Käsittely: Balancing Global Competitiveness and National Language Vitality
Expanding English-medium instruction (EMI) allows Finnish higher education institutions to enhance their global visibility, yet sustainable institutional growth requires structured policies that protect the societal and scholarly roles of Finnish and Swedish. Proponents of EMI expansion maintain that internationalized curricula attract global talent, foster international research networks, and elevate the worldwide standing of domestic universities. Comparative investigations across European higher education illustrate that English-medium programming functions as an essential instrument for cross-border academic mobility and international competitiveness (Saarinen, 2016). In addition, university instructors frequently acknowledge the pragmatic necessity of equipping students for multinational professional environments where English operates as the primary medium of exchange (Dearden & Macaro, 2016). Nevertheless, critics raise legitimate concerns regarding the uncritical displacement of domestic languages, warning that rapid EMI adoption fosters academic domain loss and compromises local pedagogical traditions. If Finnish and Swedish are systematically excluded from advanced degree programs, native scientific vocabularies risk erosion. Resolving this tension does not require halting EMI expansion, but rather instituting rigorous parallel-language strategies. By mandating parallel documentation, supporting bilingual terminology development, and integrating structured national language training for international scholars, universities can balance international recruitment goals with their legal and cultural obligation to sustain Finland's national languages (Saarinen, 2016).