Abstracts of Papers

Theme 5: Tradition and change

Airey, John (University College Kalmar, Kalmar, Sweden):

Can you Teach it in English? Aspects of the Language Choice Debate in Swedish Higher Education. Short presentation.
Scheduled at: Saturday 25 October, at slot 12.00-12.30.

In Sweden more and more courses on degree programmes are being taught in English. The reasons for using English as the language of instruction are many, but the three most important appear to be:

• Internationalisation.
• Preparing students for an academic world dominated by English.
• Competitive advantages on the job market.

The received wisdom is that in most cases changing the language of instruction to English adds value whilst having few negative side effects. Put simply, the more English the better.
Recently this paradigm has started to be challenged, with warning voices being raised about domain losses to English, possible future diglossia and the quality of content learning when predominantly Swedish students are taught by Swedish lecturers in English. This debate has already led to reductions in the amount of courses offered in English in at least one programme. Worries about deteriorating standards of Swedish have also led to moves to integrate Swedish language training into courses where previously no language training was thought necessary.
Central questions in the Swedish debate are:

• How can university degree programmes be organised so that students learn to discuss their subject in both Swedish and English?
• What are the consequences for learning when content is taught in another language?
  

The paper provides an overview of the debate surrounding the internationalisation of Swedish higher education and summarises the available Swedish research into bilingual education programmes. A description of planned research into the effects of the language of instruction on the learning experiences of university physics students is also given.

Keywords
Teaching in English, bilingual education, language choice, university teaching, diglossia.