Falling in language: the affective side of interlinguistic relationships and their impact on the perception of EMI contexts

Abstract

Improved mobility and access to global communication have recently encouraged the emergence of multilingualism as a new linguistic dispensation (Aronin & Singleton, 2012). Moreover, mobility was enhanced by the implementation of EMI teaching, which in turn contributed to the emergence of the main subject of our study, intercultural and interlinguistic romantic relationships. Since EMI and interlinguistic relationships are intrinsically entwined with the new linguistic dispensation, the current study aims to establish a connection between these multilingual cross-cultural relationships and the growing trend of EMI teaching. We proceed by considering three research questions: 1) how our participants perceive the identificatory and emotional role of language in negotiating their interlingual relationships, 2) what impact an interlingual relationship has on our participants’ beliefs and attitudes as EFL users, and 3) what implications an interlingual relationship has on our participants’ perceptions of EMI contexts. From this study, we argue that the mediation of a relationship through English has a positive impact on the partners’ self-perception as L2 users and on their perception of EMI contexts. Interlingual relationships have the potential to help mitigate one of the main hurdles in implementing EMI teaching; namely, the lack of interest and involvement (Doiz & Lasagabaster, 2018). In light of this, our participants appear to develop integrative motivation towards learning the L2 from being in an interlinguistic cross-cultural relationship that compliments their instrumental motivation. Furthermore, EMI mirrors the way in which partners in multilingual relationships successfully use and improve an L2, since it naturalizes language learning. Therefore, the three parameters that characterise motivation are fulfilled: “Integrativeness, Instrumentality, and the Attitudes toward the learning situation” (Dörnyei, 2005:106). Thus, being in a cross-cultural interlinguistic relationship has an impact of EFL users’ perception of EMI contexts