Does Internationalization Promote Multilingualism? A Dutch University Study

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 inte...

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Main Author: Robert Wilkinson
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: University of Latvia Press 2016-05-01
Series:Baltic Journal of English Language, Literature and Culture
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journal.lu.lv/bjellc/article/view/356
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author Robert Wilkinson
author_facet Robert Wilkinson
author_sort Robert Wilkinson
collection DOAJ
description 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.
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spelling doaj.art-f637868f861848f39334078d662b0fa92022-12-22T04:35:40ZengUniversity of Latvia PressBaltic Journal of English Language, Literature and Culture1691-99712501-03952016-05-016Does Internationalization Promote Multilingualism? A Dutch University StudyRobert Wilkinson0Maastricht UniversityInternationalization 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. https://journal.lu.lv/bjellc/article/view/356internationalizationmultilingualismlanguage policies in universitiesglobal Englishlanguage in tertiary education
spellingShingle Robert Wilkinson
Does Internationalization Promote Multilingualism? A Dutch University Study
Baltic Journal of English Language, Literature and Culture
internationalization
multilingualism
language policies in universities
global English
language in tertiary education
title Does Internationalization Promote Multilingualism? A Dutch University Study
title_full Does Internationalization Promote Multilingualism? A Dutch University Study
title_fullStr Does Internationalization Promote Multilingualism? A Dutch University Study
title_full_unstemmed Does Internationalization Promote Multilingualism? A Dutch University Study
title_short Does Internationalization Promote Multilingualism? A Dutch University Study
title_sort does internationalization promote multilingualism a dutch university study
topic internationalization
multilingualism
language policies in universities
global English
language in tertiary education
url https://journal.lu.lv/bjellc/article/view/356
work_keys_str_mv AT robertwilkinson doesinternationalizationpromotemultilingualismadutchuniversitystudy