Abstract

English medium instruction (EMI) is widespread in European universities. In most such contexts, students and teachers are able to communicate in at least one other language, generally the shared L1. Recent studies in English-speaking countries and postcolonial settings have suggested that attitudes towards L1 use in EMI are changing, and that multilingualism in the classroom is accepted or even positively embraced. However, some studies in expanding circle countries such as Spain and Turkey indicate that this trend is not universal. This paper uses evidence from narrative frames administered to 60 EMI lecturers at 5 universities in northern Spain to investigate their attitudes to L1 use, identify how these intersect with their age, years of experience in EMI, gender and subject area, and shed light on their conceptualisations of EMI and emergent practices. Around half believed that L1 use was not acceptable, while most of the others only allowed the L1 in highly circumscribed conditions (to repair breakdowns in communication, to foster empathy outside the classroom, or to refer to local phenomena). Our evidence reflects the struggle to further the use of English in EMI settings where this language is a relative newcomer.

摘要

英语中等教育（EMI）在欧洲大学中很普遍。在大多数这样的情况下，学生和教师能够至少用一种其他语言进行交流，通常是共享的 L1。最近在英语国家和后殖民环境中的研究表明，对 EMI 中 L1 使用的态度正在发生变化，课堂上的多语制被接受甚至积极接受。但是，西班牙、土耳其等扩大圈子国家的一些研究表明，这种趋势并不普遍。本文使用来自西班牙北部 5 所大学的 60 名 EMI 讲师的叙述框架中的证据来调查他们对 L1 使用的态度，确定这些与他们的年龄、EMI 经验年数、性别和学科领域之间的关系，并阐明他们对 EMI 和紧急实践的概念化。大约一半的人认为使用 L1 是不可接受的，而其他大多数人只允许在高度受限的条件下使用 L1（修复沟通障碍、培养课堂外的同理心或提及当地现象）。我们的证据反映了在这种语言相对较新的 EMI 环境中进一步使用英语的努力。