7.0 Language use in campuses
The variety of English use in universities is referred to as campus English. University campuses are a rich linguistic base with multiple individuals, including students and lecturers from different ethnic and cultural nations with different languages, but with one common code that binds them together for learning, teaching, and interacting with friends and so forth. The English use on campuses varies across the areas of respective disciplines. This is largely due to the different academic professions and departments both students and lecturers are into. And it is believed that their areas of study influence their choice of linguistic items. This is because when a science student speaks, his/her grammar will be more of scientific terms unlike a marketing student. But when these persons meet together like friends they communicate and understand each other in a plain language.
However, communicating in English at university campuses relies on a wide range of vocabulary which every student must know in order to communicate effectively within the campus environment. Blaj-Ward (2017:p.37) states that it is widely acknowledged, in applied linguistic literature, that one cannot communicate successfully unless one is sufficiently familiar with relevant vocabulary, and this is certainly the case on campuses which are academic oriented, where English is used for lectures, writing of assignments, and thesis. That is why in some foreign universities in the United States of America and United Kingdom, a preparatory English course is made available for international students to groom them in speaking, reading, writing and listening for them to function well in carrying out their studies in their respective disciplines.
In campuses, choice of languages other than English is usually context-dependent, (Pérez-Lantada, 2018:p.35), and it may serve as identity indicator. For example, students or staff tend to use their local vernacular when they gather with relatives or friends who can speak and understand their language. This form of language use is perhaps motivated by ethnicity to show solidarity and intimacy. In this situation, English becomes an auxiliary language which helps to facilitate communication. And as a matter of fact, the use of pidgin, code mixing and switching become noticeable in the interactions among the students. In the same view, Preisler (2009 in Haberland, Lønsmann and Preisler 2013:p.xvii) presents the relationship between the local language and English on campuses with his concept of ‘complementary languages’. Preisler focuses on the user dimension, i.e. the question of who communicates with whom. Following from this, he presents Danish and English in Denmark as complementary languages, which means that English is used when not all interlocutors know Danish, and Danish is used in contexts where all interlocutors are proficient in that language. We see that University campuses provide a wealth of opportunities for multilingualism and multicultural experiences and interactions. Yet in spite of this wide potential, a typical function of this social contact does not go beyond the minimum of human interactions between students and even staff from different cultures and linguistic backgrounds.
In Nigerian campuses, English language, is perceived as a predominant language and is associated with both teaching activities and administrative paperwork, (Pérez-Llantada, 2018:p.35). Teaching-oriented genres such as lectures, seminars, classroom presentations, course essays, summaries and dissertations are done in English-medium”. Course-related activities, reading requirements and assessment, as well as office hour consultations and supervision were also in English. Occasionally, French, Igbo and other native vernaculars are used in certain teaching-related activities in the department of French or languages.
However, one sad issue about language use on campuses especially where English is learnt as L2 is that the English language that students bring with them on campuses may or may not include authentic, meaningful and purposeful spoken interactions. This is seen among the peer groups who are perhaps deficient in English or use some jargon to communicate with friends. Nevertheless, the language use on campuses provide with us a wealth of multilingualism and multicultural experiences.
The variety of English use in universities is referred to as campus English. University campuses are a rich linguistic base with multiple individuals, including students and lecturers from different ethnic and cultural nations with different languages, but with one common code that binds them together for learning, teaching, and interacting with friends and so forth. The English use on campuses varies across the areas of respective disciplines. This is largely due to the different academic professions and departments both students and lecturers are into. And it is believed that their areas of study influence their choice of linguistic items. This is because when a science student speaks, his/her grammar will be more of scientific terms unlike a marketing student. But when these persons meet together like friends they communicate and understand each other in a plain language.
However, communicating in English at university campuses relies on a wide range of vocabulary which every student must know in order to communicate effectively within the campus environment. Blaj-Ward (2017:p.37) states that it is widely acknowledged, in applied linguistic literature, that one cannot communicate successfully unless one is sufficiently familiar with relevant vocabulary, and this is certainly the case on campuses which are academic oriented, where English is used for lectures, writing of assignments, and thesis. That is why in some foreign universities in the United States of America and United Kingdom, a preparatory English course is made available for international students to groom them in speaking, reading, writing and listening for them to function well in carrying out their studies in their respective disciplines.
In campuses, choice of languages other than English is usually context-dependent, (Pérez-Lantada, 2018:p.35), and it may serve as identity indicator. For example, students or staff tend to use their local vernacular when they gather with relatives or friends who can speak and understand their language. This form of language use is perhaps motivated by ethnicity to show solidarity and intimacy. In this situation, English becomes an auxiliary language which helps to facilitate communication. And as a matter of fact, the use of pidgin, code mixing and switching become noticeable in the interactions among the students. In the same view, Preisler (2009 in Haberland, Lønsmann and Preisler 2013:p.xvii) presents the relationship between the local language and English on campuses with his concept of ‘complementary languages’. Preisler focuses on the user dimension, i.e. the question of who communicates with whom. Following from this, he presents Danish and English in Denmark as complementary languages, which means that English is used when not all interlocutors know Danish, and Danish is used in contexts where all interlocutors are proficient in that language. We see that University campuses provide a wealth of opportunities for multilingualism and multicultural experiences and interactions. Yet in spite of this wide potential, a typical function of this social contact does not go beyond the minimum of human interactions between students and even staff from different cultures and linguistic backgrounds.
In Nigerian campuses, English language, is perceived as a predominant language and is associated with both teaching activities and administrative paperwork, (Pérez-Llantada, 2018:p.35). Teaching-oriented genres such as lectures, seminars, classroom presentations, course essays, summaries and dissertations are done in English-medium”. Course-related activities, reading requirements and assessment, as well as office hour consultations and supervision were also in English. Occasionally, French, Igbo and other native vernaculars are used in certain teaching-related activities in the department of French or languages.
However, one sad issue about language use on campuses especially where English is learnt as L2 is that the English language that students bring with them on campuses may or may not include authentic, meaningful and purposeful spoken interactions. This is seen among the peer groups who are perhaps deficient in English or use some jargon to communicate with friends. Nevertheless, the language use on campuses provide with us a wealth of multilingualism and multicultural experiences.
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