Language policy and internationalization places policy actions in the context of a complex interaction between multiple agents and competing ideologies in higher education. It draws upon a discourse-analytical approach and the tripartite components of nexus analysis, which are well situated to bridge problematic gaps such as the macro-micro gap, in recent policy studies. The book consists of six chapters, starting with an introductory chapter.
Chapters 2 and 3 set out to conduct research in terms of one specific component of nexus analysis: discourses in place. In chapter 2, ‘conceptual discourses in place’ are addressed in a policy investigation at the institutional and state level in Finland, Estonia, and Latvia, as well as the level of a supranational order, in the European Union, which exquisitely corresponds to a multilevel analysis and a regional perspective. The critical concern raised is the ambiguities rooted in the strategic use of the ‘foreign language’ label. In addition, ‘material discourses in place’ are elaborately explored by mapping multilingual landscapes in the physical and online spaces of universities. Chapter 3 begins to narrow the effort and focuses on the Estonian context. The author considers manifold sources of data: a set of comments, a public debate, and a speech, and a particular emphasis is put on two contrasting cases. Such written and spoken materials contribute to delving into recreating discourses in place. The convincing evidence presented in these two chapters shows how macro-level policies may be creatively reinterpreted by agentive individuals by engaging with the circulating discourses.
The subsequent two chapters are closely connected and apply the other two components of nexus analysis, namely, ‘historical body’ and ‘interactional order’. Presenting the results of in-depth interviews and focus-group discussions, chapter 4 aims to examine how participants’ language biographies, disciplinary differences, and life trajectories shape their actual reactions, expressed stances, and even their language ideologies around the language policy debates. Chapter 5 historically situates the evolution of different language regimes in academia and higher education in Estonia. Compared with chapter 4, this chapter turns to more implicit evaluations of participant-observation fieldwork, followed by a portrayal of students’ micro-attitudes towards and indirect understandings of languages. Framing the chapters in this way helps researchers understand how to apply nexus analysis in policy research in an eclectic manner.
The concluding chapter 6 presents on appraisal of the methodology and theoretical framework, as well as the materials that deserve a further exploration of their themes.
This book reveals tensions and discrepancies associated with language and highlights the implication that a language policy should match the needs of all stakeholders, whether instrumental and pedagogical or competitive and economic. With its historical perspective and empirical materials, this pioneering work is an asset for researchers who are interested in language policy, discourse analysis, and the sociolinguistics of higher education.
