English as a medium of instruction and internationalization at Danish universities: Status, perspectives, and implications for higher education executives

Abstract

This paper discusses possible policies to handle English as a medium of instruction for higher education (HE) in Denmark. It summarizes the de-facto status of the institutionalization of English as a lingua franca and EMI inEurope, is to be found in Italy: over 100 faculty members went to court to reverse the process of introducing EMI programs at Milan Polytechnic. The regional administrative court ruled in favor of their point of view (Severgnini, 2015). In Central and Eastern Europe, by contrast, EMI seems to be slowly but steadily on the rise (Coleman, 2006).Whilst proponents point to the benefits of EMI for, amongst other things, content learning and graduate employability, opponents bring up arguments varying from being victimized by cultural imperialism to educational elitism. Both recent research results and public opinions will be presented in the present paper. The purpose of this paper is to focus on the implications of the intensified EMI use for HE practitioners in Denmark.It is intended to present, and comment on, recent insights into the above mentioned research, under consideration and in connection with relevant strands of public opinion. 56 C ommunication & Language at WorkIssue no. 4The following section 2 gives an overview of the status of English and EMI in Denmark. This overview is the basis for the introduction of the 'four perspectives' in research and the public debate on EMI. Perspectives and debate are then explored in section 3. One of the perspectives, the 'cautiously progressive perspective' is largely derived from this author's research on EMI, which will briefly be documented. Finally, in section 4, there will be a discussion of implications inherent in arguments and perspectives as presented in previous sections. The status of English and of English as a medium of instruction in Denmark

The internationalization of higher education in Europe: A discussion of English as a medium of instruction and its implications for (in)equalities

“…This decision ties i ith K app's (2011: 61) observations in Germany that students opting for German classes show »a pronounced awareness of the benefits of EMI«. Most of their arguments »refer to the improvement of their language abilities, followed by usefulness for their future jobs.« Lueg & Lueg (2015) further noted that females of the lower and middle strata opted for EMI much more frequently than their male peers. In stratum 2 (middle), 9.9 percent of the females chose EMI, as opposed to 2.5 percent of the males.…”

“…Maiworm and Wächter (2008: 29) identified a north-south divide with respect to EMI in which France and Italy represent countries with particularly low offerings of EMI programs, and countries such as Cyprus, Sweden, Switzerland, and Hungary occupy the top and middle ranges of EMI offerings. The rise of EMI has sparked a critical debate among scholars, journalists and politicians that mainly focuses on the four perspectives and several arguments outlined below (s. table 1) (for a similar discussion of the Danish discourse s. Lueg 2015). The perspective that advocates for EMI is the internationalized knowledge economy perspective, which consists of both the organizational competition argument and the career argument.…”

“…Thus, this perspective refers to political segregation on a global or national level. Others point to disadvantages for lower strata students (Lueg/Lueg 2015) and to the reproduction of elites through specialized programs and institutions with English language traditions (Berg et al 2001;Vaara/Faÿ 2012), thus leading to inequality on the level of social strata and agents. The main arguments of the inequality perspective are developed further in section four below.…”

“…management studies have addressed issues related to internationalization, higher education and/or the reproduction of elites and social inequalities (Doh 2010;Engwall 2004;Hartmann 2000;Lueg/Lueg 2015;Vaara/Faÿ 2011). EMI, which is associated with better job opportunities and prestige, is predominantly preferred by students from higher socioeconomic strata, whereas students from lower socioeconomic strata with similar English proficiency are more inclined to fear barriers to EMI such as risk of dropout and/or exam failure (Lueg/Lueg 2015). Research from Asia has directly related class issues to the costs of tutoring and/or traveling abroad to prepare students for the shift to EMI (Jeong 2004;Kang 2012).…”

Crossing borders . . . shifting sands: An investigation of Chinese students’ study experiences in the UK and China

“…There has been an acceleration of EMI programs in non-Anglophone settings in recent decades (Baker, 2016). In Europe, where English is increasingly seen as the lingua franca and the language of higher education, its presence is observed in university lectures and seminars, and institutions are increasingly delivering content in EMI (Lueg, 2015). For example, the Nordic countries (specifically Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden) have been at the vanguard in implementing EMI programs (Airey, Lauridsen, Rasanen, Salo, & Schwach, 2017).…”