Access to English Medium Education through Blended Learning at Higher Education in Southeast Asia

Abstract

With the global spread of English arising from a whole host of historical, political andsocioeconomic factors, English, often recognized as the global “lingua franca” or “ international language”, has become one of the most popular mediums of instruction to offer in some higher education courses/programs in non-English speaking countries. Many European and Southeast Asian societies, with their desire to participate and compete in the globalized economy, regard formal/academic English literacy as one of the most important Twenty-First Century competencies to be developed among higher education students. Access to (overseas) higher education in the English medium, which has become a priced program of learning that often only middle/upper class families can afford, is an important issue in higher education research. To provide more affordable access to English medium higher education (both overseas and locally), “blended learning” that utilizes a variety of both face-to-face and e-learning platforms has become the latest direction for higher education development research in Southeast Asia. In this paper, the blended learning efforts made in MEd LAC (Master of Education in Language across the Curriculum) program at the University of Hong Kong are presented. ASAIHL scholars and researchers are requested to make discussion for possible future collaborative projects in this emerging area of research that aims at achieving both access and excellence in English medium higher education in Southeast Asia.