The spread of English Medium Instruction programmes: Educational and research implications

Abstract

The spread of EMI programmes in South East Asian (SEA) universities as witnessed and documented by the authors in this volume has led to a whole array of challenges and dilemmas. Frequently a higher education institute adopts English medium instruction (EMI) mainly for the symbolic prestige associated with the hegemonic discourses of internationalisation, globalisation and market forces or financial need. The decision of adopting EMI in many higher education programmes is thus based on the myth that EMI will bring about greater prestige to the higher education institute rather than on educational principles informed by applied linguistics and educational research. The result is a lack of clear institutional policies for ensuring that the institutional conditions for the successful implementation of EMI are in place. Of great concern are the widely observed challenges across different South East Asian university contexts where EMI has been adopted. These challenges include lack of adequate preparation of teachers, lack of language support to students, and lack of a set of research-informed principles regarding how EMI curricula, pedagogy and assessment can be designed in locally and culturally sensitive ways. In this chapter, we shall outline the key areas in which further research and intervention is urgently needed. We shall conclude with a call for deconstructing the myth of the prestige of EMI and for the cautious re-examination of what is at risk if EMI is adopted without adequate teacher preparation and institutional staffing resources.