The role of ELF in intercultural teamwork on English-medium business master’s programmes at WU Vienna Miya Komori-Glatz Responses to the lingua franca role of English
23-24 November 2013, Thessaloniki
Positioning a conceptual framework
BELF
Language in MNCs
International
Management
ICLHE
EMI
ELFA Hynninen 2012, 2013 Bjorkman 2011, 2013
Mautner 2007
Mauranen et al. 2010
ELF Jenkins 2007 Seidlhofer 2011
Wilkinson 2004 Wilkinson & Zegers 2007, 2008
Cogo 2012
Louhiala-Salminen et al. 2005
Marschan-Piekkari et al. 1999 Feely & Harzing 2002
Butler & Zander 2008 Lauring 2011
Kedia & Englis 2011
Smit 2010 Jenkins 2013
EMEMUS (ROAD MAPPING) Smit & Dafouz 2013a, 2013b Dafouz & Smit 2014, forthcoming
English Medium Education in Multilingual University Settings
Data site
WU Vienna University of Economics and Business (Vienna, Austria)
3 groups
1 x CEMS/Master in Management (Supply Chain Management Block Seminar)
2 Austrians, 1 Belgian, 1 Dutch, 1 Finnish
2 x Marketing Master (Global Marketing Strategy seminar)
2 Austrians, 1 Chinese, 1 Romanian
2 Austrians, 1 Brazilian, 1 Russian
Observation (video and audio), Facebook scripts, interviews, written work (presentation visuals, case study reports)
ROAD-MAPPING
ROles of English Specific codes for specific purposes Work/topic-based: General English (ELF?) Social/humour: FB; more informal/chat/ emoticons/code-mixing
Academic Disciplines Specific competences Subject literacy: Terminology & usage Genre literacy: presentations
Mktg B
Mktg A
ROAD-MAPPING
(language) Management - implicit language policy
we’re all german speakers but we sometimes speak write in german and sometimes in english which doesn’t make sense but we're kind of . since we’re doing <class name> together so we kind of chose to speak . write in english to each other
Agents
Linguacultural profile of interactants
i’ve studied abroad and lived and worked abroad but the cems programme is a whole different thing somehow because you get all these different people
Roles of individuals and stakeholders
so like sxx was structuring it on the other hand side um I think nxx was sometimes on a very subtle in a very subtle way leading the group and lxx in terms of content i think [the leadership] was changing around a bit (CEMS)
ROAD-MAPPING
Practices & Processes developing a shared, multi-codal repertoire • Specialist language • “Standard” English/ELF • “chat” • code-mixing
Practices & Processes developing a shared, multi-codal repertoire • specialist language • general English • “chat” • code-mixing
Mktg B
ROAD-MAPPING
INternationalised perspective (CEMS)
Contextualisation of own knowledge; awareness of other cultures
mxx: in Austria they always told us that actually we should not use the corporate design of the company that we are analysing because that by doing that you would lose like the academic distance it was seen as if it’s like the company which has to present itself and it’s not like something external . i don’t know how you perceive that
lxx: they actually never mentioned that
mxx: yup xxx culture differences of how you do presentations
Glocalisation (Mktg B)
Creating intercultural, ultralocal communities
all: wooooo
exx: awesome
rxx: not too bad
mxx: we are the best right now
rxx: we are always the best <all high-five>
rxx: ohh i love you guys
Conclusion
International(ised) students bring a wide variety of linguistic repertoires to university context
Task-oriented group work pushes students to draw on these repertoires, and develop a shared repertoire, to complete objectives
Shared repertoires may include other languages as well as different codes in English, including specialist language and informal registers
Discourse-based conceptual framework, e.g. EMEMUS/ROAD-MAPPING, useful for analysing role of language (esp. ELF) in student interaction on English-medium master’s level programmes
Appendix: Summary & references
ROAD MAPPING some initial ideas
ROles of English
ELF(A) setting: English as established academic language and joint language of communication
General English as working language
Other languages/codes for humour and/or “social” contexts
See also: Komori-Glatz (in print)
Academic Disciplines
Use of subject-specific language
References to task/genre
(language) Management
Implicit “policy” to use mutually understood languages only
ROAD MAPPING some initial ideas (cont.)
Agents
Shared leadership
Linguacultural background & repertoire
Deference to content and linguistic expertise?
Practices and Processes
Specialist language
General English
“Chat” (contractions, emoticons, informal registers)
Code-mixing (or code-switching)
INternationalisation and Glocalisation
International orientation
Creation of mini-community
References
Björkman, B. 2011. “Pragmatic strategies in English as an academic lingua franca: Ways of achieving communicative effectiveness?” Journal of Pragmatics 43, 950–964.
Björkman, B. 2013. English as an academic lingua franca: an investigation of form and communicative effectiveness. Berlin: de Gruyter Mouton.
Butler, C. & Zander, L. 2008. “The Business of Teaching and Learning through Multicultural Teams”. Journal of Teaching in International Business 19(2), 192–218.
Cogo, A. 2012. “ELF and super-diversity: a case study of ELF multilingual practices from a business context”. Journal of English as a Lingua Franca 1(2), 287 – 313.
Dafouz, E. & Smit, U. 2014. “A sociolinguistic examination of the multifaceted Roles of English in English‐medium instruction in multilingual university settings: A European perspective.” Conference paper, AESLA XXXII International Congress. Seville, 3 April 2014.
Dafouz, E. & Smit, U. Forthcoming. “Towards a dynamic conceptual framework for English medium education in multilingual university settings.” Applied Linguistics.
References (2)
DiStefano, J.J. & Maznevski, M.L. 2000. “Creating Value with Diverse Teams in Global Management”. Organizational Dynamics, 29 (1), 45–63.
Feely, A.J. & Harzing, A.-W. 2002. “Forgotten and neglected. Language: the orphan of international business research”. Denver, 62nd Annual meeting of the Academy of Management. URL: http://www.harzing.com/download/orphan.pdf. (17 Nov 2013)
Hynninen, N. 2012. “ICL at the micro-level: L2 speakers taking on the role of language experts”. In Smit U. & Dafouz, E. (eds.). Integrating Content and Language in Higher Education, AILA Review 25, 13-29.
Hynninen, N. 2013. Language Regulation in English as a Lingua Franca. Exploring Language-Regulatory Practices in Academic Spoken Discourse. PhD thesis. University of Helsinki. URL: http://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-952-10-8639-7 (17 Nov 2013)
Jenkins, J. 2007. English as a lingua franca: Attitude and identity, Oxford University Press, Oxford.
Jenkins, J. 2013. English as a Lingua Franca in the International University: The politics of academic English language policy. Abingdon: Routledge.
Kedia, B.L. & Englis, P.D. 2011. “Transforming business education to produce global managers”. Business Horizons 54(4), 325–331.
References (3)
Komori-Glatz, M. In print. “Exploring the Roles Of English: English as a lingua franca in master’s programmes at WU Vienna University of Economics and Business”. AESLA 2014 Conference proceedings.
Lauring, J. & Selmer, J. 2011. “Multicultural organizations: common language, knowledge sharing and performance”. Personnel Review, 40 (3), 324-343.
Louhiala-Salminen, L., Charles, M. & Kankaanranta, A. 2005. “English as a lingua franca in Nordic corporate mergers: Two case companies”. English for Specific Purposes 24(4), 401–421.
Marschan-Piekkari, R., Welch, D. & Welch, L. 1999. “In the shadow: the impact of language on structure, power and communication in the multinational”. International Business Review 8, 421–440.
Mauranen, A., Hynninen, N. & Ranta, E. 2010. “English as an academic lingua franca: The ELFA project”. English for Specific Purposes 29(3), 183–19.
Mautner, G. 2007. “Linguistics and management: an unconsummated relationship”. In U. Doleschal, T. Reuther, & E. Hofmann (eds.), Sprache und Diskurs in Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft. Interkulturelle Perspektiven, 171–182. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang.
Seidlhofer, B. 2011. Understanding English as a lingua franca. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
References (4)
Smit, U. 2010. English as a lingua franca in higher education: A longitudinal study of classroom discourse. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton.
Smit, U. & Dafouz, E. 2013a. “On the interplay of language management, stakeholder beliefs and contextualised practices: Towards a dynamic conceptual framework for ICLHE”. Paper presented at ICLHE 2013, Maastricht, 11-13 April 2013.
Smit, U. & Dafouz, E. 2013b. “Towards a dynamic conceptual framework for English medium education in multilingual university settings”. Paper presented at ConCLIL, Language and content integration: Towards a conceptual framework, Academy of Finland 2011-2014, Language Campus Seminar, 22 May 2013.
Wilkinson, R. (ed.). 2004. Integrating Content and Language. Meeting the challenge of a multilingual higher education. Maastricht: Universitaire Pers.
Wilkinson, R.; Zegers, V. (eds.). 2007. Researching Content and Language Integration in Higher Education. Nijmegen: Uitgeverij Valkhof Pers.
Wilkinson, R.; Zegers, V. (eds.). 2008. Realizing Content and Language Integration in Higher Education. Maastricht: Maastricht University Language Centre.
