Multilingual policies and students’ experiences : a case study of a university in Hong Kong /

Open in iSearch

Student Theses

2024

Belova, Xeniya

Hong Kong : The Education University of Hong Kong

Thesis

University campuses in Hong Kong have embraced diversity and multilingualism in the wake of the internationalization of higher education and ensuing enrollment of students from various ethnolinguistic backgrounds. While the universities’ policies are being revisited to support multilingualism and diversity, it remains unclear how their students and staff perceive and experience a multilingual/intercultural academic and social life. Building on the notions of capital, investment, ideology, and translanguaging, this study explored students’ perspectives on their multilingualism experiences against the backdrop of institutional policies in a university in Hong Kong. This research aimed at analyzing the linguistic experiences of various ethnolinguistic groups (local Chinese, mainland Chinese, ethnic minority, and international) of students and elucidating how their investments in multilingual practices were mediated by the forms of capital (economic, social, and cultural) being acquired and envisaged and the university’s policies and ideologies. The study followed a qualitative case study approach, where one teacher education university in Hong Kong was selected as the research site. To contextualize the study and unveil how multilingualism was addressed by the university’s policies and perceived by its staff, analyses of 21 documents and semi-structured interviews with 6 staff members were conducted. To understand the students’ perspectives on their experiences with multilingualism on campus, semi-structured interviews with 24 students and student individual reflective essays were used to collect data. The findings highlighted the university’s commitment to promoting multilingualism. Language skills and multilingualism are considered tools for achieving the university’s goals to develop global perspectives of its students and staff and to create a multilingual/multicultural environment on campus. However, the policies primarily emphasize the development of Cantonese, English, and Putonghua, and learning of other widespread foreign languages. This focus was evident in policy texts and staff and students’ interpretations of the policies, suggesting the policies’ negligence toward the languages spoken by ethnic minority and international students. Further, the administrative staff and faculty encountered language and multilingualism issues in their work and teaching. Although they acknowledged the advantages of multilingualism in facilitating communication and learning processes, some of them emphasized the use of English to ensure inclusion and equity among all student groups. The students also resorted to multilingual practices in and outside classroom and used translanguaging to facilitate their learning and communication. They perceived multilingual practices positively for accumulating cultural, social, and economic capital, that is, for gaining educational benefits, expanding their social networks, and securing employment opportunities. However, the learning experiences of local and mainland Chinese students were constrained by their limited linguistic capital in English, while the ethnic minority and international students struggled with their social capital acquisition and faced linguistic segregation in a Cantonese-dominant campus. These findings highlight the fluidity and complexity of students’ language communication, which involves the use of other languages beyond those promoted by the university’s policies. This conclusion underscores the significance of revisiting the university’s language policies and accepting a wider definition of multilingualism in teaching and learning to cater to demographic diversity and promote a sense of belonging among all student groups

LG51.H43 Dr 2024eb Belovax

https://educoll.lib.eduhk.hk/records/tVs3Nrf7