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Contrasting attitudes towards a bilingual institutional language policy under internationalization
... An institutional language policy, as an element in internationalization, will regulate language use. In an earlier paper Wilkinson (2014) noted ambivalence in the perception of language policy. It was largely seen as a topdown process, which actors in the institution were obliged to implement, but they could not be considered as having bought into the process or implementation. ...
... The study adopted a qualitative design (Hennink, Hutter and Bailey, 2011), using semistructured interviews, and has been described elsewhere (Wilkinson, 2014). The approach was similar to that used by Studer, Kreiselmaier and Flubacher (2010). ...
... This paper reports on responses to questions under 'internationalization' and 'language use (multilingualism)' and contrasts teacher and student responses with those of the Executive Board. As such, it forms a parallel study to that reported in Wilkinson (2014). ...
Internationalization has been a central concept in university strategic policy for several decades. Internationalization is often a key factor in both university rankings and accreditation processes. Many universities have recruited extensively students and staff globally as well as offering an international dimension within programmes. The upshot is that many university campuses are both multilingual and multicultural. However, policies to promote internationalization may lead to a context where the instructional language is English only. It is instructive to investigate how key actors perceive internationalization and its effects. Do they think it promotes monolingualism or multilingualism? This paper reports on a study into the attitudes of key staff in two faculties at a Dutch university as well as members of the central administration towards internationalization and language use. The results show that while most see internationalization as an unavoidable necessity, they subtly distance themselves from institutional policy and practice, implying a discrepancy between private and public attitudes. The internationalization policy does not stimulate multilingualism, but strengthens monolingualism. The study concludes that the educational system is missing out on the rich heteroglossic and cultural context afforded by internationalization, and suggests that a looser language policy may yield more elaborated learning outcomes.
... EMI teachers' language and pedagogy expertise are the two main aspects that affect their competencies to teach in the EMI context (Wilkinson, 2017). With no exception, in the Chinese context, it is also pointed out that qualified EMI teachers should have both pedagogical skills and sufficient English that enables them to communicate content knowledge with their students (Chen et al., 2020;Wei and Hricko, 2021). ...
... Apart from the language proficiency, teachers' pedagogical competencies in teaching content via English is equally important, including the ability to interact and use teaching materials effectively (Wilkinson, 2017). Macaro (2018) highlights that effective interaction through English leads to effective content knowledge communication. ...
Higher Education internalization has prompted a constant growth of EMI (English as a Medium of Instruction) courses delivered by teachers with different cultural and linguistic backgrounds. Existing literature has revealed that native English-speaking (NS) teachers and non-native English-speaking (NNS) teachers have demonstrated different characteristics in EMI teaching in terms of language proficiency and pedagogy expertise. Previous studies mainly focused on teaching features of NS and NNS EMI teachers that are preferred by students. However, these studies see students as an intact group while ignoring the possible impact of students’ different levels of English proficiency on their perceptions of NS and NNS EMI teachers. This study investigates Chinese tertiary students’ perceptions of NS and local NNS teachers’ competencies in EMI teaching, and how these perceptions connect to their self-perceived English. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews with seven Chinese university students who enrolled in EMI courses. The study highlighted that students perceived these two groups of lecturers’ teaching competencies differ regarding their language proficiency and teaching methods. Furthermore, these perceptions can be influenced by students’ self-perceived listening and speaking proficiency. The findings provide insights for EMI implementation in Chinese Higher Education and suggestions for refining EMI teachers’ teaching expertise.
... 70 EMI policies 7 As one of the universities taken to court by BON, Maastricht University is an interesting case for analysis of EMI policy development at the institutional level. The introduction of EMI at this institution pre-dates the Bologna Process by over a decade, and its development has been analyzed in depth from an emic perspective in a number of conceptual papers and empirical (attitudinal) studies by Robert Wilkinson (2012Wilkinson ( , 2014Wilkinson ( , 2016 with a focus on policy. Collectively, these provide insight into processes of internationalization and Englishization for more than two decades and offer a case, as well as a framework, for in-depth analysis of the drivers of EMI over time at the institutional level. ...
... This meant that some faculties, such as Business and Economics, eventually moved towards almost exclusive use of English, whereas others, such as Medicine, continued to rely on Dutch almost entirely. Based on interviews with different stakeholders, Wilkinson's (2014Wilkinson's ( , 2016 qualitative study elicited the views of these key stakeholders on bilingualism, internationalization, and language policy. Interviews were held with faculty directors as well as students and lecturers from these two faculties at a time when the university was considering introducing a more explicit documented policy. ...
... The University of Maastricht is certainly a special case that warrants focused attention. Firstly, its history has EME pre-dating the Bologna Process; secondly, Robert Wilkinson's detailed and long-standing coverage of its EME developments have provided insightful and critical descriptions of the Englishisation and internationalisation processes of the last thirty years (Wilkinson, 2013(Wilkinson, , 2014(Wilkinson, , 2016. ...
... This has meant that some faculties, such as Business and Economics, have moved towards English, whereas others, such as Medicine, rely on Dutch almost exclusively. Although the university has recently tried to put more esh to their language regulations, for example by combining them with bottom-up interests, Wilkinson's (2014Wilkinson's ( , 2016 qualitative study interviewing key players in the institution reveals that there is 'a degree of con ict between perceptions of institutional policy and individual attitudes' (Wilkinson, 2014, p. 24). While the former support the bilingualism mentioned above, which often results in de facto monolingualism, staff attitudes reveal a more situated and dynamic understanding of plurilingual language needs as part and parcel of a truly international university. ...
The overall aim of this chapter is to illustrate how English-Medium Education in Multilingual University Settings (EMEMUS) is a dynamic, complex and highly situated phenomenon which comes in different shapes and forms. To explore such diversity, the first part of the chapter offers a selection of case studies from higher education institutions (HEIs) in the Expanding Circle ranging from Europe to the Middle East, Japan and Latin America. These illustrative examples reveal different characteristics in terms of, for instance, language policies, academic disciplines or the societal role of English in relation to national or local languages, depicting the individual complexity of such settings. Against this backdrop, the second part of the chapter zooms out of individual cases to offer a reflection of some of the most commonly described reasons for implementing English-medium education across HEIs in a top-down fashion, from the global to the classroom level. Based on these considerations, the chapter argues for the need to provide a theoretically grounded framework that addresses, in a comprehensive and integrative manner, the inherent complexity and diversity of EMEMUS.
... Similarly, Aguilar-Pérez and Arnó-Macià (2020) consider that the crucial components of effective EMI lecturing are pedagogy, language proficiency, and content expertise. For Wilkinson (2017), two attributes of a competent EMI teacher are language and pedagogical expertise. Thus, the previous studies demonstrate unanimous agreement that a teacher with high English competence, solid subject knowledge, and skills in creating an engaging classroom environment can be an invaluable asset to the EMI program. ...
This study aims to investigate the students' and teachers' perceptions regarding English as a Medium of Instruction (EMI) lecturers' attributes and practices that facilitate EMI provision at higher education institutions in Kazakhstan. By adopting the "Good-enough-to-teach" model of the EMI lecturer by Lavelle, the research explores the adequacy of qualified EMI lecturers and their practices in delivering EMI classes. The data is derived from surveys administered to 1506 students and 157 teachers. Key findings highlight the importance of lecturers' knowledge of the subject matter and English, sensitivity to students' needs and culture, and the ability to explain concepts in English clearly. These findings have significant implications for implementing and improving EMI programs in Kazakhstani higher education as well as in other non-Anglophone contexts, particularly in understanding the key attributes of qualified EMI lecturers. Specifically, it is believed that the results would help in developing clear guidelines and policies for universities to recruit qualified staff who can effectively achieve the goals and objectives of English-taught educational programs. The study also would raise the awareness of the educational stakeholders regarding the desired qualities of skilled EMI lecturers.
... Thus, examining these four criteria makes it possible to characterise a speci c regulatory text more accurately. At the University of Maastricht, for instance, an internal report functioned as the de facto 2006 language policy document (Wilkinson, 2014, see also Chapter 2). Like the regulation that preceded it, it was created top-down and classi ed the university overtly as bilingual in Dutch and English. ...
... In this article, our elite participants include a former Minister of Education, University Rectors, Faculty Deans, Programme Leaders and others involved in powerful positions of academic governance and higher education policy at the time when EMI came about in our case university. As most of the EMI literature to date has focused on lecturers and students, the perspective of "elite participants" has the potential to offer new understandings (see also Wilkinson 2014Wilkinson , 2016. Because of their high-profile and recognizable identity, some participants have opted to waive their right to anonymity. ...
The rise of English as a Medium of Instruction (EMI) has prompted concerns over linguistic injustice, educational disadvantage, societal inequality and epistemic homogenization. As EMI tends to generate heated debates, its drivers need to be better understood. Borrowing conceptual frameworks from political science, this article proposes a new understanding of the drivers of EMI, pointing to the introduction of new steering tools in the 1980s to govern Europe’s higher education institutions. Conducting Process Tracing in a Dutch university, and drawing on document analysis and interviews with nine “elite participants” – Ministers of Education, University Rectors, Members of the University Executive Board, Faculty Deans and Programme Leaders – we argue that the very first EMI programme at our case university may be traced back to a set of governance reforms in the Dutch higher education sector that introduced key performance indicators and institutional profiling. Responding to calls for linguists to engage with the political economy, we identify previously under-illuminated links between political processes and EMI. We conclude that close attention to the political economy is key to understanding the rise of EMI, and more generally language shift, and ultimately to tackling linguistic injustice that may follow in its wake.
... Finally, it is worth noting that in the majority of contexts there is no explicit language policy that would stipulate language use in EMI (Doiz and Lasagabaster 2017), lecturers' and students' language levels (Drljača Margić and Vodopija-Krstanović 2018) and language outcomes upon the completion of an EMI programme (Wilkinson 2014). Specifically, students and lecturers' language command for EMI is often taken for granted (see also Pecorari and Malmström 2018). ...
The use of English to teach academic subjects at university level has been on the increase in the past years, attracting considerable research attention. Among the most pressing issues is that of the language competences required to teach and learn through English. Accordingly, EMI studies have investigated, among other topics, the use of language in the classroom, focusing on the features of lecturers’ spoken production in English. Although the use of English is assumed in EMI, insights into classroom practices indicate that lecturers and students engage in translanguaging between English and other languages. The goal of this paper is to investigate whether lecturers pursue a language policy in class, why they confine themselves to English and when they exploit their multilingual resources, allowing or even prompting students to do the same. Drawing data from interviews with thirty EMI lecturers from five European countries (Croatia, Denmark, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands), the lecturers’ implicit or explicit language policies will be investigated, inquiring into the motives for the adoption of an English-only approach or the flexible use of other languages. Subsequently, classroom discourse practices will be examined focusing on translanguaging in order to verify whether reported language policies and practices correspond to observable behaviour. The data for the study of language use in class is taken from the TAEC Corpus, consisting of thirty transcribed EMI lectures collected within the five countries under study. We will discuss the complexity of the rationale behind English-only language choices and pluralistic language use, arguing that multilingual-oriented EMI policies should not be normed top-down but emerge from communication needs in the classroom.
... Thus, examining these four criteria makes it possible to characterise a speci c regulatory text more accurately. At the University of Maastricht, for instance, an internal report functioned as the de facto 2006 language policy document (Wilkinson, 2014, see also Chapter 2). Like the regulation that preceded it, it was created top-down and classi ed the university overtly as bilingual in Dutch and English. ...
This chapter offers an updated account of ROAD-MAPPING, our conceptual framework developed to examine English-Medium Education in Multilingual University Settings (EMEMUS) (originally introduced in Dafouz and Smit (Towards a dynamic conceptual framework for English-medium education in multilingual university settings. Applied Linguistics, 37(3), 397–415, 2016). Informed by recent developments in various research areas, such as the internationalisation of higher education, multilingual education, sociolinguistics, ecolinguistics, language policy research and discourse studies, the framework consists of six intersecting, yet independent dimensions, which are accessible through the discourses of EMEMUS: Roles of English, Academic Disciplines (language) Management, Agents, Practices and Processes, Internationalisation and Glocalisation. Foregrounding their multi-layered nature, each of the dimensions is described and elaborated in detail, supported by a range of illustrations from various EMEMUS cases. To capture the essence of our dimensions, working definitions are provided in the final section.
... Thus, examining these four criteria makes it possible to characterise a speci c regulatory text more accurately. At the University of Maastricht, for instance, an internal report functioned as the de facto 2006 language policy document (Wilkinson, 2014, see also Chapter 2). Like the regulation that preceded it, it was created top-down and classi ed the university overtly as bilingual in Dutch and English. ...
This chapter illustrates the research potential of the ROAD-MAPPING framework as it argues for possibilities of using the framework for investigations into English-medium Education in Multilingual University Settings (EMEMUS). By way of exemplification, two research focal points are foregrounded: participant expectations and evaluations of relevant educational practices, on the one hand, and, on the other, English-medium classroom discourse. For these two investigative areas, four finished studies (Baker & Hüttner in Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development 38(6): 501–516, 2016; Dafouz, Hüttner, & Smit in Conceptualising integration in CLIL and multilingual education. Multilingual Matters, Bristol, UK, pp. 123–143, 2016; Komori-Glatz in English as a business lingua franca in multicultural student teamwork: An EMEMUS study (PhD thesis). University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria, 2017; Smit, 2010b) are introduced that showcase different ways of how the framework has informed the phases of conceptualisation, study design and methodology, data analysis and/or interpretation of findings. By extension, we argue that these examples illustrate that investigations into EMEMUS benefit from working with the ROAD-MAPPING framework.
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