English as a Lingua Franca in the Academic Context: The Role of University Language Centres

Abstract

English is now the dominant language in the higher education sector in Europe, as can be seen from objective indicators such as the growing number of degree programmes which use English as a medium of instruction. Teaching subjects through the medium of English (English Medium Instruction or EMI) may raise a series of questions and challenges for what concerns the accreditation and training of teaching staff. University language centres can play a fundamental role in helping the academic staff from feeling pushed towards teaching through English without a great deal of training and preparation. The present contribution reports on the activities implemented by the Language Centre in order to assist those members of the teaching staff (lecturers) who are confronted with the inherent challenges of teaching through English on a daily basis, and also highlights possible future avenues of research and instances of best practices.