Abstract
The knowledge of foreign languages among final-year undergraduate students is important considering the local labor market's competitiveness and the opportunities for academic studies abroad. This research focuses on obtaining data that informs on the knowledge or lack of knowledge of foreign languages for accessing competitive job opportunities and the possible application for scholarships for study abroad by students at the Universidad Nacional de Asunción, Paraguay. The study followed a convergent mixed-methods triangulation design using a semi-structured questionnaire and qualitative interviews with final-year university students. The results show that while a majority of students report knowledge of foreign languages, a significant percentage report the opposite. Students associate foreign languages and their importance with issues related to work, improving the quality of their studies, access to knowledge in a foreign language, research and scholarship opportunities, as well as personal development. Internationalization in higher education has become a key indicator of quality for universities and other higher education institutions, so providing students with tools that enable greater participation in internationalization processes is of vital importance. Recommendations include the creation of a university language center.
Author Information
Valentina Canese, Universidad Nacional de Asunción, Paraguay
Luis Eduardo Wexell-Machado, Universidad Nacional de Asunción, Paraguay
Paper Information
Conference: IICE2024
Stream: Foreign Languages Education & Applied Linguistics (including ESL/TESL/TEFL)
This paper is part of the IICE2024 Conference Proceedings (View)
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To cite this article:
Canese V., & Wexell-Machado L. (2024) Foreign Languages and Internationalization: Analyzing of the Foreign Language Skills of Graduating Students at a Public University in Paraguay ISSN: 2189-1036 – The IAFOR International Conference on Education – Hawaii 2024 Official Conference Proceedings https://doi.org/10.22492/issn.2189-1036.2024.57
To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.22492/issn.2189-1036.2024.57
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