International Mobility and Language Needs
Julijana Vuco, University of Belgrade, Faculty of Philology (Serbia)
Abstract
In recent years, universities play an increased international role in public life, and the internationalization of universities has become one of the most important goals of higher education. This phenomenon is reflected in the actions and attitudes of national and supranational institutions that plan and invest in a wide array of international exchange programs. The command of language is one of the fundamental problems of involving students, participants of the mobility programs in the teaching process in various environments. Languages in action are mostly English, a second foreign subject language and the local language of the host. On the one hand there is a need to achieve necessary English language skills for teaching or learning, sometimes knowledge of a second foreign language, both with an explicit need for academic language competence for teaching and learning, subject, scientific and professional needs and purposes. Languages of the host countries are also in the focus, the needs for rapid language development in order for the experience of study visits abroad to be successful both in the private and academic domain.
In this paper, results of research on the attitudes and needs of the functional quality of the language and intercultural skills of students of the University of Belgrade users of incoming and outcoming academic mobility are presented and analyzed.
Keywords |
Internationalization of universities, Mobility, Language competences, Intercultural competences |