120228 SE Linguistics Seminar / MA applied linguistics & TEFL (2017S)

The so-called “Bologna Process” of internationalising tertiary education has not only resulted in the three-level architecture of study programmes (bachelor/master/doctorate), but has also changed and strengthened the relevance of English at mainland European universities. Besides teaching English language classes, English is increasingly used as medium of instruction, language of administration, and of doing and disseminating research, i.e. as language for academic purposes. From a sociolinguistic point of view this means that our universities are no longer the largely monolingual institutions they used to be, but have entered an era of de facto bilingualism. In how far is this bilingualism made visible and constructed online? How do institutions react to or support the presence of English in their language policy statements and other online texts? What kind of English is taught and/or used?
It is questions like these that we will deal with in the seminar course, which focuses on the multifunctional and potentially contested position of English in present-day tertiary institutions. Based on up-to-date research into language policy in higher education, EMI (English medium instruction) and ELFA (English as a lingua franca in academia), participants will become familiar with the complexity of this applied linguistic concern. By undertaking small-scale qualitative studies, they will gain informed insights into the language policies and select online practices at tertiary institutions of their choice.
This seminar course combines mini-lectures, on- & offline assignments, reading-based group work and discussions, and individual research work leading to a presentation and a seminar paper.