Language Perceptions and Practices in Multilingual Universities Edited by Maria Kuteeva Kathrin Kaufhold Niina Hynninen Language Perceptions and Practices in Multilingual Universities Maria Kuteeva Kathrin Kaufhold • Niina Hynninen Editors Language Perceptions and Practices in Multilingual Universities Editors Maria Kuteeva Kathrin Kaufhold Department of English Department of English Stockholm University Stockholm University Stockholm, Sweden Stockholm, Sweden Niina Hynninen Department of Languages University of Helsinki Helsinki, Finland ISBN 978-3-030-38754-9 ISBN 978-3-030-38755-6 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-38755-6 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Cover image © Jörg Langhans This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG. The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland Acknowledgements As this book project is nearing completion, it is time to look back and think of all those who have made it possible for us to reach this stage. On a cold January morning in 2018, we gathered several colleagues in the Department of English at Stockholm University to present and discuss the results of the research collaboration between Stockholm University (SU) and the University of Helsinki (UH). This collaboration had been launched in 2015 by the two University Presidents Professor Astrid Söderbergh Widding (SU) and Professor Jukka Kola (UH). In the follow- ing years, it enabled many researchers working in different branches of language studies at the two universities to develop projects leading to co-authored and co-edited publications. We were fortunate to receive part of these funds and to carry out joint research which has been reported in various publication outlets. We are grateful to our universities for this financial support. The idea of this volume was raised at the 2018 January collaboration symposium as a way to consolidate our work and to invite researchers working on similar projects to produce a state-of-the-art collection on a topic that is relevant to university stakeholders working across different fields and areas of activity, from students and teachers to university admin- istrators and policymakers. Above all, our focus on language perceptions and practices in multilingual universities reflects the current concerns of European universities to balance the demands of internationalization­ and v vi Acknowledgements the urge to widen student participation. For universities in the Nordic and neighbouring countries, these concerns translate into the need to recon- sider language practices and the roles university language policies may play in regulating such practices. We would like to thank the authors of all chapters for responding to our call and for providing high-quality contributions and insightful peer feedback in a timely manner. The same goes for the two anonymous reviewers whose constructive comments on our book proposal and the final manuscript have helped us to consider language perceptions and practices from different perspectives and to reflect on our contribution to the field. As practically all chapters in this volume report on research col- lected through surveys, interviews or focus groups, our big thanks are due to all consenting study participants who provided invaluable input for the studies reported here. Various chapters provide acknowledgements for individual and institutional support in relation to specific studies. Many colleagues have given us inspiration and support to initiate and carry out this project. We would like to thank all participants and discus- sants who took part in the two research symposia hosted at the Department of English, Stockholm University: in January 2018 ‘Academic language use in the international university’ and in January 2019 ‘The role of English at a multilingual university’. In particular, we would like to thank Anna Mauranen and Anna Solin from the University of Helsinki for their valuable input at the initial stage of this project. We are grateful to the commissioning editor Cathy Scott for her keen interest in this book project and for her prompt and helpful responses to our queries throughout the editorial process, and to the assistant editor Alice Green for her help at the final stages of the manuscript delivery and production. For initial proofreading assistance in the drafting stage, we would like to thank Valeria Sella. We are responsible for any remaining errors. Last but not least, we thank our nearest and dearest for their con- tinued support and for putting up with our unpredictable work schedules. Stockholm and Helsinki Maria Kuteeva November 2019 Kathrin Kaufhold Niina Hynninen Contents 1 Introduction: Language Perceptions and Practices in Multilingual Universities 1 Maria Kuteeva, Kathrin Kaufhold, and Niina Hynninen 1 Whose Language First? 1 2 Where One Language Ends and Another Begins: Monolingualism and Multilingualism at Universities 6 3 What a Language Means: Language Ideologies and Discourses of Language Use 11 4 Methodological Diversity in the Contributions 13 5 Overview of Chapters 15 6 What’s Next? 20 References 21 Part I Tensions Between Monolingualism and Multilingualism on the National and Institutional Levels 25 2 If Not English, Then What? Unpacking Language Hierarchies at University 27 Maria Kuteeva 1 Introduction 27 2 Background 29 vii viii Contents 3 Method 34 4 Results 37 5 Discussion and Conclusion 50 References 52 3 Multilingualism as Problem or Resource? Negotiating Space for Languages Other Than Swedish and English in University Language Planning 57 Marie Källkvist and Francis M. Hult 1 Introduction 57 2 Language as Problem, Right or Resource 58 3 The Study 59 4 The Language Policy Committee and Its Charge 61 5 Discourses in Place and Named Languages 62 6 Language(s) as Problem 63 7 Language(s) as Resource 66 8 Discussion and Concluding Remarks 77 References 81 4 Tensions on Finnish Constitutional Bilingualism in Neo-nationalist Times: Constructions of Swedish in Monolingual and Bilingual Contexts 85 Taina Saarinen 1 Introduction 85 2 Method and Analysis 88 3 Societal and Higher Education Policy Backdrop 89 4 Swedish in Higher Education Settings 93 5 From Being Contested to Being Invisible: Discussion of Swedish in Finnish Higher Education 104 References 106 5 Redesigning the Curriculum to Develop Multilingual Academic Literacies: An Analysis of Language Conceptualizations 113 Juha Jalkanen and Tarja Nikula 1 Introduction 113 2 Background 115 Contents ix 3 Data and Analysis 117 4 Changing Role of Languages in Academic Study 118 5 Construction of ‘Language’ in Learning Outcomes 122 6 Conclusion 130 References 132 6 University Branding and the Internationalization of Higher Education in the Baltic States: The Role of Language 137 Josep Soler 1 Introduction 137 2 Background: Language Policy and the Internationalization of Higher Education in the Baltic States 138 3 The tudy:S Higher Education Organizations in the Baltic States and the Promotion of Baltic Universities 145 4 Results and Discussion 147 5 Conclusions 158 References 160 Part II Stakeholders in Multilingual Universities: Students 165 7 Language Ideologies and the Experiences of International Students 167 Deborah C. Clarke 1 Introduction 167 2 Language Ideologies 169 3 Task-Based Focus Group Methodology 174 4 Student Reactions to and Experiences of Language Use at University 177 5 Discussion and Conclusions 187 Appendix: Transcription Notation 189 References 190 x Contents 8 “I need to know this in Swedish because it’s the kärnspråk”: Language Ideologies and Practices of Multilingual Students 193 Kathrin Kaufhold and Jeanna Wennerberg 1 Introduction and Background 193 2 Theoretical Framework 195 3 Data Collection and Analysis 197 4 Findings 200 5 Discussion and Conclusion 210 References 213 9 Plurilingual Students in EMI: Perceptions of Educational Democracy and Linguistic Justice 217 Robert Wilkinson and René Gabriëls 1 Introduction 217 2 Theoretical Background 219 3 Method 221 4 Findings 225 5 Discussion and Conclusion 234 References 240 10 English at the University of Iceland: Students’ Perceptions and Practices 245 Birna Arnbjörnsdóttir 1 Introduction: The New Linguistic