The role of English in academic mobility

Morocco, ID LLCE2015-201

Recent studies have indicated that academic mobility in higher education has become a norm than an exception all over the world. The process is, however, still slow as it is in its infancy and it requires a lot of time as internal rooted factors stand as barriers to make it run at a speedy pace. The mobility is growing fast at the individual level but runs very slowly at the institutional level given the many challenges that face its implementation. Given globalization, economic development, and advancement of English as a language of research, technology, business, among other things, the present paper aims at discussing a) the status of English in the world today and b) its role in the academic mobility at the university level. More importantly, it will explore the rationales behind adopting English be it a language of medium of instruction or a language for other/specific purposes in Higher Education, suggesting possible approaches and strategies adopted by decision makers, and identifying the potential benefits of academic mobility. The paper will similarly highlight the challenges that face its implementation in the Moroccan context.