The Concept of an “International Student” in the Context of Globalisation

About the authors:

Elena Yu. Ponomareva, Cand. Sci. (Philol.), Associate Professor, Department of the English Language, University of Tyumen; elurpon@gmail.com

Anastasiia Yu. Bashmakova, Postgraduate Student, Teaching Assistant, Department of English Philology and Translation Studies, University of Tyumen; a.y.bashmakova@utmn.ru; ORCID: 0000-0002-1432-1273

Abstract:

In recent years, linguists have been paying their attention to the problem of conceptualization. In information society, the individual outlook depends almost entirely on the media. In this regard, the media impact on the concept shaping in the context of globalization becomes especially relevant. As globalization embraces all spheres of human life, educational policy and international academic exchange are no exception. In the last decades, the number of international students increased worldwide.

Therefore, in the context of globalization, the media have become an important influential element of society. In addition, in the context of globalization it is important to understand what kind of impact the media have on the perception of international students in society. This study aims to analyse the links between globalization of higher education and the media, as well as to identify linguistic units that influence the shaping of the concept of an international student in the British press.

In conducting this study, we used the methods of lexical, semantic, conceptual, frame, and quantitative analyses, as well as content analysis and critical discourse analysis. This article shows the results of the content analysis of publications taken from the on-line version of The Guardian in the “international student” section published in the period from 1 January 2015 to 31 December 2017. The study of news and issues in the UK media promotes deeper understanding of the concept of an “international student”. The results of the study demonstrate the complexity of the structure of the concept under analysis.

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