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Language Choice and Linguistic Variation in Classes Nominally Taught in English

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Language Alternation, Language Choice and Language Encounter in International Tertiary Education

Part of the book series: Multilingual Education ((MULT,volume 5))

Abstract

This chapter presents a study of the linguistic milieu that is generated when students from different parts of the world meet and interact in international university settings. The study is conducted in nominally English-medium courses at a Swedish university, and focuses on how students use Swedish and other non-authorised languages in addition to English. The multilingual characteristics of the milieu are exemplified and discussed, and it is demonstrated that the language of the surrounding society holds a special position. In the era of globalisation, universities are part of internationalisation processes, but yet situated in a local context marked by a certain history and specific linguistic resources.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    This chapter is based on the results of my PhD project, presented in Söderlundh (2010).

  2. 2.

    The usefulness of that figure is unclear, however, as there is no indication of how many of those courses and programmes were actually run.

  3. 3.

    In all, 38 teaching sessions (of 2 × 45 min) and 13 group work situations (12 h of video or audio recordings) were observed and documented with field notes and video or audio recordings (34 h in total).

  4. 4.

    For transcription conventions, see Hutchby and Wooffitt (1998). The transcripts show only the beginning of overlapping speech. As regards intonation, only rising inflection is marked, by the symbol ?. Laughter is indicated by the symbol £.

  5. 5.

    Violations of a shared norm for language choice in the courses studied are further discussed in Söderlundh (2012).

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Languages and Linguistics, Malmö University, Malmö, Sweden

    Hedda Söderlundh

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  1. Hedda Söderlundh
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Correspondence to Hedda Söderlundh .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. of Culture and Identity, Roskilde University, Roskilde, Denmark

    Hartmut Haberland

  2. Dept. of Int'l Business Communication, Copenhagen Business School, Frederiksberg, Denmark

    Dorte Lønsmann

  3. Dept. for Culture and Identity, Roskilde University, Roskilde, Denmark

    Bent Preisler

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Söderlundh, H. (2013). Language Choice and Linguistic Variation in Classes Nominally Taught in English. In: Haberland, H., Lønsmann, D., Preisler, B. (eds) Language Alternation, Language Choice and Language Encounter in International Tertiary Education. Multilingual Education, vol 5. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6476-7_4

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