English as a Language of Professional and Technical Access in Mining Engineering Education in the DR Congo
Abstract
English is increasingly required for professional and technical participation in multilingual higher education contexts, particularly in disciplines where access to specialised knowledge depends on engagement with English-medium materials and practices. This study examines how multilingual repertoires, English exposure, and learning trajectories shape students’ perceived access to professional and technical English in mining engineering education in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Drawing on data from 30 mining engineering students at the University of Bunia, the study adopts a descriptive survey to explore language backgrounds, age of English acquisition, modes of learning, motivations for English use, and confidence in using English in academic and technical contexts. The findings reveal a linguistically diverse cohort operating within a multilingual ecology where English is largely learned through formal schooling and introduced relatively late. While students associate English with professional advancement and technical participation, their confidence in using it remains uneven. These patterns suggest that access to professional and technical knowledge through English is shaped less by individual proficiency than by the interaction of exposure, educational trajectories, and multilingual experience. The study highlights a gap between the growing importance of English in mining engineering education and the conditions under which it is learned, pointing to the need for more context-sensitive approaches to English Specific Purposes pedagogy and language policy in multilingual higher education.
Downloads
References
Brock-Utne, B. (2007). Learning through a familiar language versus learning through a foreign language: A look into some secondary school classrooms in Tanzania. International Journal of Educational Development, 27(5), 487–498. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedudev.2006.10.004
Canagarajah, A. S. (2013). Translingual practice: Global Englishes and cosmopolitan relations. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203120293
Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Morrison, K. (2018). Research methods in education (8th ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315456539
Coleman, H. (2011). Developing countries and the English language: Rhetoric, risks, roles and recommendations. In H. Coleman (Ed.), Dreams and realities: Developing countries and the English language (pp. 11–23). British Council.
Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2018). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (5th ed.). SAGE.
Crystal, D. (2003). English as a global language (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511486999
Cummins, J. (2000). Language, power, and pedagogy: Bilingual children in the crossfire. Multilingual Matters.
Dornyei, Z. (2007). Research Methods in Applied Linguistics. Oxford University Press.
Eberhard, D. M., Simons, G. F., & Fennig, C. D. (Eds.). (2020). Ethnologue: Languages of the world (23rd ed.). SIL International. https://www.ethnologue.com
García, O., & Wei, L. (2014). Translanguaging: Language, bilingualism and education. Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137385765
Heugh, K. (2011). Theory and practice—Language education models in Africa: Research, design, decision-making, and outcomes. In A. Ouane & C. Glanz (Eds.), Optimizing learning, education and publishing in Africa: The language factor (pp. 105–156). UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning.
Hutchinson, T., & Waters, A. (1987). English for Specific Purposes: A Learner-Centered Approach. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511733031
Hyland, K. (2006). English for academic purposes: An advanced resource book. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203006603
Hyland, K. (2019). Second language writing (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press.
Kasanga, L. A. (2012). English in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. World Englishes, 31(1), 48–69. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-971X.2011.01732.x
Katabe, I. M., & Tibategeza, E. R. (2023). Language-in-education policy and practice in the Democratic Republic of Congo. European Journal of Language and Culture Studies, 2(1), 4–12. https://doi.org/10.24018/ejlang.2023.2.1.58
République Démocratique du Congo. (2014). Loi-cadre n° 14/004 du 11 février 2014 de l’enseignement national. Gouvernement de la République Démocratique du Congo. https://www.leganet.cd/Legislation/Droit%20Public/enseignement/Loi14.004.11.02.2004.htm
Wei, L. (2018). Translanguaging as a practical theory of language. Applied Linguistics, 39(1), 9–30. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/amx039
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
Copyright (c) 2026 International Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Articles published in the International Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities (IJSSH) are available under Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives Licence (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0). Authors retain copyright in their work and grant IJSSH right of first publication under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. Users have the right to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of articles in this journal, and to use them for any other lawful purpose.
Articles published in IJSSH can be copied, communicated and shared in their published form for non-commercial purposes provided full attribution is given to the author and the journal. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.
This copyright notice applies to articles published in IJSSH volumes 4 onwards. Please read about the copyright notices for previous volumes under Journal History.
