Jump to ContentJump to Main Navigation
Show Summary Details
More options …

 

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

Online
ISSN
2191-6128
See all formats and pricing
Online
Institutional Subscription
€ [D] 233.00 / US$ 350.00 / GBP 191.00*
Individual Subscription
€ [D] 49.00 / US$ 74.00 / GBP 40.00*
Print
Institutional Subscription
€ [D] 233.00 / US$ 350.00 / GBP 191.00*
Individual Subscription
€ [D] 233.00 / US$ 350.00 / GBP 191.00*
Print + Online
Institutional Subscription
€ [D] 277.00 / US$ 420.00 / GBP 227.00*
Individual Subscription
€ [D] 277.00 / US$ 420.00 / GBP 227.00*
*Prices in US$ apply to orders placed in the Americas only. Prices in GBP apply to orders placed in Great Britain only. Prices in € represent the retail prices valid in Germany (unless otherwise indicated). Prices are subject to change without notice. Prices do not include postage and handling if applicable. RRP: Recommended Retail Price.
More options …

Making languages marketable: An analysis of a promotional brochure for prospective students in an Australian tertiary institution

Riccardo Amorati
Published Online: 2018-09-20 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/cercles-2018-0018

30,00 € / $42.00 / £23.00

Get Access to Full Text

Abstract

Given the implicit disincentive that the native knowledge of a global language poses to the learning of other languages, improvement in student recruitment in language studies is a key priority for educational institutions in English-speaking countries. This paper explores how a major Australian tertiary institution markets five European languages, by focusing on which characteristics of L2 learning are incorporated in the persuasive discourse of a university brochure and on how these are reflective, more or less deliberately, both of L2 motivation theories and of marketing strategies in higher education. It shows that the brochure creates future L2 visions for prospective students through the description of the cultural and instrumental benefits associated with L2 proficiency, and details how to turn this L2 vision into action, by providing a glimpse into L2 learning experiences and by presenting the University as a reputable and trustworthy institution. The study offers a multifaceted theoretical framework which can be utilised in future investigations on a bigger sample of universities and suggests that re-thinking marketing material for language learning in terms of the creation and operationalisation of future L2 Selves could be a fruitful avenue of research with significant implications for student recruitment.

Keywords: advertising modern language courses; marketing of languages; L2 vision; language learning in Australia; student recruitment

Brochure analysed: Bachelor of Arts, academic year 2017. Please contact the author to see a copy of the brochure, which is no longer online.

References

  • ABS. 2017. Media release: Census reveals a fast changing, culturally diverse nation. Online database. Canberra: Australian Bureau of Statistics. http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/lookup/Media%20Release3 (accessed 10 March 2017).

  • Anctil, Eric J. 2008. Selling higher education: Marketing and advertising America’s colleges and universities (special issue). ASHE Higher Education Report 34(2). 1–152.Google Scholar

  • Armstrong, Jamie J & Barry D Lumsden. 1999. Impact on universities’ promotional materials on college choice. Journal of Marketing for Higher Education 9(2). 83–91.Google Scholar

  • Baldauf, Richard B & Peter White. 2010. Participation and collaboration in tertiary languages education. In Anthony Liddicoat & Angela Scarino (eds.), Languages in Australian education: Problems, prospects and future directions, 41–69. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.Google Scholar

  • Bradshaw, Julie, Ana Deumert & Kate Burridge. 2008. Victoria’s languages: Gateway to the world. Melbourne: VITS Language Link.Google Scholar

  • Brown, Joshua & Marinella Caruso. 2016. Access granted: Modern languages and issues of accessibility at university – A case study from Australia. Language Learning in Higher Education 6(2). 453–471.Google Scholar

  • Cabrera, Alberto F & Steven M. La Nasa. 2000. Understanding the college-choice process. New directions for institutional research 107, 5–22. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.Google Scholar

  • Charmaz, Kathy. 2006. Constructing grounded theory: A practical guide through qualitative analysis. London: Sage.Google Scholar

  • Clyne, Michael. 2004. Trapped in a monolingual mindset. Prime Focus 37. 40–42.Google Scholar

  • Clyne, Michael. 2008. The monolingual mindset as an impediment to the development of plurilingual potential. Sociolinguistic Studies 2(3). 347–366.Google Scholar

  • Coetzee-Van Rooy, Susan. 2006. Integrativeness: Untenable for world Englishes learners?. World Englishes 25(3–4). 437–450.CrossrefGoogle Scholar

  • Commonwealth of Australia. 2012. Australia in the Asian century white paper. Canberra. http://www.defence.gov.au/whitepaper/2013/docs/australia_in_the_asian_century_white_paper.pdf (accessed 5 January 2018).

  • Conklin, Mary E & Anne Ricks Dailey. 1981. Does consistency of parental encouragement matter for secondary students?. Sociology of Education 54. 254–262.CrossrefGoogle Scholar

  • Crystal, David. 2003 [1997]. English as a global language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar

  • Demont-Heinrich, Christof. 2010. Linguistically privileged and cursed? American university students and the global hegemony of English. World Englishes 29(2). 281–298.CrossrefGoogle Scholar

  • Dörnyei, Zoltán. 2005. The psychology of the language learner: Individual differences in second language acquisition. Mahwah: Erlbaum.Google Scholar

  • Dörnyei, Zoltán. 2007. Research methods in applied linguistics. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar

  • Dörnyei, Zoltán. 2009. The L2 motivational self system. In Zoltán Dörnyei & Ema Ushioda (eds.), Motivation, language identity and the L2 self, 9–42. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.Google Scholar

  • Dörnyei, Zoltán. 2014. Future self-guides and vision. In Kata Csizér & Michael Magid (eds.), The impact of self-concept on language learning, 7–18. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.Google Scholar

  • Dörnyei, Zoltán. 2016. Motivating learners and teachers through vision. Paper presented at Better Learning Conference, Cambridge University Press. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMTLYjLksvg (accessed 8 July 2018).

  • Dörnyei, Zoltán & Ema Ushioda. 2011. Teaching and researching motivation. Harlow: Longman/Pearson.Google Scholar

  • Furbeck, Lee F. 2003. A, B, CD, DVD: Marketing higher education to the millennial generation. Journal of Marketing for Higher Education 13(1–2). 17–31.Google Scholar

  • Gardner, Robert C. 1985. Social psychology and second language learning: The role of attitudes and motivation. London: Edward Arnold.Google Scholar

  • Gardner, Robert. C. 2001. Integrative motivation and second language acquisition. In Zoltán Dörnyei & Richard W Schmidt (eds.), Motivation and second language acquisition, 1–19. Honolulu: University of Hawaii.Google Scholar

  • Gardner, Robert. C & Wallace E. Lambert. 1972. Attitudes and motivation in second language learning. Rowley MA: Newbury House Publishers.Google Scholar

  • Group of Eight. 2007. Languages in crisis: A rescue plan for Australia. http://www.lcnau.org/resources/key-reports/ (accessed 1 January 2017).

  • Hadfield, Jill & Zoltán Dörnyei. 2013. Motivating learners. Harlow: Pearson.Google Scholar

  • Hajek, John. 2014. Languages snapshot. In Graeme Turner & Kylie Brass (eds.), Mapping the humanities, arts and social sciences in Australia, 22. Canberra: Australian Academy of the Humanities.Google Scholar

  • Hajek, John, Colin Nettelbeck & Anja Woods. 2013. Leadership for future generations. A national network for university languages. Sydney: Office for Learning and Teaching, Department of Industry, Innovation, Science, Research and Tertiary Education.Google Scholar

  • Hajek, John & Yvette Slaughter. 2014. Mainstreaming of Italian in Australian schools: The paradox of success?. In John Hajek & Yvette Slaughter (eds.), Challenging the monolingual mindset, 182–198. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.Google Scholar

  • Hossler, Don, Jack Schmit & Nick Vesper. 1999. Going to college: How social, economic, and educational factors influence the decisions students make. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.Google Scholar

  • Kramsch, Claire. 2014. Teaching foreign languages in an era of globalization: Introduction. The Modern Language Journal 98(1). 296–311.CrossrefGoogle Scholar

  • Levine, Glenn S. 2011. Stability, crisis, and other reasons for optimism: University foreign language education in the United States. Arts and Humanities in Higher Education 10(2). 131–140.CrossrefGoogle Scholar

  • Lo Bianco, Joseph & Yvette Slaughter. 2009. Second languages and Australian schooling. ACER (Australian Council for Educational Research Press). http://research.acer.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1007&context=aer (accessed 5 April 2017).

  • MacIntyre, Peter D., Kimberly A Noels & Brenda Moore. 2010. Perspectives on motivation in second language acquisition: Lessons from the Ryoanji Garden. In Matthew T Prior, Yukiko Watanabe 6 & Sang-Ki Lee (eds.), Selected proceedings of the 2008 second language research forum, 1–9. Sommerville, MA: Cascadilla Press.Google Scholar

  • Martín, Mario Daniel. 2005. Permanent crisis, tenuous persistence: Foreign languages in Australian universities. Arts and Humanities in Higher Education 4(1). 53–75.CrossrefGoogle Scholar

  • Martín, Mario Daniel, Louise Jansen & Elizabeth Beckmann. 2016. The Doubter’s Dilemma: Exploring students’ attrition and retention in university’s language and culture programs. https://press.anu.edu.au/publications/doubters-dilemma (accessed 5 May 2017).

  • Mason, Shannon & John Hajek. 2017. An analysis of press reporting on language education in our universities (2007–2016). Findings presented at LCNAU Conference in Adelaide. November 2017.Google Scholar

  • McClelland, Neil. 2000. Goal orientations in Japanese college students learning EFL. In Steve Cornwell & Peter Robinson (eds.), Individual differences in foreign language learning: Effects of aptitude, intelligence, and motivation, 99–115. Tokyo: Aoyama Gakuin University.Google Scholar

  • Nettelbeck, Colin, John Byron, Michael Clyne, John Hajek, Joseph Lo Bianco & Anne McLaren. 2007. Beginners’ LOTE (Languages other than English) in Australian Universities: An audit survey and analysis. Canberra: Australian Academy of the Humanities.Google Scholar

  • Nettelbeck, Colin, John Hajek & Anya Woods. 2012. Leadership and development versus casualization of language professionals in Australian universities: Mapping the present for our future. In John Hajek, Colin Nettelbeck & Anya Woods (eds.), The next step: Introducing the languages and cultures network for Australian universities, 35–46. Sydney: Office for Learning and Teaching, Department of Industry, Innovation, Science, Research and Tertiary Education.Google Scholar

  • Nguyen, Ba Chinh. 2009. The Discursive and Electronic Construction of Australian Universities and International Students’ Perceptions of University Websites. Melbourne: University of Melbourne unpublished PhD Thesis.Google Scholar

  • Norton Pierce, Bonny. 1995. Social identity, investment and language learning. TESOL Quarterly 29. 9–31.CrossrefGoogle Scholar

  • Oakes, Leigh. 2013. Foreign language learning in a ‘monoglot culture’: Motivational variables amongst students of French and Spanish at an English university. System 41(1). 178–191.CrossrefGoogle Scholar

  • Pauwels, Anne. 2014a. Rethinking the learning of languages in the context of globalization and hyperlingualism. In Dagmar Abendroth-Timmer & Eva-Maria Henning (eds.), Plurilingualism and multiliteracies: International research on identity construction in language education, 41–56. Frankfurt: Peter Lang.Google Scholar

  • Pauwels, Anne. 2014b. The teaching of languages at university in the context of super diversity. International Journal of Multilingualism 11. 307–319.CrossrefGoogle Scholar

  • Pendergrast, Mark. 2000. For God, country, and Coca-Cola: The definitive history of the great American soft drink and the company that makes it. New York: Basic Books.Google Scholar

  • Ramasubramanian, Sryvidia., James F Gyure & Nasreen M Mursi. 2002. Impact of internet images: Impression-formation effects of university web site images. Journal of Marketing for Higher Education 12(2). 59–68.Google Scholar

  • Schmidt, Gabriele. 2011. Motives for studying German in Australia. Frankfurt: Peter Lang.Google Scholar

  • Schmidt, Gabriele. 2014. There’s more to it. A qualitative study into the motivations of university students to learn German. German as a Foreign Language 1(1). 21–44.Google Scholar

  • Schüpbach, Doris & John Hajek. 2011. The network at work: The web presence of Italian as a case study for language program visibility in Australian universities. The Next Step: Introducing the Languages and Cultures Network for Australian Universities. Selected Proceedings of the Inaugural LCNAU Colloquium. 93–103.Google Scholar

  • Stage, Frances K & Don Hossler. 1989. Differences in family influences on college attendance plans for male and female ninth graders. Research in Higher Education 30(3). 301–315.CrossrefGoogle Scholar

  • State of Victoria (Department of Education and Training) 2017 Languages Provision in Victorian Government Schools, 2017. https://www.education.vic.gov.au/Documents/school/teachers/teachingresources/discipline/languages/EduState_Languages_Provision_Report_2017.pdf (accessed: 24 August 2018).

  • Tarone, Elaine, Susan Gass & Andrew Cohen. 2013. Research methodology in second-language acquisition. Hoboken: Taylor and Francis.Google Scholar

  • Times Higher Education. 2018. https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/2018/worldranking#!/page/0/length/25/locations/AU/sort_by/rank/sort_order/asc/cols/stats. (accessed 10 January 2018).

  • Toma, J. Douglas, Greg Dubrow & Matthew Hartley. 2005. The uses of institutional culture: Strengthening identification and building brand equity in higher education. ASHE Higher Education Report 31(2). 1–105. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.Google Scholar

  • Winston, Gordon. C. 1999. Subsidies, hierarchy, and peers: The awkward economics of higher education. Journal of Economic Perspectives 13(1). 13–36.CrossrefGoogle Scholar

  • Yashima, Tomoko. 2002. Willingness to communicate in a second language: The Japanese EFL context. The Modern Language Journal 86. 54–66.CrossrefGoogle Scholar

  • Yashima, Tomoko. 2009. International posture and the ideal L2 self in the Japanese EFL context. In Zoltán Dörnyei & Ema Ushioda (eds.), Motivation, language identity and the L2 self, 144–163. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.Google Scholar

About the article

Riccardo Amorati

Riccardo Amorati is a PhD Candidate and a Teaching Associate at the School of Languages and Linguistics of the University of Melbourne (Australia). He holds a BA, a MA and a Diploma in Secondary Teaching from the University of Bologna (Italy). His research interests lie in two main areas: (1) the emergence and development of L2 motivations; (2) language anxiety and the strategies for reducing its impact in the L2 classroom.

Published Online: 2018-09-20

Published in Print: 2018-09-25

Citation Information: Language Learning in Higher Education, Volume 8, Issue 2, Pages 313–331, ISSN (Online) 2191-6128, ISSN (Print) 2191-611X, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/cercles-2018-0018.

Export Citation

© 2018 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston.Get Permission

Comments (0)

Please log in or register to comment.
Log in