Natural language is known to play a crucial and specific role for children's learning in school mathematics. Not only does it carry special vocabulary, but subtle differences between natural languages may lead to surprising challenges, for instance, for learners who are not taught mathematics in their mother tongue. In this paper, the…

In an era of internationalisation and globalisation, many institutional and national governments' higher education policies have embraced neoliberal agendas that encourage the use of English as a medium of instruction (EMI). Due to the postcolonial struggles of the Global South, it is important to critically examine the entanglement of EMI with…

This study aims to explore to what extent engineering students' perceptions of the role of English in the workplace are affected by their internship and field of study. Previous research revealed that employers value engineers' English communication skills highly. However, mismatches between workplace expectations and engineers' competencies…

Informed by the theoretical concepts of 'practiced' language policy and space, the study investigates the language practices of English-medium Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) programs for international students, focusing on the interactional norms of language choice in a Chinese hospital where international students are…

This study was conducted in Maharashtra, India with children studying in a regional medium (Marathi) government school. In Marathi, the translation of the word 'about' is not very commonly used. The aim of the study was to see how the children used uncertain language about prediction while engaged in a statistical investigation and how children…

In the past 15 years, the number of international students in tertiary education doubled to reach 5.6 million students in 2018 and is expected to grow to 6.9 million in 2030 (Choudaha and Van Rest, 2018). In the Netherlands, the percentage of international degree seeking students is relatively high and growing fast from 4% in 2010 to more than 10%…

This paper explores the "multilingual lived experience" (MLE) of four Mongol-Chinese individuals. This lived experience is set in the multilingual context of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region (IMAR) of China. Compared to the ethnic majority Han people, who are Mandarin (Putonghua) speakers, and who study English as a L2, Inner…

The main focus of the article is on teachers' classroom language practices in eight primary schools in Oshana and Khomas school regions. Language ideologies and translanguaging practices were used as a theoretical framework to evaluate the language ecologies that were created by the language practices in the schools included in the research study.…

This paper reports on a research project which asked scholars to speak about their multilingual and collaborative academic practices. This case study sheds light on the complex and multilayered linguistic choices made by multilingual scholars to comply with the diverse requirements of a multilingual academic life, namely the adoption of EMI…

The establishment of an English Medium Instruction (EMI) program in any educational level including the university context becomes a controversial issue regarding whether the program should be kept running or not. The present study was conducted to investigate students' voices of EMI based on their different exposure period to English. To obtain…

In line with China's vision for international education, English medium instruction (EMI) is booming in Chinese higher education, which positions Chinese students in circumstances where they need to negotiate among different commitments, roles, identities, and desires involving individual, national and international agendas. This paper draws on…

This paper explores the complexities of language and identity in contemporary South Africa. The on-going English-Afrikaans debate points to broader issues of power and identity. Several scholars have convincingly shown Afrikaans as inextricably linked to Afrikaner nationalism. During apartheid, Afrikaans was contentious as the language of the…

This paper discusses how the political interplay between English-in-society and English-in-education policy in the Global South(s) facilitates what I term 'English as a subtle technology of policy distraction' in postcolonial spheres that were colonised by languages other than English. 'English as a subtle technology of policy distraction' is…

Language is an important element in the struggle for social change and decolonization within South African tertiary education. We explored the relationship between indigenous languages and cocurricular involvement to sense of belonging. Data were collected via a survey of 4210 students that included demographics, cocurricular involvement, and…

Linguistic diversity emerging from international student mobility, in non-anglophone universities, is typically eclipsed by the existing tensions between the national language(s) and English as 'Lingua franca'. Through a series of semi-structured interviews with university lecturers, this study highlights the tensions surrounding national…