Cover not available
Article published In:
Study Abroad Research in Second Language Acquisition and International Education
Vol. 1:2 (2016) ► pp.129–153

Studying in a ‘multilingual university’ at home or abroad

Perspectives of home and international students in the Basque Country, Catalonia and Wales

| University of Lleida
| Cardiff Universit
| University of the Basque Country
The relatively recent phenomenon of the internationalisation of higher education (HE) in European non-English-speaking universities has resulted in more linguistically diverse student bodies and has forced universities in bilingual territories to reconsider their language policies. In this paper, we adopt a student perspective in order to explore the notion of a multilingual university in the bilingual territories of Catalonia, Wales and the Basque Autonomous Community (BAC). This also includes looking at how the students view the relationship and possible tensions between internationalisation (and its concomitant student mobility) and the language policies. In order to investigate the attitudes and beliefs of the students (both home and international) in connection with the notion of a multilingual university, we asked them to complete an open-ended questionnaire item regarding the advantages and disadvantages they see in such an institution. The results of the analysis point, in the first place, to different perceptions among students of a multilingual university depending on (i) whether English is the main or even sole means of instruction, and (ii) the perceived status of the minority language. Secondly, the analysis suggests the need to approach students’ attitudes towards a multilingual university by considering the ways in which the sociolinguistic context (in official, academic and experiential terms) may have an impact on their perception of the process of multilingualisation in universities.
Keywords: multilingualism, university, English, minority languages, bilingual regions, internationalisation, language attitudes, language policies
Published online: 27 October 2016
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/sar.1.2.01cot
References (30)
Baaij, C. (2012). The EU policy on institutional multilingualism: Between principles and practicality. Language and Law, 11 (urn:nbn:de:0009-30-33384).Google Scholar
Baker, C. (1992). Attitudes and language. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.Google Scholar
Balfour, R.J. (2007). University language policies, internationalisation, multilingualism, and language development in the UK and South Africa. Cambridge Journal of Education, 371, 35–49. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Basque Government. (2013). Fifth sociolinguistic survey 2011. Vitoria-Gasteiz: Basque Government.Google Scholar
Brown, L., & Holloway, I. (2008). The adjustment journey of international postgraduate students at an English university: An ethnographic study. Journal of Research in International Education, 71, 232–249. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Cenoz, J. (2009). Towards multilingual education: Basque educational research from an international perspective. Bristol: Multilingual Matters. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Cots, J.M. (2013). English medium instruction at the University of Lleida: Policy, beliefs and practices. In A. Doiz, D. Lasagabaster, & J.M. Sierra (Eds.), English-medium instruction at universities: Global challenges (pp. 84–105). Bristol: Multilingual Matters.Google Scholar
Cots, J.M., Lasagabaster, D., & Garrett, P. (2012). Multilingual policies and practices of universities in bilingual regions in Europe. International Journal of the Sociology of Language, 2161, 7–32Google Scholar
Council of Europe. (2001). Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, teaching, assessment. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
. (1992). European charter for regional or minority languages. European Treaty Series no. 148. Brussels: Council of Europe, retrieved on 28 July 2015 from [URL]Google Scholar
Dafouz, E., & Smit, U. (2014). Towards a dynamic conceptual framework for English-medium education in multilingual university settings. Applied Linguistics. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Darquennes, J. (2011). The contribution of academia to the further development of European language policy: Some reflections based on an analysis of the European Commission’s communications on multilingualism of 2005 and 2008. European Journal of Language Policy, 31, 141–162. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Doiz, A., Lasagabaster, D., & Sierra, J.M. (2013). English as L3 at a bilingual university in the Basque Country, Spain. In A. Doiz, D. Lasagabaster, & J.M. Sierra (Eds.), English-medium instruction at universities: Global challenges (pp. 84–105). Bristol: Multilingual Matters.Google Scholar
. (2014a). Language friction and multilingual policies in higher education: The stakeholders’ view. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 351, 345–360. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
. (2014b). What does ‘international university’ mean at a European bilingual university? The role of language and culture. Language Awareness 231, 172–186. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Garrett, P. (2010). Meanings of globalization: East and West. In N. Coupland (Ed.), The handbook of language and globalization (pp. 447–474). Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Garrett, P., & Gallego Balsà, L. (2014). International universities and implications for internationalization for minority languages: Views from university students in Catalonia and Wales. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 351, 361–375. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Institut d’Estadística de Catalunya (Idescat). (n.d.). [URL] (accessed on 15 September 2015).
Krippendorff, K. (2013). Content analysis: An introduction to its methodology. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Kuteeva, M. (2014). The parallel language use of Swedish and English: The question of ‘nativeness´ in university policies and practices. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 35(4), 332–344. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Lasagabaster, D., Cots, J.M., & Mancho Barés, G. (2013). Teaching staff’s views about the internationalisation of higher education: The case of two bilingual communities in Spain. Multilingua, 321, 751–778. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Llurda, E., Cots, J.M., & Armengol, L. (2014). Views on multilingualism and internationalisation in higher education: Administrative staff in the spotlight. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 351, 376–391. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Pons, E. (2015). The position of Catalan in higher education in Catalonia. In F.X. Vila & V. Bretxa (Eds.), Language policy in higher education: The case of medium-sized languages (pp. 153–180). Bristol: Multilingual Matters.Google Scholar
Potter, J., & Wetherell, M. (1987). Discourse and social psychology: Beyond attitudes and behaviour. London: Sage.Google Scholar
Risager, K. (2012). Language hierarchies at the international university. International Journal of the Sociology of Language 2161, 111–130.Google Scholar
Spolsky, B. (2007). Towards a theory of language policy. Working Papers in Educational Linguistics, 221, 1–14.Google Scholar
. (2008). Investigating language education policy. In K.A. King & N.H. Hornberger (Eds.), Encyclopedia of language and education (2nd edition, volume 101: Research methods in language and education) (pp. 27–39). New York: Springer. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
The Multilingual University. (n.d.). The impact of linguistic diversity on higher education in English-dominant and English medium instructional contexts impact of linguistic diversity on higher education in English-dominant and English medium instructional (ESRC funded seminar series). [URL] (accessed on 27th November 2015)
Vila, F.X. (2015). Language policy in higher education in medium-sized language communities: An introduction. In F.X. Vila & V. Bretxa (Eds.), Language policy in higher education: The case of medium-sized languages (pp. 1–14). Bristol: Multilingual Matters.Google Scholar
Woodfield, S. (2010). Europe. In E. Egron-Polak & R. Hudson (Eds.), Internationalization of higher education: Global trends, regional perspectives (pp. 170–178). Paris: International Association of Universities 3rd Global Survey Report.Google Scholar
Cited by (4)

Cited by four other publications

Burton, Graham Francis & Maria Cristina Gatti
2024. English at the trilingual Free University of Bozen-Bolzano: exploring experiences and perceptions. International Journal of Multilingualism 21:2 ► pp. 953 ff. DOI logo
Kimura, Daisuke
2019. “Seriously, I came here to study English”. Study Abroad Research in Second Language Acquisition and International Education 4:1 ► pp. 70 ff. DOI logo
Moratinos-Johnston, Sofía, LLuís Ballester Brage, Maria Juan-Garau & Joana Salazar-Noguera
2019. Attitudes and motivation in English language learning amongst multilingual university students in the Balearic Islands: the effect of the L1 and other influential variables. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development 40:6 ► pp. 475 ff. DOI logo
Soler, Josep & Lídia Gallego-Balsà
2019. Language Policy, Internationalisation, and Multilingual Higher Education: An Overview. In The Sociolinguistics of Higher Education, ► pp. 17 ff. DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 22 september 2024. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.