Exploring the role of language in the student experience at the internationalised university

Stakounis, Helena and Papen, Uta (2024) Exploring the role of language in the student experience at the internationalised university. PhD thesis, Linguistics and English Language.

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Abstract

It is said that language has been ignored in the internationalisation process at UK universities and yet, language is the medium through which education is accessed, understood and assessed. With internationalisation, the linguistic and cultural diversity of staff and students has increased and through this, universities claim students will have a globalised student experience. However, for such an experience to be realised, meaningful heterophilous interaction needs to occur and as a range of literature now shows, this interaction between diverse students does not always happen, particularly between those labelled “home” and “international students”. This qualitative study, conducted with 15 core participants and hundreds of others from the UK and abroad over one academic year at a northwest England university, uses interviews, observations and student logs to highlight how language plays a crucial role in the globalised student experience at the internationalised university. Findings show language intersects with issues around expectations and identity pre-university, as well as comprehension and interaction both inside and outside of the classroom. A lack of meaningful heterophilous interaction lessens the globalised nature of the student experience, thus threatening internationalisation aims, most particularly Internationalisation at Home (IaH). The study suggests an alternative framing of the UK internationalised university as a multilingual space in need of language policy, where Englishes are used as a Medium of Instruction (EsMI) and where language is recognised as a significant part of the experience for all students. A framework for conceptualising the role of language in the student experience at the internationalised university is also proposed.