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Hultgren, Anna Kristina (2013). Parallelsproglighed på danske universiteter: en status rapport 2013. [Parallellingualism at Danish Universities: a status report 2013]. Studier i Parallelsproglighed C5; University of Copenhagen: Centre for Internationalisation and Parallel Language Use, Copenhagen.
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Abstract
Over the past decade a great deal of attention has been directed at the increase of English language usage in Danish universities. This report seeks to provide an overview of how widespread English language usage actually is in three key areas: publishing, teaching, and, as a proxy, the presence of international faculty and students. Each of these three areas constitutes a separate chapter and each chapter is divided into two parts: one focusing on the national level and the other on differences between disciplines. The report also describes some relevant language policy documents at Nordic, national and institutional level.
As far as English as a publishing language is concerned, 83 per cent of the total production of publications at Denmark’s eight universities is in English while the figure for Danish is 15 per cent. The remaining two per cent are written in other languages. When it comes to doctoral theses, the proportion of English language usage is even higher at 89 per cent (in 2011) while the proportion in Danish amounts to 11 per cent. There is considerable variation between disciplines. In the medical, technical and natural sciences, 89–96 per cent of publications are in English. The figures for the social sciences and humanities are, respectively, 61 and 48 per cent.
In regard to teaching, English-medium programmes constituted 20 per cent in total at all of Denmark’s eight universities in 2011. There are great differences between graduate and postgraduate levels, with, respectively, 6 and 26 per cent of programmes being in English. As with publishing, there are differences between the disciplines, with the natural sciences offering most English-medium programmes.
When it comes to international faculty and students, 16 per cent of students at Denmark’s eight universities come from outside of Denmark. This figure comprises both visiting students (5 per cent) and non-Danish citizens who take the whole of their degree at a Danish university (11 per cent). Universities vary according to how many international students they receive. Copenhagen Business School and Denmark’s Technical University are at the top with, respectively, 25 and 24 per cent, and the University of Århus and Roskilde University are at the bottom with 13 and 9 per cent, respectively. The proportion of international individuals among newly appointed faculty was 18 per cent (2007–2009), and as with publishing and teaching there is variation between the disciplines. The natural and technical sciences have the greatest share of international appointments with 28 and 24 per cent, respectively.