NEGOTIATIONS OF POWER IN MULTILINGUAL UNIVERSITY ENVIRONMENTS

This paper is a synthesis of seven studies which focus on interaction in multilingual university environments. These studies are synthesized to determine how power relations affect these interactions and what specific factors play a major role in influencing these power relations. Four codes were developed from previous literature on power and a review of the studies: identity, authority, control, and participation. In combining these four codes and analyzing the included studies, a cyclic model of influences on power relations in multilingual environments in higher education was identified. In creating this model, this paper attempts to provide a clear approach to viewing power in a multilingual setting, thereby informing students, teachers, administrators and researchers about how identity, authority, control, and participation influence interactions. A specific focus of this paper is on the importance of this model on foreign language teaching and foreign language teacher training.