College Campuses are Internationalising
Students come to Atlantic Language School to learn English for a variety of purposes. It might be something that you’ve always wanted to do, so that you can watch your favourite movies without dubbing, or so that you can use English when you are travelling overseas. Possibly, you’ve chosen to learn English so that your career prospects are brighter. However, one increasingly important purpose for learning this language is so that you can use it academically, in order to study at college, conduct research and share your findings, or even teach a subject yourself.
You see, English is not only the international language of business, trade, tourism and entertainment; it is also the international language of academia. More and more university campuses from Oslo to Santiago, Seville to Seoul, are making English the medium of education. Campuses today have students not only from the university’s home country, but also from around the globe. Professors too are selected not only from a national pool of candidates, but from an international panel, and they often give their lectures and conduct their seminars not in the local language, but in English.
A prominent example of a university that is embracing this development is Szent Istvan University in Hungary. The university is named after the founder of the Hungarian nation, and is fiercely proud of its identity as one of the top universities in Hungary. However, it is also placing itself firmly among those education institutes where students and academics from beyond Hungary’s borders are welcomed for the knowledge and learning that they bring. Dr Zsuzsanna Tarr of the department of international relations at the university is highly involved in this process, and she invited me to a lead a four-day seminar for researchers, professors and administrative staff members at Szent Istvan.
Exploring English in Academics
Over sixty people took part, and together we explored areas of academia where English is used, particularly for writing academic papers, presenting research at conferences and seminars, and teaching subjects through English. These are some of the areas that we also cover at Atlantic Language in our specialist courses in English for Academic Purposes (EAP). I hope that we can continue to support Szent Istvan University in its process of internationalisation, and likewise, that you, as a student of English, can recognise the many applications your learning of this language can have.
Pictured Jim Connolly ACADEMIC CO-ORDINATOR FOR SPECIALIST COURSES &
Dr. Zsuzsanna Tarr of Szent Istvan University of Szent Istvan University Erasmus+ programs.