scholarly journals Internationalisation in Higher Education and English as a teaching and learning tool: what are the implications in all Brazilian Education?

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (10) ◽  
pp. e4779108672
Author(s):  
Adriana Claudia Martins

It is evident that there is no language better than other, however English seems to be necessary if people want to dialogue and take part in the global knowledge and civilization. This article has the aim to discuss about having English as a Medium of Instruction (EMI) in Higher Education, when there are implications about learning and teaching English in all Brazilian Education. For this, the methodology of this study is qualitative, considering publications in this thematic and focusing on debate considering two subtitles: Higher Education teaching in English as Medium of Instruction (EMI) - learnings and challenges; and, when the university internationalisation is affected by implications in all Brazilian Education. In this way, the debate has to be set up in all levels of Brazilian education because the English language knowledge taught at Brazilian Basic Education does not fit to the students’ needs when they are going to Brazilian universities to have disciplines mediated through English. It is necessary to study, in future investigations, if people from Brazilian institutions are really assuming the internationalisation and if this situation brings more quality and learning possibilities to all Brazilian education.

Author(s):  
Monica Fedeli ◽  
Anna Serbati ◽  
Edward W. Taylor

This article looks at theories and practices related to faculty development and innovation in teaching and learning methods in Higher Education, in order to respond to the European 2020 Strategy, in which the High level group on the modernisation of higher education has been established, whose aim focuses on improving the quality of teaching and learning in Europe's higher education institutions (2013). The paper is framed within the context of the project PRODID (Preparazione alla professionalitŕ docente e innovazione didattica), funded by the University of Padova, Italy with the major goal of creating a permanent and effective academic center for research on learning and teaching and faculty development. The theoretical framework of PRODID is informed by constructivism and social constructivism, and the student centered approach, encouraging student-teacher partnerships as a dimension for faculty development and teaching and learning innovations. The University of Helsinki and Michigan State University are mentioned as relevant examples of organizational settings integrated in higher education institutions that offer a great variety of practices consistent with the chosen theoretical framework. They also offer the Italian program of University of Padova models for critical reflection in how their teaching strategies can be created and developed on the basis of this international experience. The final discussion aims to highlight the strategies adopted during the first year of the project, characterized by the Italian culture and revealing new insights and ideas to create an Italian model of teaching and learning center.


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-27
Author(s):  
John Trent

Abstract The proliferation of English-medium instruction (EMI) in higher education institutions (HEIs) across non-English-speaking Europe has been recently documented in several large-scale surveys. The opportunities and challenges of designing and implementing EMI policies are also widely recognized. However, our understanding of the use of EMI in Russian HEIs is limited. This study responds to this research need by exploring the experiences and perspectives of instructors teaching business-related subjects using the English language in two different Russian HEIs. A contribution of the study is to investigate these perspectives and experiences using the analytic lens of positioning theory. Results reveal the ways in which instructors are positioned by the university, as well how they position themselves, within an EMI environment. Acknowledging the potential antagonism that might result between different EMI stakeholders because of this positioning and repositioning, suggestions are then made as how this outcome could be avoided. Implications for future research are also considered.


Author(s):  
Majok Mabor Matoc Apadier

In line with South Sudan’s vision of a self- governing community, much hope was invested in the English speaking world thereby making a shift from Arabisation from the North. As a result, the English language was adopted a marker of identity and opposition to Arabic, language of government, education as well as international communication. As part of South Sudan’s look south policy, English was made to be a second language as opposed to a foreign language. In tandem with this country’s vision the University of Juba is not spared from the adoption of English as the language of instruction and a learning subject.  Due to the democratisation of schooling and education for all, enrolment in the learning of English is increasing and resultantly large classes are emerging.  In view of this, the paper therefore examines and provides preliminary results on the nature and feasibility of some teaching and learning of English in large classes at the University of Juba. This was done in light of the principles and concepts of Richards and Rodgers’ (2001) Communicative Language Teaching approach. It emerges from the findings that in the absence of a teaching framework there is no uniformity on the strategies that being adopted by both learners and teachers in the learning and teaching of English as a second language.


2011 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Penny Welch ◽  
Susan Wright

Welcome to Volume 4 of Learning and Teaching: The International Journal of Higher Education in the Social Sciences. LATISS has been gradually widening its focus from its point of origin in the U.K. and this issue is truly international with material from Latin America, U.S.A, Sweden and England. LATISS’s approach – to study and reflect on the detail of teaching and learning practices in contexts of institutional change and national and international policies – is also well exemplified by the articles in this issue. For example, three of the articles explore issues of ‘race’ and ethnicity in connection with programme design, institutional politics and classroom relations respectively and in very different historical and policy contexts. Two articles also connect to topics on which LATISS has recently published special issues: on gender in higher education and on using the university as a site to critically explore the meaning and operation of neoliberalism.


2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 175
Author(s):  
Mzamani Johannes Maluleke ◽  
Ernest Kwesi Klu ◽  
Vincent N. Demana

The study aimed at investigating the extent to which English is used as a medium of teaching and learning Life Sciences in a South African rural high school. As the government has given recognition to the country’s multilingual, multi-ethnic and multicultural composition, School Governing Bodies are mandated to choose any of the eleven official languages as a medium of instruction (RSA, Act 108 of 1996), but the power of deciding which language to use as a medium of instruction has been taken by teachers to shield their own shortcomings. To be able to explore and understand the prevailing situation, the researchers employed a qualitative design which translated into researchers observing classes, evaluating learners’ written texts and interviewing the teachers as methods of collecting data. The findings are that: first, learners’ and teachers’ proficiency levels in English are very low, as such, the English language is not a pivot of learning and teaching in the South African education system. This emanates from the fact that although in theory the majority of the South African schools have adopted English as a medium of instruction, in practice, this is far from the truth as teachers employ code alternation in the form of code switching, code mixing and sentence translation as viable means of scaffolding the learning of content subjects.


Author(s):  
Kemlall Ramdass ◽  
Fulufhelo James Masithulela

<p class="Style2">Re-engineering technological strategies in teaching and learning in an open distance learning (ODL) environment is paramount as the demand for access to quality higher education escalates drastically on a year to year basis. The organisational framework requires change in order to accommodate the increasing number of students. In view of the changing higher education landscape and the increase in the number of students qualifying for higher education acceptance, open distance education has been opened to residential institutions. Despite the fact that demands is greater than supply in the higher education sector, the University of South Africa (Unisa), in reaction to the “competitive threat,” has embarked on the re-evaluation of ODL as a component of its teaching and learning methodology. Unisa focussed on its pedagogical approaches as a primary means of maintaining its competitive edge.  The challenges in the higher education sector are also attributed to the basic education sector that does not prepare students sufficiently for higher education. ODL, if applied appropriately, could be a strategy to address the issues of access, equality, and equity in a democratic South Africa. Pedagogical strategies that are functional and appropriate need to be applied in the higher education sector. Hence the research question is to determine what ODL strategies can be implemented to ensure that students are on par with traditional universities. Therefore, this paper explores the pedagogical strategies that colleges may use with the intent to improve delivery of teaching and learning in an ODL environment.</p>


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sadia Afrin Shorna ◽  
Iffat Jahan Suchona

The aftermath of COVID-19 has affected the lives of Bangladeshi people and impacted dramatically on the educational systems. Due to the pandemic situation, the Bangladeshi tertiary education sector had to switch to an online learning and teaching model from the traditional ones. This paper aims to identify the obstacles encountered by the university teachers in online teaching during the pandemic in Bangladesh. An exploratory qualitative research methodology has been used in this paper. The study was conducted among the teachers working in several universities of Bangladesh. Open-ended questions and semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted among 13 male and 17 female educators to collect data regarding the problems faced by them. The findings revealed four different categories of impediments that the teachers faced during the online mode of teaching and learning. The study results can be helpful to the regulatory authorities and employers of higher education institutions who are planning to adopt online teaching as a regular activity in the future.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 141-159
Author(s):  
Emma Dafouz ◽  
Ute Smit

Connected to the growing internationalisation of higher education in the world, the English language is increasingly being used as medium of teaching and learning, thereby contributing to the roles of English for transnational mobility, career development, access to new information and research, and the facilitation of global communication. While the label English-medium instruction (EMI) has been widely used in the last two decades to capture this phenomenon, we consider it an unfortunate choice in that it falls short in conceptualising the complexity of English in twenty-first-century higher education. First, EMI solely focuses on English, ignoring the increasing multilingual realities of higher education institutions (HEIs) worldwide; secondly, EMI does not explicitly include reference to higher education, even though learning and teaching at the tertiary level is in crucial ways different to lower levels of education. Thirdly, EMI talks about “instruction” and thus views education as a non-relational process where teachers teach and learners learn. From this unilateral perspective, the co-construction of knowledge as a key feature of higher education remains unacknowledged. Against this backdrop, our paper sets out to argue for the conceptual need for an alternative label, known as English-medium education in multilingual university settings (or EMEMUS). This label, we argue, portrays more accurately and specifically the growing multilingual reality of current internationalised HEIs, the complex and highly situated roles that English plays in relation to other national and local languages, and the importance of interpreting education as a social-constructivist process. Moreover, EMEMUS will enable HEIs to re-examine comprehensively the range of activities that respond locally to global phenomena, from policy issues (e.g. regulations, implementation and management) to university practices (e.g. teaching, research, administration and teacher professional development) in an inclusive and multifaceted manner. Ultimately, this comprehensive conceptualisation aims to redefine English and internationalisation in a much more nuanced light.


2017 ◽  
pp. 155-160
Author(s):  
Soniya Rajput

India is a land of various hundred languages; commonly spoken languages are Hindi, English, Punjabi, Gujarati and many more. English officially has a position of assistant language, but the fact is that it is one of the most prominent languages in India. Being one of the imperative languages, the use of English has become a necessity in India. It has been given the main importance as children have been taught English right from kinder garden to middle school and higher education. English represents in Indians minds better culture, better education and superior intellect. The use of English language in India was limited before the incursion of the British. Gradually, people started taking interest in learning and teaching English as a second language because of its use in financial, legal, business, corporate and education in India. Further, the future of learning and teaching English is essential for the reason that it is a world language and universally spoken and written. I believe that English will maintain the lingua franca of the world for next 25-30 years as the numbers of learners are increasing. Thus, the present paper will focus on the journey of teaching and learning English as second language in India emphasizing on its past, present and future.


Author(s):  
Ganesh A. Hegde

The Indian higher education system is witnessing a myriad of changes and challenges through the years, i.e., from ancient Gurukul system to the modern technology based learning system. India is a land of diverse cultures, religions, and communities. It has a unique geography and the absorption of customs, traditions, and ideas. Every region of the country portrays different customs and traditions. ’Unity in Diversity’ has been the distinctive feature of Indian culture. Diversity in India can be seen in terms of religious practices, languages, society, family, customs, festivals, cuisine, clothing, literature, poetry, music and dance, paintings, sculptures, architecture, recreation and traditional sports, and plurality in terms of many religions, beliefs, and institutions. India has 122-languages and 234-mother tongues and numerous festivals come in every month for celebrations. From ancient period to modern times, higher education has always occupied a place of prominence in Indian history. Lord Macaulay, in 1835, advocated the need to train natives of the country thoroughly in good English language. Subsequently, the Universities of Calcutta, Bombay (now Mumbai), and Madras were set up in 1857, followed by the University of Allahabad in 1887 (Kuldeep Kaur, 2003). India has 634 University level institutions and 33,023 colleges (UGC, 2012). Higher Education Institutions demonstrate a high commitment to develop and embed quality through various programmes and activities.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document