of English or not – that’s not the question: conceptualisations of English(es) in a UK-based international university context

To be a native-speaker of English or not – that’s not the question: conceptualisations of English(es) in a UK-based international university context
To be a native-speaker of English or not – that’s not the question: conceptualisations of English(es) in a UK-based international university context
It has become undeniable that English is the global academic lingua franca to the extent that it is mostly used synonymously with globalisation at the tertiary level. This is partly due to its implementation as a medium of instruction (EMI) in an increasing number of the world’s universities. In view of this, it has become important for both language and content teachers in such contexts not only to know English, but also about English. With such a kind of knowledge, those teachers can respond to the international reality of English in their worksites.

A number of studies have investigated the global role(s) of English in different university contexts and disciplines (see Dafouz et al., 2013) and how this entails certain critical issues related to its definition, varieties and ownership in international universities (see Jenkins, 2014). However, there is still value in researching English roles in different content units within the same international university to understand the context as a whole.

In light of that, the present study focuses on investigating language and content teachers’ beliefs on Englishisation in their international higher education institution (IHEI). It aims to understand university English language teachers’ beliefs with regard to English varieties in academia, content lecturers’ beliefs in the areas of Engineering, Natural sciences, Social sciences and Humanities, their teaching and assessment practices with regard to the diversified uses of English enacted by these teachers (language and content) and the relationship between teachers’ overtly expressed beliefs and their teaching and assessment practices. For this end, a qualitative research approach has been implemented for this study with the use of
semi-structured interviews and classroom observations as research tools. Both Qualitative content analysis (QCA) and discourse analysis (DA) were found methods of choice to approach the data set via the use of NVivo 10 software package. The findings of this study are expected to complement other studies on English in IHEIs where it reveals how irrelevant for teachers in the studied academic setting to demonstrate their native-like proficiency in English. That is, all what is required from the members in such an environment is to master the rules and norms of their own academic disciplines, as cultural models, regardless of their lingua-cultural backgrounds.
University of Southampton
Al-Hasnawi, Sami Bashir
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Al-Hasnawi, Sami Bashir
ff0628c7-5a3f-4055-abea-d70ee744bb9b
Huettner, Julia
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Jenkins, Jennifer
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Al-Hasnawi, Sami Bashir (2016) To be a native-speaker of English or not – that’s not the question: conceptualisations of English(es) in a UK-based international university context. University of Southampton, Faculty of Humanities, Doctoral Thesis, 369pp.

Record type: Thesis (Doctoral)

Abstract

It has become undeniable that English is the global academic lingua franca to the extent that it is mostly used synonymously with globalisation at the tertiary level. This is partly due to its implementation as a medium of instruction (EMI) in an increasing number of the world’s universities. In view of this, it has become important for both language and content teachers in such contexts not only to know English, but also about English. With such a kind of knowledge, those teachers can respond to the international reality of English in their worksites.

A number of studies have investigated the global role(s) of English in different university contexts and disciplines (see Dafouz et al., 2013) and how this entails certain critical issues related to its definition, varieties and ownership in international universities (see Jenkins, 2014). However, there is still value in researching English roles in different content units within the same international university to understand the context as a whole.

In light of that, the present study focuses on investigating language and content teachers’ beliefs on Englishisation in their international higher education institution (IHEI). It aims to understand university English language teachers’ beliefs with regard to English varieties in academia, content lecturers’ beliefs in the areas of Engineering, Natural sciences, Social sciences and Humanities, their teaching and assessment practices with regard to the diversified uses of English enacted by these teachers (language and content) and the relationship between teachers’ overtly expressed beliefs and their teaching and assessment practices. For this end, a qualitative research approach has been implemented for this study with the use of
semi-structured interviews and classroom observations as research tools. Both Qualitative content analysis (QCA) and discourse analysis (DA) were found methods of choice to approach the data set via the use of NVivo 10 software package. The findings of this study are expected to complement other studies on English in IHEIs where it reveals how irrelevant for teachers in the studied academic setting to demonstrate their native-like proficiency in English. That is, all what is required from the members in such an environment is to master the rules and norms of their own academic disciplines, as cultural models, regardless of their lingua-cultural backgrounds.

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More information

Published date: July 2016
Organisations: University of Southampton, Modern Languages

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 404142
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/404142
PURE UUID: 358bcc4a-4efd-4e52-b631-8caa89d0568e

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 03 Jan 2017 16:23
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 03:59

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Contributors

Author: Sami Bashir Al-Hasnawi
Thesis advisor: Julia Huettner
Thesis advisor: Jennifer Jenkins

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