The expansion of English-medium instruction in the Nordic countries: Can top-down university language policies encourage bottom-up disciplinary literacy goals?

Airey, John; Lauridsen, Karen M.; Räsänen, Anne; Salö, Linus; Schwach, Vera

doi:10.1007/s10734-015-9950-2

Cited by 131 publications

(86 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…Being able to speak the academic lingua franca English is apparently not sufficient for Tenure-Track Assistant Professors. Here, the analysis illustrates how language policies are adjusted to disciplinary needs, which corroborates the finding of Airey et al (2017), who have shown that the needs of a discipline weigh more heavily than university language policy.…”

Section: Internationalisationsupporting

confidence: 80%

“…Two job postings state that this is a criterion, because Assistant Professors are supposed to teach in English. This is similar in Nordic higher education, in which English language instruction has become commonplace (Airey et al 2017), as Anglophone is considered the norm in higher education and non-Anglophone languages, different or peripheral (Meriläinen et al 2008). However, the recruitment protocol and job postings reveal that applicants are also requested to master the Dutch language, or do so within 2 years into the tenure-track.…”

Section: Internationalisationmentioning

confidence: 82%

“…Thirdly, staff members are expected to master the dominant academic lingua franca English, as it is recommended in the policy for English proficiency to become 'part of the application procedure' (Language policy, 2014, p. 3), yet, how to do so remains unclear. This is a widespread phenomenon, because also in Nordic higher education, the use of English has been strongly encouraged (Airey et al 2017). This might not be surprising considering that English is the language of internationalisation (Fabricius et al 2017).…”

Section: University Policiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Selecting early-career researchers: the influence of discourses of internationalisation and excellence on formal and applied selection criteria in academia

2018

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This article examines how macro-discourses of internationalisation and excellence shape formal and applied selection criteria for early-career researcher positions at the mesoorganisational and micro-individual levels, demonstrating how tensions between the various levels produce inequalities in staff evaluation. In this way, this article contributes to the literature on academic staff evaluation by showing that Selection Committee members do not operate in a vacuum, and that their actions are inextricably linked to the meso-and macrocontext. This study draws on qualitative multi-level data that comprise institutional-level policies, recruitment and staff protocols, job postings and individual-level interviews and focus groups with Selection Committee members. Findings show that a majority of Selection Committee members consent to university policies and macro-discourses when evaluating early-career researchers, but a smaller group questions and resists these criteria. Furthermore, the analysis revealed four inequalities that emerge in the application of criteria and reflect on disciplinary differences between the Natural and Social Sciences. The article concludes that with only a few Committee members to critically question and resist formal selection criteria, they limit the pool of acceptable candidates to those who fit the narrow definition of the internationally mobile and excellent early-career researcher, which may exclude talented scholars.

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Section: Internationalisationsupporting

confidence: 80%

Section: Internationalisationmentioning

confidence: 82%

Section: University Policiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Selecting early-career researchers: the influence of discourses of internationalisation and excellence on formal and applied selection criteria in academia

2018

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“…Although the value of each component will vary between academic disciplines, the three areas are present in all academic disciplines and represent different communicative practices and forms of local and international communication. Disciplinary differences in the attitude towards English demonstrate why general one-size-fits-all university language policies may prove ineffective and that policies regarding the use of English need to be flexible and adjustable to disciplinary goals, discipline-specific genres, and the role of English in disciplinary knowledge creation and communication (Airey, Lauridsen, Räsänen, Salö, & Schwach, 2017;Kuteeva & Airey, 2014). Airey et al (2017) underscore the need to teach and assess disciplinary literacy outcomes in Englishtaught programmes and postulate that in order to achieve it, course syllabuses should incorporate detailed disciplinary language outcomes and skills in English as an integral part of the course.…”

Section: Academic and Disciplinary Literacies At Universitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Disciplinary differences in the attitude towards English demonstrate why general one-size-fits-all university language policies may prove ineffective and that policies regarding the use of English need to be flexible and adjustable to disciplinary goals, discipline-specific genres, and the role of English in disciplinary knowledge creation and communication (Airey, Lauridsen, Räsänen, Salö, & Schwach, 2017;Kuteeva & Airey, 2014). Airey et al (2017) underscore the need to teach and assess disciplinary literacy outcomes in Englishtaught programmes and postulate that in order to achieve it, course syllabuses should incorporate detailed disciplinary language outcomes and skills in English as an integral part of the course. Airey (2016: 78) lists three approaches to teacher collaboration at tertiary level: EMI (content) supported by EAP classes (language); team teaching with content and language teachers together in the classroom (not tenable for financial reasons); and finally, content teachers responsible for both content and language outcomes but with language teachers to help uncover tacit assumptions about disciplinary discourse.…”

Section: Academic and Disciplinary Literacies At Universitymentioning

confidence: 99%

ESP in CLIL Degree Programmes

Woźniak¹

2017

ESP Today

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In view of the growing amount of English used outside language courses, this study seeks to gain insights into how language teachers at university level understand and navigate their changing roles. It examines the place of ESP teaching in a university setting in Spain where almost all language lecturers play a double role: they teach obligatory ESP courses and also support content lecturers in the integration of English into their subjects as CLIL tutors. The results of two openended questionnaires and interviews with ESP lecturers/CLIL tutors show that interdisciplinary teacher cooperation concentrates on raising content teachers' awareness of teaching methodology and language issues in their disciplines, but also benefits the design of ESP courses. Language specialists view their multiple and fluid roles as an opportunity to expand their horizons and welcome the chance to mediate between disciplines and participate in students' academic and disciplinary development not only in ESP courses but also throughout the degree programme. Despite the increasingly blurred dividing line between ESP and CLIL at university level, the two approaches, rather than compete, can complement each other, so to this end, language specialists' effort to find the right balance between language and content knowledge should also be addressed.

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Researching Academic Reading in Two Contrasting English as a Medium of Instruction Contexts at a University Level

Owen¹,

Shrestha²,

Hultgren³

2021

ETS Research Report Series

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This project examined academic reading in two contrasting English as a medium of instruction (EMI) university settings in Nepal and Sweden and the unique challenges facing students who are studying in a language other than their primary language. The motivation for the project was to explore the role of high-stakes testing in EMI contexts and the implications for the design of the TOEFL iBT ® test.We employed a sequential mixed-methods approach to gather substantive and authentic qualitative data from stakeholders immersed in EMI settings. A small sample of students (Nepal = 19, Sweden = nine) were asked to complete reading logs over a period of 3 weeks so we could determine the types of texts and reading load associated with diverse EMI settings. Additionally, a larger cohort of students from each setting (Nepal = 69, Sweden = 60) completed questionnaires examining academic reading demands, reading skills, and practices. Students who completed the questionnaires also completed the reading section of the TOEFL iBT test. The same students also completed a TOEFL ® family of tests suitability questionnaire so we could consider the suitability of the TOEFL iBT test for EMI contexts. Following test completion, a series of semistructured interviews (Nepal = 21, Sweden = 23) focused more closely on students' perspectives of reading demands in their academic contexts and the suitability of the reading section of the TOEFL iBT test to make claims about readiness to study in EMI contexts. Our findings revealed that different EMI contexts have different standards of high and low academic reading proficiency and that these differences may occur due to differences in educational experiences of the respective cohorts. The findings offer important new insights into academic reading and assessment in EMI contexts. Students in EMI contexts are sensitive to violations of expectations regarding test-taking experiences (face validity). The study has implications for the design of test tasks, which should consider local, contextual varieties of English.

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The expansion of English-medium instruction in the Nordic countries: Can top-down university language policies encourage bottom-up disciplinary literacy goals?

Cited by 131 publications

References 25 publications

Selecting early-career researchers: the influence of discourses of internationalisation and excellence on formal and applied selection criteria in academia

Selecting early-career researchers: the influence of discourses of internationalisation and excellence on formal and applied selection criteria in academia

ESP in CLIL Degree Programmes

Researching Academic Reading in Two Contrasting English as a Medium of Instruction Contexts at a University Level

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