Argumentation

Symposium T7.1 University language policies

Argumentation

One of the aims of the European university alliance NEOLAiA[1], which promotes a policy of diversity and inclusion, is to draw up a common charter regarding to the multilingual and intercultural language policies of its partner universities, as well as an accreditation certificate for multilingual and intercultural teaching. As part of this mission, carried out by the universities of Jaén and Tours, a symposium on university language policies will be held in Tours in October 2024. The aim is to create a forum for reflection on the internationalization of universities that takes seriously the challenges of linguistic and cultural diversity in a training context, going beyond a purely technical and economic vision of language management in higher education, and in line with the main linguistic and cultural policies already implemented by the European Union and the Council of Europe[2]. The linguistic questions explored in this symposium will thus be considered through the prism of a reflection on their role in the learning/appropriation/teaching of academic disciplines and the development of sciences, and not only for the added value they can represent on the study and job markets in a globalized context. Ultimately, the collaborative work carried out in this symposium will establish the basis for the development of a joint Charter on the linguistic and intercultural policies of the partner universities.

Aware of the sometimes excessively prescriptive effects that this type of document can produce, it will be important to ensure that these recommendations are formulated in a sufficiently open manner. It will also be necessary to clarify this linguistic policy to ensure that it does not necessarily lead to an implicit Anglicization of higher education. It will also be necessary to harmonize the basic requirements that academic and administrative staff will have to meet to participate in the plurilingual programs set up in each partner university (this is the purpose of the Accreditation Certificate, which will be set up in this European project as a complement to the Charter).

The Symposium will take place in three phases, alternating between lectures by specialists in linguistic policy and language didactics, and round-table discussions bringing together members of partner universities and colleagues from different countries involved in research on questions of plurilingualism and interculturalism in the academic sphere.

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1.         Anglicization of higher education: the presence of English and the diversity of its uses

In university internationalization strategies, language policies are often presented as serving international attractiveness. From this perspective, the use of English is justified by the objective of attracting the greatest number of students and enabling universities to access good positions in international rankings. In this case, where one language prevails over the others, the policy can be described as "linguistic planning by default" (Baggioni, 1996), insofar as it follows the course of a "language market" and the policy is primarily thought through from an economistic perspective.

This approach is simplistic, firstly because it overlooks the role of languages in the development of thought and knowledge, and secondly because it does not concern with of the potential benefits of plurilingual practices in research and teaching situations (Berthoud[3]). F. Grin thus evokes "a truncated vision of 'internationality', since it evacuates linguistic diversity" (Grin, 2022: 125). In terms of non-linguistic knowledge, C. Truchot (2018) points out the fact that in some training courses taught in English, the diversity of references mobilized is also atrophied, being reduced to mainly Anglo-American works, and ignoring work carried out in the scientific fields in question in other linguistic and cultural areas, which can participate in the standardization of knowledge (Hagège 2012, 2013) and forms of "linguistic imperialism" (Phillipson, 2019). For example, in the field of management, J.-C. Usunier (2010) shows that making comparisons between different management cultures based on English-language questionnaires, on the assumption that concepts are equivalent in different languages, "[...] tends to blur cultural differences between linguistic contexts" (ibid.: 23). In addition, the question arises of the English proficiency of teachers and students and its possible influence on the quality of teaching: nuances in the expression of thought, limited argumentation and complexity, basic interactions, etc. (Hughes, 2007: Truchot, 2018). Beyond this choice of "all-English", which cannot take the place of a linguistic-cultural policy within European higher education establishments, it is therefore essential to consider the possibility of other training modalities integrating linguistic and cultural diversity at university.

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2.         Plurilingual and intercultural perspectives in higher education

More positively, in terms of research, as well as teaching and disciplinary learning, the question of plurilingual perspectives in education must be integrated into the debate. J.-C. Beacco asserts, for example, that "the use of a foreign language alongside the mother tongue enables 'multiperspective' approaches to concepts and notions, procedures, methodologies and epistemologies of disciplines, which are fundamental to their understanding [...]" (Beacco, 2016: 196-197)[4]. He goes on to advocate teaching methods that avoid superimposing monolingual situations in favor of truly plurilingual ones (ibid.). For example, a plurilingual academic approach would aim to get people thinking about the meaning of concepts and the choice of terms (which will be explored in greater depth in the third part of this symposium). Beyond English as a "lingua academica [...] based on the illusion that languages are transparent and that modes of communication are universal" (Berthoud and Gajo, 2020), the aim is to imagine "how plurilingualism can open up different perspectives and improve the quality of knowledge, offering a remedy to the 'crush' of different academic and scientific cultures." (Ibid.). This concern for diversity is not only a principled struggle against linguistic and cultural standardization, it also helps to promote a densification of knowledge: linguistic and cultural otherness contributes to a "de-familiarization" that forces us to deepen and "thicken" the elaboration of knowledge (Gajo, 2003, 2006). Indeed, various research studies show that "[t]he plurilingual dimension introduces the question of the plurality of perspectives linked to languages, cultures and research traditions, but also that of the diversification of perspectives on a research object linked to the diversification of linguistic means and ways of verbalizing research content, of putting scientific concepts into discourse" (Steffen et al. 2015). It is on such possibilities in the fields of research and teaching/learning that the third part of the symposium will focus, based on projects or experiments currently under development.

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3.         Sharing ideas and experiences for plurilingual and intercultural integration at university

The third part of the workshop will focus on concrete ways of implementing training practices to promote plural (or various) forms of appropriation linguistically and disciplinary.

The first question will be to take stock of existing already practices in partner universities: translation practices, diversity of uses of EMI (English Medium-Instruction), mobilization of cross-comprehension, code switching in class, taking into account the languages of international or exiled students, etc. A particular focus will be placed on EMI, as this type of teaching represents a particular challenge for internationalized universities: in fact, EMI raises the question of the variability of the forms of English/of Englishes (Widdowson, 1997), as well as taking into account the other languages of students in this teaching. Several studies have specifically addressed these issues in the field of higher education.

For example, Galante & al (2019) report on an experiment in implementing a plurilingual pedagogy in an English for Academic Purposes (EAP) course in Canada:

"The use of languages other than English was not only allowed but purposefully required so that students could realize the pedagogical potential of using translanguaging and comparons nos langues to learn academic English" (p. 128).

The authors also stress the importance of taking contexts into account in the mobilization of such plurilingual pedagogies:

"Plurilingual pedagogy in higher education can take several forms, and we argue that prior to implementing language tasks, an analysis of the environment is needed" (p. 130).

This type of experimentation and others that already exist (Cenoz and Gorter, 2013: Towards a Plurilingual Approach in English Language Teaching: Softening the Boundaries Between Languages) largely echo the orientations of WP7 and could usefully fuel our reflections. 

The colleagues from the NEOLAiA alliance invited to take part in this symposium will carry out a survey of the various practices that may exist in their environment.

It will also be useful to carry out a comparison with what is being developed from this point of view in other European alliances and/or projects: the NEOLAiA project can only benefit from feedback and the sharing of experiences in order to develop its own originality. For example, the European alliance UNITA[5] is offering a training course "to develop knowledge and practice of intercomprehension through multilingual written and spoken interaction between participants at network level [...]". The diversity of initiatives in favour of plurilingualism in other alliances can only benefit reflection within NEOLAiA.

An exchange of practices and experiences between teacher-researchers will also be proposed, based on the following question: what can be done in practical terms to ensure that linguistic and cultural plurality is effectively taken into account in our universities? Teacher-researchers who have taught courses that have problematized the role of languages, history or conceptual diversity in the appropriation of disciplines will share their experiences and work on different ways of diversifying approaches of this kind (Castellotti, Courtaud and Debono 2024). Students will also be invited to testify to the potential effects produced by these teaching devices methods, but also more broadly to testify to their experiences of studying in different languages and academic traditions.

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4.         Collaborative drafting of a common University Language Policy Charter

Based on discussions conducted during the first three phases of the symposium, the last phase will be devoted to drafting the Charter. The broad outlines will be set out during a collaborative, multilingual drafting session: working groups will be set up, including representatives from each partner university. Each group will determine the points that seem most important to highlight in the Charter, in relation to the accreditation certificate.

Working methods

In accordance with the consortium's linguistic policy guidelines, multilingual communication and discussion will be possible, with a team of translators-interpreters dedicated to simultaneous translation of exchanges between participants.

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