Publication details
Stirring University Multilingual Melting Pots: Exploring diverse roles of language centres in internationalisation of universities
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| Year of publication | 2020 |
| Type | Conference abstract |
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| Description | University internationalisation of the last decades has changed the work of language centres considerably. The institutional focus on English as lingua franca on one hand and the interest of international students and staff in other languages and languages of the local cultures around the universities on the other have brought new dynamics to language practices, policies and politics. This presentation challenges the perception of language centres as institutions that provide only language courses, and presents the potential they have for establishment and development of language policies at universities in the broadest sense. Taking the example of the Masaryk University Language Centre in the Czech Republic, we will address ways in which language centres can influence language policy in two different levels. First, the structure and quality management of the language centre that provides a complex range of language services to the university will be presented. Then, a broader institutional perspective and analysis of the complexity of university language policy factors that can enhance (or indeed restrain) internationalisation will be explored from the point of view of the rector´s language policy board. The aim of the presentation is to offer deeper understanding of what roles language centre can play and what challenges need to be addressed in order to position language centres at heart of university internationalisation and language policy making |