Language Policy as a result of EME - how linguistic research can influence governance

The well-documented and swift move towards internationalisation has been an influence at the University of Padova since the Bologna agreement in 1999. The university has actively promoted English Medium Education (EME) aimed at attracting international students to the English-taught degree courses offered, and in 2013 the University Language Centre devised an ongoing programme to provide support for lecturers teaching in English by implementing a wide range of activities and courses. This programme allowed the research group involved to analyse the effects of EME, and lecturer and student perceptions. However, despite the success of the programme, or perhaps because of it, it became clear that a series of issues had yet to be faced. One of these was the absence of a Language Policy (LP). This paper will look at the considerations behind devising the Language Policy, one of the first in Italy, which is the culmination of 7 years of research into EME; it is interesting to note too how LP came long after the emergence of EME, and not before. The LP, based on our research within EME, is not limited to EME but recognises the importance of creating a language environment which reflects the University’s role in the international sphere, as well as stakeholders in the local community. How analyses of the EME programme helped define the LP will be discussed, and the paper will consider language for academic purposes (teaching, research) as well as the role of the LP in maintaining the University's identity, services, and communications, starting with the need to tease apart the terms ‘EME’ and ‘Internationalisation’ and to recognise that successful internationalisation is not just English lecturing. The divergence of points of view between language teaching experts and University governance is discussed, and how the document became a tool in negotiating this divergence.