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

Hultgren, Anna Kristina; Nao, Marion; Wingrove, Peter; Yuksel, Dogan and Zuaro, Beatrice (2023). New insights into the trend towards English as a medium of instruction in European higher education through transdisciplinary participation. In: Hynninen, N.; Herneaho, I.; Sippola, E.; Isosävi, J. and Yang, M. eds. Kieli ja osallisuus – Språk och delaktighet – Language and participation. AFinLAn vuosikirja 2023 [AFinLa Yearbook 2023], 80. Jyväskylä: Suomen soveltavan kielitieteen yhdistys AFinLA, pp. 318–331.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.30661/afinlavk.127850

Abstract

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.

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