I've never spent long periods of time in the UK -are languages other than English actually used in the mainstream media so people have some exposure to them?
Not sure about television, but certainly not in books, magazines, or newspapers. Probably not.
Or is the foreign language education discussion more about the job market, where mainlanders who know more languages may (in theory) pose a threat?
Isn't *everything* about the job market these days? >_< Yeah, the whole "must teach the children more languages usually gets articulated according to some losing battle for global competitiveness.
What exactly would be problematic about getting a PhD abroad?
Well, it's proof that you're not "one of them." From a pragmatic standpoint, you don't know the U.S. system. From an ethnocentric one, Americans think their higher education system is the best in the world, so if nothing on your CV rings a bell with them, they'll assume your credentials aren't worth their time of day. (I've even seen studies which show that American academics rate research publish in languages other than English as prima facie of lesser quality significantly more often than do non-American academics.)
Besides, it's gotten to the point now that if you're an American who wants an academic job post-PhD, the dissertation is only a *tiny* part of what you need to have accomplished. This applies to your field's job prospects in the US, and it is increasingly applying to mine: http://chronicle.com/article/Dodging-the-Anvil/63274/
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momijizukamori
no subject
Date: 2010-01-04 10:15 pm (UTC)Not sure about television, but certainly not in books, magazines, or newspapers. Probably not.
Or is the foreign language education discussion more about the job market, where mainlanders who know more languages may (in theory) pose a threat?
Isn't *everything* about the job market these days? >_< Yeah, the whole "must teach the children more languages usually gets articulated according to some losing battle for global competitiveness.
What exactly would be problematic about getting a PhD abroad?
Well, it's proof that you're not "one of them." From a pragmatic standpoint, you don't know the U.S. system. From an ethnocentric one, Americans think their higher education system is the best in the world, so if nothing on your CV rings a bell with them, they'll assume your credentials aren't worth their time of day. (I've even seen studies which show that American academics rate research publish in languages other than English as prima facie of lesser quality significantly more often than do non-American academics.)
Besides, it's gotten to the point now that if you're an American who wants an academic job post-PhD, the dissertation is only a *tiny* part of what you need to have accomplished. This applies to your field's job prospects in the US, and it is increasingly applying to mine: http://chronicle.com/article/Dodging-the-Anvil/63274/