Internationalization vs Englishization in Italian higher education: Reframing the issue

This chapter investigates the concepts of internationalization/ internazionalizzazione and Englishization/anglicizzazione as used by academics publishing research about Italian higher education in English and Italian. We seek to understand whether internationaliza- tion is understood principally as Englishization, and to investigate the resonance of the terms in context. Methodologically, three corpora are analysed within a corpus-assisted discourse studies approach. The findings indicate that internationalization is presented in a neutral light, is not construed exclusively as Englishization, which is used invariably as a negative term indicating an invasive process from which Italian academia needs to defend itself. The research suggests reconsidering the role of English as a way of making Italian academic culture more accessible to international audiences, rather than a threat to its identity.