Open AccessPerspectives of postgraduate professors and students on internationalization and English language use at a university in the south of Brazil
Author(s) -
Eduardo Henrique Diniz De Figueiredo,
Clarissa Menezes Jordão,
Bryan Pissinini Antunes,
Alan Emmerich,
Thais Rodrigues Cons
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
sotl in the south
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2523-1154
DOI - 10.36615/sotls.v5i1.177
Subject(s) - internationalization , process (computing) , interpersonal communication , sociology , pedagogy , internationalization of higher education , english as a foreign language , relation (database) , point (geometry) , political science , psychology , public relations , social science , business , computer science , geometry , mathematics , database , international trade , operating system
The aim of the present study is to understand how internationalization has been understood, lived, and discursively constructed by postgraduate students and faculty members at a publicly funded university in the south of Brazil. Through data generated using questionnaires and interviews (with 406 and 19 participants, respectively), we observed at this university that there are discrepancies between how student and faculty participation in the process of internationalization is perceived. We also identified inconsistencies in relation to the understandings of the role of foreign languages in this process. The results show that internationalization is conceptualized as the establishment of interpersonal, intercultural, and inter-institutional relationships (as defended by Martinez, 2017). They also point to two specific needs: a) for more student involvement in discussions over the internationalization process of the university; and b) for a plurilingual understanding of the status of English within this process.