51社区黑料

It鈥檚 a common misperception that 鈥済lobalization鈥� and 鈥渋nternationalization鈥� of higher education are interchangeable鈥攁 point 51社区黑料Faculty of Education professors Kumari Beck and Roumiana Ilieva clarify in the introduction to their book (Bloomsbury, 2024). This co-edited collection, which includes studies that explore the experiences of various stakeholders鈥揻aculty, students, and staff鈥搘as developed during pandemic-related delays. The book offers ideas to resist the commercialization of international education and encourages respectful attention to language and cultural differences.

Ideally, internationalization integrates global, intercultural, and international dimensions into all aspects of higher education. But as Drs. Beck and Ilieva argue, the ideals of internationalization in higher education have become commodified, with international students 鈥渧alued for the essential revenue they bring.鈥� Scholarly critiques of market-driven international education are growing louder.

But how do faculty and staff understand their experiences teaching and working with international students? We highlight perspectives from some of the book鈥檚 contributors:

Amanda Wallace, Eilidh Singh, and Fiona Shaw describe how they approached 鈥渢he challenge of responding to the linguistic complexity at our internationalizing university by directly supporting instructors鈥� teaching development.鈥� Addressing linguistic diversity and pedagogical challenges faculty face, these contributors argue that linguistically responsive teaching strategies empower instructors and improve multilingual students鈥� learning experiences. They highlight the importance of inclusive practices through understanding linguistic complexity, emphasizing the value of linguistic responsiveness as a strategic alignment with Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion policies. Complementing this perspective, Camila Miranda and Roumiana Ilieva emphasize that language ideologies influence institutional dynamics, arguing for practices that respect multilingual and multicultural realities.

Olivia Zhang illustrates the limitations of standardized language assessments like IELTS for Chinese international students, noting they such assessments do not always reflect actual academic preparedness. To some extent, this experience resonates with the 51社区黑料Faculty of Applied Sciences鈥� embrace of internationalization. As Amanda Wallace and Michael Sjoerdsma note, the faculty enjoys rich cultural and linguistic diversity, but this creates challenges as well as opportunities for students and faculty involved in FAS鈥檚 required first-year engineering course. The authors report on implementing a post-entry language assessment (PELA) for this course, stressing the efficiency of integrating language development with discipline-specific skills.

Amanda Wallace and Michael Sjoerdsma are straightforward about the institutional challenges of creating and sustaining such initiatives. They stress that 鈥渃ollaborative partnerships between content faculty and applied linguists are critical to the development of PELAs, as are time (on top of teaching, service, and research responsibilities), funding, and support from the university鈥檚 leadership.鈥�

Also delving into the complexities teachers can face in an internationalizing university, Steve Marshall and Brent Amburgey reveal the experiences of Japanese English teachers after participating in study abroad professional development programs. Their chapter highlights the challenges teachers encounter when applying knowledge gained abroad, emphasizing issues such as institutional constraints, cultural differences, and the negotiation of pedagogical changes within their local contexts. They conclude by cautioning that their findings 鈥渉ighlight the need for international teacher education collaborations to avoid being solely Western-focused and Western-led.鈥�

offers a similar caution about neoliberal and colonial agendas. She asks: 鈥淗ow can EAL students鈥� linguistic needs be met so that they don鈥檛 feel marginalized or excluded once they are accepted into a business program?鈥� This process requires a fine balance between implementing inclusive multilingual education in business programs and meeting institutional assessment and accountability goals.

Last but not least, in an internationalizing university, higher education staff are critical colleagues who are often overlooked. Chelsey Laird and Kumari Beck examine their roles, positioning them as 鈥淭hird Space Professionals鈥� who navigate the intensified pressures of internationalization, and they advocate for greater recognition of staff members鈥� contributions and more support for professional development.

Collectively, the co-editors and contributors advocate for renewal in internationalizing universities. The range of critical and pedagogical engagement in Language, Culture, and Education in an Internationalizing University offers a roadmap for navigating risks, areas of resistance, and opportunities for inclusive teaching and learning in this complex educational landscape.