English-medium Instruction in the Italian context: Policies, practices, and discourses of internationalization

Higher Education (HE) is currently undergoing macro changes that pull in a direction of increased mobility and internationality. As a type of education conducted through a shared lingua franca, English-medium Instruction (EMI) is playing an important role in this process, gathering on itself various kinds of needs, aspirations and challenges. This, in turn, fuels the need for a deep understanding of the phenomenon, as it continues to grow and evolve. The present thesis conducts a multifaceted investigation of EMI in the Italian context, exploring its conceptualization in relation to, on the one hand, internationalization as a macro-phenomenon and, on the other hand, the local culture and academic traditions. Thus, the thesis seeks to shed some light on the interplay of beliefs, behaviours and policies, to understand how language, culture and international education are positioned in EMI. The findings indicate that the Italian EMI experience raises important questions for EMI conceptualization in general. In particular, the evidence retrieved suggests that the communication tool plays a role in how knowledge is constructed and conveyed in EMI; a similar influence can also be ascribed to the local culture. This role, however, appears to remain silent, as it is scarcely discussed and represented in the policies. Discussing the significance of such findings, the thesis argues for a more nuanced understanding of EMI and of its aims as an international education

Content adaptations in English-medium instruction: Comparing L1 and English-medium lectures

While lecturers' teaching practices continue to be a focal point of English-medium Instruction (EMI) research, contrastive studies between EMI and L1 lectures remain extremely scarce. The present study addresses this research gap by analyzing five sets of matching L1 and English-medium lectures given in different disciplines at three Italian universities. Each set of lectures is given by the same lecturer, about the same topic. Thus, the study, closely examines the lectures’ content in order to investigate which changes, if any, accompany the linguistic shift from L1 to English-medium teaching. The investigation focuses mainly on quantity and organization of content; nonetheless, other variables (such as speech rate, questions, language alternation), which can play a relevant role towards the organization of the lecture, are also considered. The analysis reveals a high correspondence of the core topics addressed in the lecturers; however, significant differences in the way such knowledge is conveyed are also observed. Such differences are grouped into three categories: differences in content quantity, differences in content selection and differences in rhetorical devices used

Language policy in Italian universities: Navigating the language ambiguities of higher education internationalisation

In recent years, the significant expansion of English-medium instruction (EMI) programmes across higher education institutions outside English-speaking contexts has brought with it an inherent set of language-related tensions and ambiguities. In this article, we explore how a selection of Italian universities have tackled these tensions. Via a content analysis of university policy documents, we investigate the key language-related themes in them, and the orientations to language that these themes entail. The results show that English is seen as necessary for and almost synonymous to internationalisation, as well as a language that can bring benefits to both institutions and individuals. However, a commitment to multilingualism and to the promotion of Italian from a non-protectionist stance is apparent in the documents analysed. This finding, we argue, puts the Italian context apart from other settings that have been previously investigated (e.g. the Nordic countries), and points to an original way in which universities can navigate the language ambiguities that come with the process of higher education internationalisation

New insights into the trend towards English as a medium of instruction in European higher education through transdisciplinary participation

The drive towards English as a Medium of Instruction (EMI) in universities in non-English-dominant countries can generate heated debates, yet the drivers of EMI are still not fully understood. This position paper argues for transdisciplinary participation in order to shed new light on the drivers of EMI. Transdisciplinary participation is conceptualized as engaging with theories, methodologies and practices in other disciplines in order to approach a topical issue in a new way. We exemplify transdisciplinary participation as bringing together applied linguists and those involved in academic governance to re-theorize the rise of EMI as linked to steering at a distance governance reforms that have swept across the European higher education sector since the 1980s. Showcasing three cases from across Europe, we argue that steering at a distance may shed new light on the drivers of EMI. At a more general level, we highlight how disciplinary positioning shapes the creation of knowledge

English-medium Instruction through the lens of discipline and culture: Lecturers’ beliefs and reported practices

In the last few decades, English-medium Instruction (EMI) has been the focus of a rapidly increasing body of research. While such research has tended to cover certain aspects of the phenomenon extensively, others still remain under-researched. For example, in focusing primarily on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) disciplines, EMI investigations have devoted limited attention to the potential relevance of disciplinary differences. Similarly, while EMI has been noted to differ from context to context, the practical implications of cultural differences in EMI implementations continue to be overlooked. The present study aims to shed some light on the role played by disciplinary and cultural specificities via an investigation of beliefs and reported practices of 13 Italian lecturers. The lecturers were selected to represent a variety of disciplinary backgrounds and individually interviewed about their experiences as teachers and scholars. The interviews were subsequently subjected to a thematic analysis. The results reinstate to an extent the influence of disciplinary culture; however, they also point to an important role played by the local culture in shaping both beliefs and practices. Additionally, the results also reveal a nuanced understanding of the opportunities and challenges of EMI among these participants, stressing the need for more attention to cultural mediation in international higher education. 

English-medium Instruction in the Italian context : Policies, practices, and discourses of internationalization

Higher Education (HE) is currently undergoing macro changes that pull in a direction of increased mobility and internationality. As a type of education conducted through a shared lingua franca, English-medium Instruction (EMI) is playing an important role in this process, gathering on itself various kinds of needs, aspirations and challenges. This, in turn, fuels the need for a deep understanding of the phenomenon, as it continues to grow and evolve.  The present thesis conducts a multifaceted investigation of EMI in the Italian context, exploring its conceptualization in relation to, on the one hand, internationalization as a macro-phenomenon and, on the other hand, the local culture and academic traditions. Thus, the thesis seeks to shed some light on the interplay of beliefs, behaviours and policies, to understand how language, culture and international education are positioned in EMI.  The findings indicate that the Italian EMI experience raises important questions for EMI conceptualization in general. In particular, the evidence retrieved suggests that the communication tool plays a role in how knowledge is constructed and conveyed in EMI; a similar influence can also be ascribed to the local culture. This role, however, appears to remain silent, as it is scarcely discussed and represented in the policies. Discussing the significance of such findings, the thesis argues for a more nuanced understanding of EMI and of its aims as an international education.

Oral Examinations in EMI: A Focus on Pragmatic Competence

The oral examination is an area of EMI in which students' language difficulties often come to the fore, and studies from different countries have shown that inadequate language competence may negatively impact on exam results. However, very little research has been done on oral examination interaction in EMI contexts. The aim of this paper is to help fill this gap by comparing the performance of students with different language backgrounds and levels of English. Attention was devoted to those linguistic structures spanning different levels of language description that reveal pragmatic competence, and, in particular, register awareness. These include features like premodification in complex nominals - which are typical of English, and even more so of ESP, but not so common in other languages - and information structure, with the attendant range of syntactic choices (active/passive, cleft constructions, extraposition, inversion and existential there)

“Let me say this first…” Reactions of stakeholders towards EMI in Turkey

This presentation focuses on the reactions of the stakeholders from university governance and industry towards the place of English in Turkish higher education. Previous studies on the perceptions towards English medium instruction (EMI) report “ideological oppositions against EMI (Selvi, 2022; p. 81) to preserve the Turkish language, identity and culture. Favourable attitudes towards EMI due to its contributions to job prospects (Altay & Yuksel, 2022) and social prestige (e.g., Atik & Atik, 2014) have been reported as well. The participants in this study were six university governance staff who played significant roles in the decision-making processes of the universities regarding autonomy and governance, and eight industry stakeholders from major companies. The data are part of a wider UKRI-funded project examining the growth of English-taught programmes in various European countries (1). Semi-structured interviews were carried out to trace (a) the development of English-taught programmes in various disciplines (with the university governance staff) and (b) the place of English in the recruitment of graduates in major companies (with industry stakeholders). Our preliminary analysis focused on the attitudes of higher education and industry stakeholders towards the place of English in higher education. During the interviews, when inquired about the development of EMI programmes and/or place of English in the recruitment of graduates, we observed that some stakeholders had strong opinions that were spelt out directly: “Let me tell this first, I am against the use of English in teaching academic subjects”. Later in the interview, the participants elaborated on their reasons for these strict attitudes. The presentation will elaborate on the attitudes of various stakeholders towards the use of English in Turkish HE and the reasons for resistance articulated by various stakeholders