English Medium Instruction: What do we know so far and what do we still need to find out?

Abstract

English Medium Instruction (EMI), as a phenomenon occurring in the non-Anglophone world, has been matched by a growth in research output on the topic and is now an important and established field of study. A great deal of research attention has been devoted to attitudes held by the key stakeholders in this form of education: teachers, students, and policy makers. Yet, there are many other important questions that remain unanswered, the most important of which are: What are the outcomes of this form of instruction? What is the social and economic impact of EMI? How can EMI teachers improve their teaching? And how can learners help themselves to improve their learning?

In English Medium Instruction you can walk and chew gum

“…Models of EMI are many, but four are popular, according to Macaro (2022) . The first is called the Preparatory Year Model which has students taking a year or so of intensive English language training before allowing them to join an EMI course or program.…”

“…In addition to these curricular options, EMI is non-monolithic in another way. Macaro (2020 , 2022) made a useful distinction between “hard-core EMI” and “soft EMI.” The so-called “hard-core EMI” concerns “policy-led” decisions on teaching the subjects which can otherwise be taught in the L1 - Physics, Mathematics, Engineering, Geology, to name but a few. Soft-EMI, on the other hand, is “language-led.” Examples are Applied Linguistics, TESOL, International Business, and Translation Studies, academic subjects naturally involving the use of the English language.…”

“…In his overview of EMI research, Macaro (2022) spotlighted a number of ongoing questions, one of which is: What kind of professional development do EMI teachers need, and what barriers are imposed? Our discussion so far has made clear that in a foreign language setting, the teacher’s English proficiency is pivotal to students’ learning.…”

“…The Macaro (2022) synthesis illuminates a cause for concern. Much of the research (and for that matter, discussions) on EMI has taken place in a silo, so to speak; researchers seemed unaware of the more general field of SLA research, though it is ostensibly changing.…”

“…Much of the research (and for that matter, discussions) on EMI has taken place in a silo, so to speak; researchers seemed unaware of the more general field of SLA research, though it is ostensibly changing. For example, one of the questions Macaro (2022) raised about current EMI was: how should pedagogy change in an EMI setting with a particular focus on interaction? This calling for attention to interaction in the classroom was a response to the reality that most EMI instruction has largely been delivered through lectures (see, e.g., Hellekjaer, 2010 ; Costa and Coleman, 2013 ).…”