The Multilingual University:
The impact of linguistic diversity in higher education in English-dominant and English Medium
Instructional contexts ESRC Seminar Series
SEMINAR 2: Widening participation and bi/multilingualism:
the cultural and language resources of linguistic minority university students
The second seminar in The Multilingual University series took place on 6th March 2015 at the UCL,
Institute of Education, London. A summary of the main themes which emerged from this seminar
is presented in this report.
As in the series website (http://multilingualuniversity.wordpress.com), the aim of this seminar
series is “to empower academic and research staff and user groups … to address the impact of
linguistic diversity in HE and inform HE policy so that the bi/multilingual language resources that
are embodied in the staff/ student population can be used for the enrichment of all those in the
sector.”
With a particular focus on widening participation, the second seminar was introduced by Cathie
Wallace, who explained that the day included four presentations (two in the morning and two in
the afternoon). Each of the sessions were followed by group discussions and the event was closed
by a guest discussant.
Morning presentations
1. An identity transformation? The multilingual capital of working class ethnic minority students in
UK higher education - Siân Preece (UCL, IOE, London)
The first speaker, Siân Preece looked at the experiences of students entering HE and how their
language varieties are impacted on as new social networks are formed. She based her discussions
on her research with undergraduate university students of working class background and from
linguistic minority communities in the UK. Siân argued that social class was reflected in the
linguistic negotiations experienced by these students. The students perceived the linguistic and
the cultural resources of the monocultural white middle-class as being posh. At the same time,
their HE institution imposed on them a negative identity. The multilingualism of these students (i.e.
their use of minority languages and of English varieties) was not valued in HE and they were seen
as in need of remedial language support. As a way of changing this negative view of the
multilingual capital of these students, Siân suggested that the following three avenues of
investigation be explored: (a) the Posh-Slang binary in HE, (b) the nature of multilingual staff and
students in HE, and (c) the use of multilingual repertoires as a resource in HE.
2.
The need for greater attention to the notion and practice of working class ethnic minority
students in Catalan higher education - David Block (ICREA, University of Lleida) and Lídia
Gallego (University of Lleida)
In the second session of the day, David Block and Lídia Gallego focused on the increase in the
number of minority ethnic students from working class backgrounds in universities in Spain. They
pointed out, however, that the presence of these students in the HE institutions is not well
documented. This situation has led to their investigation with students in a university in Catalonia.
They drew on data collected via interviews to illustrate how these students talk about their home
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languages, Catalan, Spanish and English. In general terms, the home languages were linked to
family ties but were also valued as useful resources in the learning of Catalan. Catalan, in turn, is
seen as the language of the middle-class and is embraced as the language of their expertise.
English is discussed as being an instrumental language for social and economical opportunities.
Spanish is not mentioned by the participants. In consequence of this initial study, David and Lídia
called for further investigations that explore the actual function of multilingualism as a resource
for university students versus the official use of multilingualism by the HE institutions.
Morning group discussions
Following the two morning presentations, the seminar participants were invited to form small
break-out groups, discuss the themes arising from these first presentations and report their
discussions to the wider group.
There was a general agreement that the visibility of the minority languages in universities is very
limited. This consensus generated a number of questions, such as the following ones:
- What is then a multilingual university?
- What are the possibilities of dissertations/thesis being written in languages other than the
official ones?
- How are international students seen in relation to the English varieties they use?
- What are the ethical issues to be considered by multilingual teachers supporting students of
different linguistic backgrounds?
- How open are universities to staff who are non-native speakers of the official languages?
- How are academics affected by having to deliver their subjects in English in EMI institutions?
Afternoon presentations
3. Movement and Loss: Progression in tertiary education for migrant students - James
Simpson (Leeds University)
The afternoon session was opened by James Simpson’s presentation on the experience of a
Nigerian migrant student in trying to progress from Further Education (FE) into Higher Education
within the British context. The various barriers faced by the student due to his cultural and
linguistic backgrounds were described. One of the issues raised was the fact that the English
variety of British ex-colonies tend to be seen as inappropriate and the students who use them
tend to be categorised as having literacy problems. This issue points to the value of different
language varieties in society. In the case of the student used as an example in this presentation, a
negative view of his language variety meant that in spite of his aspirations to progress within the
British educational system, he was prevented from doing so. James emphasised then that, in order
to consider HE widening participation, it is necessary to first explore what happens in FE. He also
highlighted the following aspects to be further explored: (a) the role of FE tutors as gatekeepers of
the progress of their students, (b) the appropriateness of the literacy tests applied in FE, (c) the
refusal of FE institutions and staff to use linguistic diversity as resources.
4.
Academic literacy and linguistic diversity: An account from the chalk face - Gillian
Lazar (Middlesex University)
Gillian Lazar’s presentation returned to the HE context and reported on an academic literacy
project. This project embedded three writing seminar sessions within a research skills programme
with the aim to support the linguistically diverse students in the programme. Gillian stated that
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academic writing is a hidden genre and that the students’ main problem was in relation to writing
their assignments. Gillian also explained that, differently from primary and secondary schools in
the UK, the home language of the students are not recorded by HE institutions. Nevertheless, she
argued for the importance of tutors’ awareness of their students’ linguistic profile. Therefore, her
discussions focused on the seminar in which the students’ linguistic repertoires and linguistic
identities were explored. This seminar was also an opportunity for Gillian to discuss her linguistic
profile and reduce the power relations between her and her students. Undoubtedly, this seminar
created a safe space for raising awareness of the students’ and the teacher’s linguistic diversity.
However, how tutor’s awareness of their students’ profile can inform their teaching, assessment
and marking needs further and more systematic investigations.
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Afternoon group discussions
As in the morning, the afternoon sessions were followed by group discussions. The main points
raised by these discussions and which require further research were reported to be the following:
- There seems to be a general assumption that international students are better placed to
experience HE positively and successfully than widening participation students.
- Ignoring the different social classes and the different linguistic varieties of students who share
a language may have an impact on intercultural communication.
- More investigation is needed into the benefits of academic literacy modules versus embedded
academic literacy practices.
The high number of multilingual students in HE requires the norms of qualifications to be
renegotiated and different ways of assessing in HE to be considered.
Narrative analysis can make valuable contributions to the understanding of the experiences of
multilingual students and staff in HE institutions.
Discussant
In reaction to the four presentations and the two group discussions which constituted the second
seminar in The Multilingual University series, Adrian Blackledge wrote a poem:
I wish that Adrian’s reading of the poem had been recorded. His body language and intonation to
show how the demeanour of the minority language speaker changed every time they had to
explain their language choices and justify their importance to their identity was telling. As pointed
out by Adrian himself, some students experience discrimination in consequence of their race and
their ethnicity. Both should be dealt with when dealing with language. Additionally, Adrian
presented the question of whether to raise social class issues with the students and how to do it
as relevant considerations to the topic of the seminar.
Adrian concluded his contribution by calling the linguists present to their responsibility to fight
against the hierarchization of languages. After all, “why do we want our students to write in
standard English? It is just a variety!”
In sum, it was a day full of rich discussions which have contributed to the development of an
agenda on issues relating to a variety of multilingual university contexts.
Ana Souza, Visiting Academic, UCL, Institute of Education, London
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