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Trevor Grimshaw calls for a fully-developed approach
If you are reading this article you will almost certainly know that English is the pre-eminent language of instruction around the globe. English as a Medium of Instruction (EMI) is found at all levels of education, from pre-school to postgraduate studies. A vast range of academic subjects are nowadays taught through the medium of English, including science, mathematics, technology, humanities, world history, business studies, physical education and the arts.
The number of international and bilingual schools that deliver curricula through the English language is expanding at a phenomenal rate. Research suggests that by the year 2022 there may be as many as 11,000 English-medium international schools, employing half a million Englishspeaking teachers worldwide (Bunnell, 2016). Many parents see an English-medium primary and secondary education as the best way of preparing their children for higher education in the core English-speaking countries (the USA, the UK, Ireland, Canada, Australia and New Zealand).
As educational institutions all over the world seek to internationalise, the trend towards English-medium education is ever stronger in the ASEAN countries, India, China, the Gulf
States, Africa and Latin America. In mainland Europe alone over 6,000 Masters programmes are delivered in English (Breen-White and Faethe, 2013). Nowadays, when a Chinese professor teaches Chinese History and Culture to a diverse cohort of international students in a Chinese university, they are increasingly likely to do so in English.
However, teaching subject knowledge and skills in English to learners of diverse backgrounds presents many challenges. A much-cited survey of 55 countries commissioned by the British Council (Dearden, 2014) revealed widespread concerns about how to teach effectively through English. Relatively few institutions have written guidelines to support their staff in the practice of EMI. Here we should pause to note that EMI should not be confused with Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL). EMI is not concerned with the teaching of the English language as a subject per se. EMI and TESOL constitute distinct professional communities and involve distinct skill sets.
Specific issues reported in the EMI research literature include the struggles of educators to communicate subject knowledge to students who have limited proficiency in the language of the classroom (Macaro, 2018). Quite understandably, teachers are often uncertain about how to address the needs of learners for whom English is a foreign, second or additional language. Intercultural communication is a major challenge in many pedagogical settings, not only in terms of classroom interaction but also in terms of differing expectations of the learning process. Furthermore, EMI is highly controversial in many contexts, because the acquisition of academic knowledge through a second language raises profound issues of national or ethnic identity. A key question is: If learners associate the English language with science, business and internationalist values, what assumptions will they make about other languages and cultures, including their own?
A fully developed approach to EMI would help educators to make informed decisions about how to teach and assess learners whose first language is not English. It would provide teachers with an understanding of the dynamic relationships between language, communication, comprehension and learning. It would equip them with strategies for ‘language conscious’ teaching. It would also provide a framework for the continuing professional development of English-medium educators. Such an approach would draw upon insights from a range of pedagogical approaches that have been practised in recent decades, including Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL), Content Based Instruction (CBI), Immersion Education, Language Awareness, and Language across the Curriculum.
An informed approach to EMI would enable school leaders to develop inclusive policies. It would help educators to develop a critical awareness of how English as a global language functions in relation to other languages in the curriculum. Given the diverse contexts in which EMI is used, a ‘one size fits all’ approach would clearly not be appropriate. Educational leaders need guidance on how to tailor their EMI policy and curriculum to suit their own specific institutional context. This approach would involve an understanding of the nature of bilingualism, multilingualism and plurilingualism. It would also consider how these relate to cognition, age and the social context of learning.
The approach would need to consider the diverse linguistic profiles of the educators themselves. They may be from countries where English is spoken as a national language (‘native speakers’); they may be ‘non-native speakers’; or they may be bilingual / multilingual professionals for whom English is only one of their working languages. There would also need to be a strong emphasis on the relationship between intercultural communication and learning. The approach would provide educators with the knowledge and skills to work across diverse cultures. Last but not least, teacher development for EMI would need to include training in practical research methods, so that educators could carry out classroom-based studies to inform the design of appropriate pedagogy and curricula.
Such are the aims of the MA English as a Medium of Instruction (MA EMI), a full-time postgraduate course that has been developed by the Department of Education at the University of Bath. The course is designed to help preand post-experience educators face the challenges of an internationalised environment. It builds upon the experience of the University of Bath as a centre for teacher education and research in the field of international schooling. And it draws upon the expertise of an internationally diverse team of tutors who have practised EMI in five continents. Informed by the latest research and practice, it provides a comprehensive introduction to the exciting and rapidly developing world of English-medium education.
The MA EMI is currently recruiting for September 2020: go.bath.ac.uk/ma-english-medium
References
Breen-White M and Faethe E (2013) English-Taught Master’s Programs in Europe: A 2013 Update, Institute of International Education Bunnell T (2016) The Changing Landscape of International Schooling, London: Routledge Dearden J (2014) English as a medium of instruction – a growing global phenomenon, London: British Council Macaro E (2018) English Medium Instruction: Content and language in policy and practice, Oxford: Oxford University Press
