Investigating multilingual international students’ linguistic experiences at Macquarie University
Associate Lecturer Agi Bodis alongside a research team of seven undergraduate students from the Department of Linguistics is seeking to better understand the linguistic experiences of international students enrolled in Macquarie University courses.
The project is motivated by existing findings that describe linguistic invisibility in educational contexts with a ‘monolingual mindset’, an attitudinal climate that is in contrast with universities’ goal to achieve inclusivity in internationalized education. With international students featuring prominently in Macquarie University enrolments and plans underway to commence a phased return of international students to universities in New South Wales, the educational and social experiences of this student cohort is important to explore. The project focuses specifically on experiences related to students’ English language proficiency and language use as well as the use of their first and other languages.
The scope of this study is broadened through its connection with two similar studies at Brandeis University in the US, and the University of Birmingham in the UK. Leigh Swigart, the coordinator of the joint project and Director of the Ethics Center’s Program in International Justice and Society at Brandeis University, notes that “to best support these members of our community academically and socially, it is important that we understand the challenges that international students face and how the pandemic, in particular, affects how they choose to communicate in public.”
The three research teams all work with university student researchers to shed more light on the student perspective in the research process and build research capacity. “This is a unique opportunity for our student researchers to work on a truly interdisciplinary and international project,” says University of Birmingham team leader Prof. Karen McAuliffe. “Our joint project will shine a light on the experiences of international students across three continents.”
The joint research project continues well into 2022 and the researchers hope that the findings will help educational institutions to best accommodate and support this student group.