Critical 'English medium instruction' in higher education: Theory, practice, and research

Abstract

‘English Medium Instruction’ (EMI) in higher education has already been recognized as an important area of practice and research in applied linguistics and language education. However, within the relatively vast landscape of EMI research, there has been marginal consideration of the host of significant sociocultural concerns that may arise by the embrace of English in non-English-speaking settings. While the small stream of already existing discussions of issues like ideology and policy in EMI depict the significance of such concerns, the unexplored sociocultural considerations regarding EMI are many. Beyond a view of languages as neutral instruments of communication, English carries its own cultural perspectives and perceptions and, therefore, becomes intertwined with the cultural orientations, ideologies, and identities of those who learn and use it. EMI, like other English language education involvements, falls within this complicated arena of sociocultural contestations and, therefore, critical discussions that pertain to problems such as the reproduction of English dominance through EMI and issues of ideology and identity in EMI can be significant topics of scholarly explorations. Based on this perspective, our colloquium will be a forum for exploring some significant sociocultural considerations of English language education from critical perspectives in the context of university EMI programs in different countries around the world: (post-)colonial ideologies and values associated with EMI; inequalities maintained and deepened through EMI; and identity construction processes and challenges of university EMI instructors.