Glimpses Into the ‘Language Galaxy’ of International Universities: International Students’ Multilingual and Translanguaging Experiences and Strategies at a Top Finnish University

Internationalisation of universities has not only resulted in the strengthening of English as a “hypercentral language” (de Swaan, 2001) but has also brought a diverse ‘language galaxy’ on campuses around the world. Nevertheless, the university environment, through the multifaceted intercultural academic encounters it triggers, does not necessarily reflect this diversity. This chapter draws upon focus group data from Finland in which international master’s students discuss the way they use their multilingual repertoires. Our analysis shows that multilingualism and translanguaging seem to happen inconsistently, often behind the scenes, for some of the students. The data reveal the (lack of) position of the students’ own languages within the university and the way they use languages (or not) and incorporate them into their studies and encounters with others (or not). Recommendations are made as to how language galaxies could lead to ‘internationalize internationalization’.