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Language Learning in Higher Education

Journal of the European Confederation of Language Centres in Higher Education (CercleS)

Editor-in-Chief: Szczuka-Dorna, Liliana / O’Rourke, Breffni

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2191-6128
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Code-switching and plurilingualism in English-medium education for academic and professional purposes

Maurizio Gotti
  • Dipartimento di Lingue, Letterature straniere e Comunicazione, Università di Bergamo, Piazza Rosate 2, 24129 Bergamo, Italy
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Published Online: 2015-04-30 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/cercles-2015-0005

Abstract

In the process of internationalization of their teaching programmes many universities all over the world are now offering courses in English. This is a typical English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) situation in which both lecturers and students – although they are not native speakers of English – use this language as a common means of communication and instruction. This article examines communicative interactions taking place in such contexts. The data are taken from “international” courses in specialized disciplines offered by the University of Bergamo. In particular, the article examines the role of code-switching and the use of other languages employed by lecturers to explain the main specialized terms and technical concepts concerning the specific courses they are teaching. The methodology employed for the analysis of the data is mainly qualitative and is based on selected pieces of the lectures recorded. The data presented show that code-switching and the recourse to words belonging to other languages play a relevant role among the main strategies employed by both lecturers and students in the realization of their communicative efforts, and increases the degree of cooperativeness on both sides so as to guarantee a successful outcome of the specialized communication in which they are involved.

Keywords: English as a Lingua Franca (ELF); English-medium instruction/education (EMI); code-switching; multilingualism; specialized communication

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About the article

Maurizio Gotti

Maurizio Gotti is Professor of English Language and Translation, Head of the Department of Foreign Languages, Literatures and Communication, and Director of the Research Centre on Specialized Languages (CERLIS) at the University of Bergamo. His main research areas are English syntax, English lexicology, and the features and origins of specialized discourse, both in a synchronic and a diachronic perspective. He is a member of the editorial board of national and international journals, and edits the Linguistic Insights series for Peter Lang.


Published Online: 2015-04-30

Published in Print: 2015-05-01


Citation Information: Language Learning in Higher Education, Volume 5, Issue 1, Pages 83–103, ISSN (Online) 2191-6128, ISSN (Print) 2191-611X, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/cercles-2015-0005.

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