Abstract
The adoption of English as a medium of instruction (EMI) is a world-wide phenomenon as part of the internationalization strategies of higher education institutions. While this policy can be seen as a threat to multilingualism, studies on attitudes suggest that EMI lecturers and students see the use of the first language (L1) as a useful resource for content comprehension. Our research questions focused on EMI lecturers’ motivations/reasons for their linguistic choices in the classroom and the strategies in relation to those choices. Our goal was to find out whether they were already adopting an English as a lingua franca approach to EMI, i.e. favoring the use of both Portuguese and English in class. Data collected via questionnaires, interviews, focus groups and observations revealed that both languages are used by lecturers endorsing either an English-only approach or a multilingual one, with similar objectives. Whereas Portuguese seems to increase student participation and reduce insecurity, English provides opportunities to engage with the professional discourse and language practices valued in international research exchanges. In the classroom, a multilingual approach better addresses the lecturers’ pedagogical concerns, while English-only favours their language-oriented goals but is introduced gradually. The results are consistent with a view of English as part of a repertoire of language and pedagogical practices in EMI multilingual settings where students and lecturers share the same language.
Resumo
A adoção do Inglês como meio de instrução (IMI) é um fenômeno mundial como parte das estratégias de internacionalização das instituições de ensino superior. Embora essa política possa ser vista como uma ameaça ao multilinguismo, estudos sobre atitudes sugerem que professores e alunos em contexto de IMI veem o uso da língua materna como um recurso útil para a compreensão do conteúdo. Nossas perguntas de pesquisa se concentraram nas motivações/razões do professor para suas escolhas linguísticas em sala de aula e as estratégias em relação a essas escolhas. Nosso objetivo era descobrir se eles já estavam adotando uma abordagem do Inglês como Lingua Franca (ILF) para IMI, ou seja, favorecendo o uso tanto do Inglês quanto do Português em sala. Os dados coletados por meio de questionários, entrevistas, grupos de foco e observações revelaram que ambas as línguas são usadas por professores que endossam uma abordagem exclusivamente em inglês ou multilíngue, com objetivos semelhantes. Enquanto o português parece aumentar a participação dos alunos e reduzir a insegurança, o inglês oferece oportunidades de envolvimento com o discurso profissional e as práticas linguísticas valorizadas em intercâmbios de pesquisa internacionais. Na sala de aula, uma abordagem multilíngue atende melhor às preocupações pedagógicas dos professores, enquanto apenas o inglês favorece seus objetivos orientados para o idioma, mas é introduzido gradualmente. Os resultados são consistentes com uma visão do inglês como parte do repertório de práticas pedagógicas e linguísticas multilíngues em ambientes IMI onde alunos e professores compartilham o mesmo idioma.
Acknowledgments
We would like to thank the British Council and Fundação Araucária for funding this research. A summary of the results can be found at https://www.britishcouncil.org.br/sites/default/files/s1_uk_report.pdf (last accessed 8 November 2022). Telma Gimenez also acknowledges the support of Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Tecnológico through Productivity research grant Proc. 311655/2018-1.
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