The digital education revolution and languages : insights from Sassen on transforming a Chinese academic into a trans-national researcher

We are interested in the challenging opportunities research higher degree (RHD) students from China have in developing their knowledge of information and communication technologies through the use of their multiple language to access a range of intellectual resources. This paper reports a preliminary investigation into how a doctoral student’s first language and advanced ICT skills help in his research studies and advancing his academic English proficiency while studying in an Australian university. Australia has an excellent reputation for its high quality education and research. It is attracting more and more students from all over the world to purchase higher degrees by research. However, these World English Speaking (WES) students are often considered as marginal English speakers and therefore not as intellectually or academically as capable as local Australian students. This paper explores ways of bringing WES students’ knowledge in from the margins. The first section of this paper reviews literature on the multiple competences of speakers of two or more languages and the role of ICTs. The findings indicate that a Chinese HDR student has been improving his knowledge and language learning capabilities through using various ICTs tools.