Caught in the Tower of Babel: university lecturers' experiences with internationalisation

Abstract

The paper examines the ongoing internationalisation of Danish higher education from the perspective of the academic staff. Drawing on a series of qualitative research interviews, the analysis highlights the implications of internationalisation for individual lecturer's ability to act and interact in the classroom, changing the form of the lecturer's message as well as its content and frame of reference. A major theme emerging from the inquiry is language since most lecturers agree that the linguistic change from Danish into English, which is requested for most international programmes, affects the quality and quantity of classroom communication. A second theme is cultural diversity, which the lecturers characterise as an obstacle as well as a possible resource in the multicultural classroom.

Ud fra et underviserperspektiv belyser artiklen den igangværende internationalisering af de videregående uddannelser i Danmark. På baggrund af tyve kvalitative forskningsinterview påvises det i analysen, hvordan internationaliseringen får konsekvenser for undervisningens form, indhold og referenceramme. Et gennemgående tema er sprog, idet underviserne fremhæver, hvordan et sprogskifte fra dansk til engelsk får betydningen for både mængden og kvaliteten af deres interaktion med de studerende. Analysens andet tema er kulturel mangfoldighed, der af underviserne beskrives som henholdsvis en barriere og en ressource i det multikulturelle læringsrum.

Keywords:

• intercultural communication
• intercultural learning
• linguistic diversity
• multiculturalism