In the new European higher education space, Universities in Europe are exhorted to cultivate and develop multilingualism. The European Commission's 2004-2006 action plan for promoting language learning and diversity speaks of the need to build an environment which is favourable to languages. Yet reality indicates that it is English which reigns supreme and has become the main foreign language used as means of instruction at European universities. Internationalisation has played a key role in this process, becoming one of the main drivers of the linguistic hegemony exerted by English. In this paper we examine the opinions of teaching staff involved in English-medium instruction, from pedagogical ecologyof-language and personal viewpoints. Data were gathered using group discussion. The study was conducted at a multilingual Spanish university where majority (Spanish), minority (Basque) and foreign (English) languages coexist, resulting in some unavoidable linguistic strains. The implications for English-medium instruction are discussed at the end of this paper.

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In this article the researchers analyze university students and teachers working in English‐medium instruction (EMI) settings in terms of the second language (L2) motivational self system (L2MSS) (Dörnyei, , ) from a qualitative perspective through the use of focus groups. This qualitative approach yields personal and group information about the participants’ perceptions and opinions on L2MSS in EMI in a Spanish university setting. The researchers approach participants’ L2 motivation and selves in terms of valued personal and professional identities, which are defined, among other things, by proficiency in English. Similarly, the researchers discuss the interaction between the L2MSS and the constructs of identity, investment, imagined community, vulnerability, and immunity in the EMI context. The results indicate that the ideal self (i.e., the speaker's vision of him‐ or herself as a competent user of the L2) clearly prevails over the ought‐to self (i.e., other people's vision for the individual) in the case of the teachers, whereas both components are more balanced in the case of students. It should be noted that the EMI experience also interacts with both students’ and teachers’ L2 motivation.