1. EUNoM symposium on Higher Education and Research on Multilingualism: Challenge or Opportunity? Social Representations of Plurilingualism in Language Policy and Academic Teacher Discourse at University Level. Cecilia Serra Universities of Geneva and Lausanne

2. main issues 1.linguistic analysis of social representations 2.a qualitative study –universities, contexts, languages –universities, social representations in language policy –universities, social representations in academic teachers’ discourse 3.examples 4.effects on bi-plurilingual teaching / learning practices

3. linguistic analysis of social representations in the study investigates the link between the social representations of institutions (values & models proceeding from language policies) and those of individuals (beliefs, opinions and attitudes); an interplay of possible conflicting elements linguistic elements taken into accounts: –polyphonie (Bakhtine, 1978; Ducrot, 1984); pronominalisation («I» vs «one» vs «we» vs «they»), mood and modality, qualifiers & connectives, etc.; (Serra & Py 1997, Serra 2000) –schematizing and categorization devices (Grize 1990; Kleiber 1990; Sacks 1992; Mondada 1999) –stereotyping –conversational use of discourse types (debating, explaining, justifying, narrating, etc.) (Serra 2000)

4. a qualitative field study: universities, contexts, languages USI Università della Svizzera Italiana, Lugano (1966) –Italian = minority language = 6.5% ( German, 63%; French, 20.4%; Rumantsch, 0.5% ((Federal Census, 2000)) –Students: 2’707: Tessin, 29.5%; Swiss others, 8.6%; Italy, 36.9%; Foreign others 25% (University census, 2010) UNIZHR Universität Zürich (1525) –German = majority language = 63% –Students: 25’815: Swiss, 83.1%; Foreign others 12.3%; domestic foreign others, 4.6% (Federal office of Statistics, 2009) HESBE Haute Ecole Spécialisée Bernoise, Biel/Bienne (1873/1998) –German/French = Bilingual Canton (3 Swiss Bilingual Cantons: Bern / Fribourg / Wallis: German/French = Language territoriality) –Biel/Bienne = Bilingual city : German, 53%; French, 30.7%; Italian, 7.6%; Foreign others, 8.7% (City census, 1990)

5. a qualitative field study: universities, social representations in language policy University Target of plurilingualism Language of teaching Representations USI vs Canton of Tessin University: internationalisation innovation(methods) students interculturality mobility Italian/English Dual System (+German L3) (+ French L3) USI: a «bridge between cultures» Switzerland-USI-Lombardy-Italy English = innovation French + German = European languages Italian = L1+ regional culture Europe of Regions UNIZHR (Zürich) (multilingualism in charge of students at Sprachzentrum) German (+ English) (German/French optional) no language policy (12 Nobel Prize??) HESB-TI + (Biel/ Bienne Berne/ Bern) bilingualism students internal mobility stereotypes’ change equal access to knowledge for both linguistic groups (German & French) German/ French reciprocal immersion + 3 degrees of L1/L2 alternation in class bilingualism as a learning process vs bilingualism as a norm ((+ Swiss practice of multilingual discourse))

6. a qualitative field study: social representations in academic teachers’ discourse University Faculty,Teaching targeted contexts Language of teaching Representations USI (Tessin) Economics (+Swiss Bankers Association) Master in Finance international English only Globalisation = excellence + English + finance vs Isolationism = old Swiss-German people + German Good tradition of Swiss banking = German Technical language (subject) vs vehicular language (English) UNIZHR (Zürich) Law Arrêtés fédéraux national/internationa l French/German (+Italian, English, Spanish) Bilingualism & Language alternation as a tool to cross subject borders Modification of stereotypes HESB-TI (Biel/ Bienne Engineering Mathematics national, context- bound German&French + reformulations in the other language Language alternation to access knowledge Bilingualism to cross domestic language borders

7. when representations clash an example from HESB-TI language policy Why are students shy when it comes to talking in L2? changing the representation of bilingualism: it is an instable process of language learning it is not a perfect balance of 2 languages language use in multilingual Switzerland: talk in L1, understand L2 didactic devices at HESBE-TI teachers and students talk in L1 (students understand L2)

8. when representations are in bloom an example from teacher’s discourse at USI economistteacherplanner Globalisation + English + banking + professional vs Isolation + (Swiss-)German + Swiss elderly people Technical language vs English (poor) simplification use of Italian or French in students’ oral and written records German + banking + Swiss quality +tradition + Students (elite) Italian + University + identity + Switzerland

9. effects on bi-plurilingual teaching / learning practices Language choice –bachelor official Swiss languages –master official Swiss languages + English (cf. Federal census 2000, Lüdi & Werlen 2005) Models of bi-multilingual teaching –immersion (USI), English L2:  vs USI dual teaching and intercultural program  low command in English accepted and not improved idealisation of bilingualism?

10. effects on bi-plurilingual teaching / learning practices (2) –reciprocal immersion (HESB-TI), French & German L2 good understanding of bilingual teaching (representations, teaching steps & goals)  low understanding of the role of conversation in language acquisition  focus on language (university) vs focus on subject (teacher) –bi-multilingual teaching (UNIZHR), German L1, French L2 Italian/English/Spanish L3 excellent understanding of bi-multilingualism practices focus on the subject use of languages to process meaning, and access transversal knowledge use of bilingual conversational routines  optional course: poor support from the institution

11. references Bakhtine, M. (1984). Esthétique et théorie du roman. Paris: Gallimard Ducrot, O. (1980). Le dire et le dit. Paris: Minuit Grize, J.B. (1990). Logique et langage. Paris: Ophrys Kleiber, G. (1990). La sémantique du prototype. Paris: PUF Mondada, L. (1999). L’accomplissement de l’étrangéit’dans et par línteraction: procédures de catégorisation des locuteurs. Langages 134, 20-34 Sacks, H. (1992). Lectures in conversation. Oxford: Basil Blackwell Serra, C. (2000). Traitement discursif et conversationnel des représentations sociales. TRANEL 32, 77-90 Serra, C. & Py, B. (1997). Le crépuscule des lieux communs, ou les stérótypes entre consensus, certitude et doute. TRANEL 27, 29-49