Taylor Raeanne Smith

ABSTRACT

In a period of increasing multilingualism in universities, it is crucial to understand the sociolinguistic and pedagogical factors that make language learning successful. Vytautas Magnus University has adopted a foreign-language learning approach focused on English for specific-purposes and CLIL (content and language integrated learning). In this particular context, we might wonder the effects these language policies have beyond students’ English skills and on more sociolinguistic factors, especially in their perception of English vis-à-vis Lithuania’s linguistic past and the increasing use of “Globish” as a means of communication. This paper will draw on a body of research in pedagogy, second-language acquisition, sociolinguistics and psycholinguistics in order to assess students’ changing motivations towards learning English given the current university climate, focusing on questions related to their perceptions of English and Lithuanian, reflections on their own code-switching practices, and what they believe is the future of the English language in Lithuania. This paper will be of a descriptive, qualitative nature, involving original data collection in the form of questionnaires, open-ended, guided interviews, assessment of teaching materials, and classroom observations, showing that Lithuanian students feel both an ownership of the English language, and a deep anxiety about speaking it outside of Lithuania.

Keywords

sociolinguistics; language identities; code-switching; English; EFL

References

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