Professor Ute Smit from the University of Vienna visited the University of Southampton through the Institute for Language and Culture from 19 – 25 February 2014. While she was here Professor Smit gave a seminar in the CLLEAR and CGE seminar series entitled English-medium education in multilingual university settings: A sociolinguistic examination of interactive explaining in the classroom.  

She also met with interested colleagues and PhD students and gave a talk for PhD students on Methodological issues in longitudinal ELF research: Focus on educational settings.

English-medium education in multilingual university settings: A sociolinguistic examination of interactive explaining in the classroom

Abstract: At a time of growing internationalization in tertiary education, English-medium education in multilingual university settings (or EMEMUS) has become a common practice, reflected in ample research providing descriptions of local realisations (Doiz, Lasagabaster and Sierra 2013, Jenkins 2013, Smit and Dafouz 2012). In order to expand the focus towards a theoretical understanding, this paper will first present a conceptual framework intended for dynamic analyses of EMEMUS (Dafouz and Smit forthc.). Drawing on recent sociolinguistic orientations and discursive approaches (e.g. Blommaert 2010, Hult 2010, Scollon and Scollon 2004, Shohamy 2006), the framework regards EMEMUS as a social phenomenon and views discourse as access point to six relevant dimensions, which are regarded as inherently complex, contextually bound and intersecting dynamically with one another. The analytical strength of the framework will then be argued for in relation to a specific case of EMEMUS and its English as a lingua franca classroom practices, in particular interactive explaining (Smit 2010). By combining macro, meso and micro levels of policy and practices as embodied in interviews, questionnaires and classroom talk, the dynamic developments in explanatory practices will be analysed in their interlacing with other sociolinguistic and educational dimensions, such as the localised realisation of internationalisation, language managerial decisions, the affordances of the academic discipline and the social agents involved.

Please follow the link to Professor Smit’s lecture slides:

Smit_ILClecture_19_02_14_slides

Click here to watch a video recording of the lecture.