For the Dutch-speaking students, i will translate it': code-switching as discretionary transformation of emi language policy
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Date
2025
Authors
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Journal ISSN
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Publisher
Taylor & Francis Group
Abstract
In the study of english-medium instruction in higher education, attention is being drawn to discrepancies between codified language policy and its enactment in classroom practice. this can be situated in a larger trend in language policy studies, in which researchers document and analyze language policy as an interactional concept, revolving around norms which guide language selection and use. in this context, i discuss how lecturers discretionarily transform institutional policy through code-switching in interactions with students, resulting in the production of a micro-level classroom language policy. the dataset consists of 23 classroom recordings which capture the interactions between six engineering lecturers and their students in two english-medium engineering programs at a belgian university. drawing on street-level bureaucracy and frame analysis, i study code-switching in lecturer-student interaction, with a specific focus on the initiation, timing, procedure, and purpose of code-switching, including whether it involves meta-pragmatic commentary and/or enactment routines which seek, grant, or presume permission. findings highlight a functional distribution of code-switching driven by pedagogical and pragmatic considerations. in conclusion, the study brings into focus how an explanation for the unfolding multilingual dynamics of the english-medium classroom necessarily appeals to both activity-specific interactional expectations and (overlaps in) individual speakers’ repertoires.
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Keywords
linguistic, ethnography, tertiary education, interactional, language policy
Citation
De Soete, A., 2025. ‘For the Dutch-speaking students, I will translate it': code-switching as discretionary transformation of EMI language policy. Current Issues in Language Planning, pp.1-24.