English at the University of Iceland
-
Birna Arnbjörnsdóttir
Abstract
The Nordic countries have recently experienced increased pressure to adopt English as a language of science, higher education and business, and Iceland is no exception. Although the majority of courses at Icelandic universities are still taught in Icelandic, over 90 percent of all course material is now in English and there is extreme overt pressure on academic staff to publish in English. We report studies that show that at the tertiary level there exists a clear, although largely unacknowledged, discrepancy between the prevailing ideology, policies and language practice. Additionally, schools may not prepare students adequately to meet the demands of tertiary level studies. The findings of our studies support a view that a new linguistic environment has emerged in Iceland which has implications for the National Curriculum in English and for teacher education, if Icelandic youth is to be prepared for the use of English parallel to Icelandic in academia.
Abstract
The Nordic countries have recently experienced increased pressure to adopt English as a language of science, higher education and business, and Iceland is no exception. Although the majority of courses at Icelandic universities are still taught in Icelandic, over 90 percent of all course material is now in English and there is extreme overt pressure on academic staff to publish in English. We report studies that show that at the tertiary level there exists a clear, although largely unacknowledged, discrepancy between the prevailing ideology, policies and language practice. Additionally, schools may not prepare students adequately to meet the demands of tertiary level studies. The findings of our studies support a view that a new linguistic environment has emerged in Iceland which has implications for the National Curriculum in English and for teacher education, if Icelandic youth is to be prepared for the use of English parallel to Icelandic in academia.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- English at Nordic universities 1
- Parallel languages in the history of language ideology in Norway and the lesson for Nordic higher education 27
- Language planning in practice in the Norwegian higher education sector 53
- Language ideology and shifting representations of linguistic threats 83
- Zooming in on language practices in Swedish higher education. A discussion of five studies and their normative versus dynamic approach towards policy and practice 111
- Language ideologies in Finnish higher education in the national and international context 127
- Local majority and minority languages and English in the university 147
- Ideologies in Iceland 165
- English at the University of Iceland 179
- Language Ideologies in Danish Higher Education 193
- Linguistic realities at the University of Copenhagen - Parallel language use in practice as seen from the perspective of international staff 225
- English from above and below, and from outside 251
- Index of topics 265
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- English at Nordic universities 1
- Parallel languages in the history of language ideology in Norway and the lesson for Nordic higher education 27
- Language planning in practice in the Norwegian higher education sector 53
- Language ideology and shifting representations of linguistic threats 83
- Zooming in on language practices in Swedish higher education. A discussion of five studies and their normative versus dynamic approach towards policy and practice 111
- Language ideologies in Finnish higher education in the national and international context 127
- Local majority and minority languages and English in the university 147
- Ideologies in Iceland 165
- English at the University of Iceland 179
- Language Ideologies in Danish Higher Education 193
- Linguistic realities at the University of Copenhagen - Parallel language use in practice as seen from the perspective of international staff 225
- English from above and below, and from outside 251
- Index of topics 265
