Introductory Webinar of English Medium Instruction (EMI) Established a Forward-looking Scope on Building English Language Capabilities in ASEAN Higher Education

Written by Christopher Paller Gerale, Rhea Rose Balaysoche and Bong Chan Bormey, AUN Interns

The English Medium Instruction (EMI) approach is gaining momentum in higher education across Asia, particularly in the ASEAN region as an essential strategic method in transforming education towards internationalisation and human development excellence. By blending content with language instruction that provides non-English speaking students with both subject knowledge and English skills, EMI offers higher education institutions in countries where English is not the native language the edge to further enhance educational quality, attract international students and establish a strong interconnection with the global higher education community.

To bolster English proficiency and pedagogical skills among university lecturers in the ASEAN region, the Online Introductory Webinar on “English as a Medium of Instruction (EMI): Developing University Lecturers’ Teaching Pedagogy” was held on May 22, 2024 at 09:00 - 10:00 AM (GMT+7) via Zoom. A collaboration between Western Sydney University (WSU), one of Australia’s most renowned universities for English instruction excellence, and the AUN Secretariat, this webinar featured two esteemed speakers who are researchers in the Centre for Educational Research of Western Sydney University, including Prof. Jinghe Han and Dr. Erin Mackenzie.

Prof. Han’s teaching and research interests include English Medium Instruction, post-lingual pedagogy, bilingual teacher education, pedagogy for higher degree research education and academic writing. Meanwhile, Dr. Mckenzie is a Senior Lecturer in Educational Psychology and STEM in the School of Education, Associate Dean (International), and a researcher in the Centre for Educational Research at Western Sydney University. Dr. Erin currently lectures in educational psychology, educational research methods, and STEM education, working with both pre- and in-service secondary teachers.

Garnering the participation from 250 attendees – many of whom were academic staff and lecturers from various ASEAN higher education institutions, this webinar served as another stepping stone paving the way towards’ the endeavours by AUN to promote English language capabilities in the Network’s higher education institutions. There is still so much to do for ASEAN higher education to do in the venture towards English language capability and internationalisation excellence. Nonetheless, the far-reaching interest and participation 

To continue on this momentum, AUN and WSU have been working together to create more capacity building opportunities, courses and events in the near future to engage universities from across the ASEAN region in the regional movement towards EMI. Later in 2024, a full-onsite workshop on EMI capability building by Prof. Jinghe Han and Dr. Erin Mackenzie is being geared up to engage interested lecturers and academic staff from universities across the ASEAN region in increasing the region’s university capability to leverage the potential of EMI to elevate and internationalise higher education at different levels.

Stay tuned for further announcement on this upcoming webinar. In the meantime, learn fundamental knowledge and perspectives about EMI from the recording of the webinar,  available now on the AUN Secretariat Official YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/cpeboTYxdDs

Below is the detailed summary of the webinar.

Background and Potential Roles of EMI in Higher Education Internationalisation

The webinar was organized into three main sections:

• The Role of EMI in the Internationalisation of Higher Education
• The Problems and Challenges EMI Lecturers are Experiencing
• Key Topics to be Included in the Upcoming EMI On-Site Workshop

For the first section, as highlighted by Prof. Han, the role of EMI in the internationalisation of higher education is significant, as it facilitates the teaching of academic subjects in English in countries where English is not the primary language. Prof. Han gave the key distinction between EMI (English-Medium Instruction), ESL (English as a Second Language), and EFL (English as a Foreign Language). EMI primarily revolves around the method of communication, where English serves as the medium of instruction rather than the subject itself. It encompasses a pedagogical approach that emphasises using English to teach academic subjects, regardless of whether English is the students' first language. In contrast, ESL and EFL both centre on the English language as a subject of study. 

EMI has been a strategic move for countries and regions, such as Europe and Asian countries like China, Vietnam, Korea, and Taiwan, to internationalise their universities' curriculum in pursuit of accreditation in the fast-developing, globalised world. EMI has been evidenced in the Bologna Declaration as an objective in EU tertiary education reform. In most EU countries, especially Italy, the EMI approach was first used in internationalised subjects such as business and technology and has spread to engineering, science, and social sciences. It has been swiftly adopted in Asian countries for comparable reasons. Prof. Han also reported the outcomes of her research (2023) entitled “English Medium of Instruction as a Local Practice: Language, Culture and Pedagogy.” In the case of South Korea, EMI policy was developed and implemented to recruit international students from the ASEAN region. Meanwhile, in Taiwan, because of the declining rate of students, it has been trying to develop all the teachers’ abilities in English. Similarly, China reinforces a strategic plan for developing double first-class universities, trying to make China the top destination for international students.

Challenges and Strategies of EMI in Education

The challenges faced by EMI lecturers, such as the lack of formal training, emphasis on language development over pedagogical development, and managing students' diverse language proficiencies, highlight the importance of addressing these issues to effectively implement EMI and enhance the internationalisation of higher education. Such can be achieved through having necessary pedagogical shifts towards interactive and student-centred learning and highlighted challenges such as language barriers, cultural differences, and the need for thorough teacher training. Despite significant progress, challenges remain, particularly in countries where English is not the first language, which highlights the ongoing efforts to bridge linguistic and educational disparities in the EMI landscape.

Dr. Mackenzie then took to the stage and painted the picture of problems and challenges experienced by English Medium Instruction (EMI) lecturers in encompassing several key issues that impact their teaching pedagogy. These challenges are as follows:

• Problem 1 – Training and Professional Development:

One of the primary challenges faced by EMI lecturers is the lack of first-hand EMI experience, which can hinder their ability to effectively implement EMI in their teaching. This lack of direct experience in EMI instruction may lead to difficulties in adapting teaching methods and addressing the specific needs of students in an EMI environment.

• Problem 2 – Emphasis on Teacher-Centred Pedagogies:

EMI lecturers often face challenges related to the emphasis on teacher-centred pedagogies, which favour one-way knowledge transmission. This approach may limit student engagement and interaction, potentially hindering the effectiveness of EMI instruction, by having less emphasis on problem-solving, connecting to real world problems, less time spent on students applying their knowledge, and less likely to use group work and student presentations.

• Problem 3 – Managing Students’ Diverse Language Proficiencies:

From the perspective of EMI lecturers, managing students' diverse language proficiencies presents a multifaceted challenge that requires nuanced strategies to address effectively. In an EMI classroom, students often come with varying levels of English proficiency and different needs, and it poses significant challenges for lecturers. Lecturers can better support their students' diverse language needs that creates an inclusive and effective learning environment by implementing differentiation techniques, maintaining content rigour while accommodating needs, and scaffolding learning for success.

• Problem 4 – Lack of Student Engagement:

EMI lecturers may encounter difficulties in building intrinsic motivation and fostering student engagement in the EMI classroom. This challenge can impact the behavioural, affective, and cognitive engagement of the students, as well as the overall learning experience for students. Hence, solving this problem requires specific strategies to enhance student participation and interaction in an EMI setting.

Dr. Mackenzie also expanded on the practical application of EMI and stressed the significance of aligning the curriculum with EMI goals to guarantee content accessibility for non-native English speakers. As she delved into extensive faculty training initiatives aimed at enhancing lecturers' English proficiency and teaching capabilities, Dr. Mackenzie signifies the employment of encompassing workshops, peer mentoring, online resources and modified assessment approaches  to impartially assess students' comprehension and language proficiency as essential strategic EMI methods.

Key Areas to Explore in Future Dialogue on EMI

As previously mentioned, this webinar is practically a warm-up event for further opportunities between WSU and ASEAN higher education institutions to engage further in the enhancing of EMI capability in the region, with the upcoming EMI on-site workshop in ASEAN in 2024 being the closest one. In this regard, Prof. Han and Dr. Mackenzie took turns providing the key topics to be included in the upcoming EMI on-site workshop to the participants.

Starting on the pedagogical front, Dr. Mackenzie proudly stated that the workshop will delve into several critical pedagogical topics to enhance teaching effectiveness in an EMI context. First, it will explore student-centred pedagogies, particularly constructivist approaches that prioritise students and social interaction in the knowledge-building process. This includes engaging students in problem-solving tasks and providing opportunities for them to apply their learning in real-world situations while blending with the teachers’ content delivery. Teacher strategies to support learning will also be a focus, covering essential techniques like classroom management, differentiation to cater to varying skill levels, scaffolding to provide structured support, and formative assessment to monitor and guide student progress. The workshop will also address ways to foster engagement—behavioural, affective, and cognitive—by identifying what these look like in the classroom and implementing strategies to support each type. Building positive teacher-student relationships will also be emphasised, highlighting the importance of creating connections, using praise and motivation effectively, applying self-regulation strategy, and understanding the impact of teacher expectations on student learning and engagement.

On the linguistic front, Prof. Han said a good word about the workshop, affirming that it will provide strategies and tools to balance language use in the classroom. This includes practical classroom management language techniques, such as ways to greet students, start and end classes, and address interruptions effectively. Functional language, or pragmatic language, will be covered with a focus on signposting, signalling, backchanneling, repairing, repeating, questioning, and commenting to guide students through lessons clearly. The workshop will also emphasise the use of inclusive and emotional language to create a supportive and engaging learning environment. This involves making language inclusive to all students and using emotional language to build a good rapport with students, hence the workshop will help the lecturers to be able to make on the students' side to build a good rapport for the students, such as the usage of "we" or "us" instead of addressing the students using the pronoun "you." In addition, the concept of translanguaging will be introduced, showing how to use multiple languages strategically in the classroom to enhance understanding and participation among students with diverse linguistic backgrounds.

Following the insightful presentations on areas which the future EMI workshop by WSU can delve into in collaboration with academic staff, lecturers and teachers in ASEAN education and higher education, Prof. Han and Dr. Mackenzie opened the floor for questions from the participants. In this short question-and-answer question, the webinar explored further discussion on various topics involved in the discourse and implementation of EMI. Such included the differentiation between EMI and content-based language teaching, the balancing of English and vernacular languages in an EMI classroom, the dilemma of EMI teaching quality disparities between rural and cosmopolitan areas as well as further explanation on formative assessments in benchmarking student’s English language proficiencies and learning in an EMI classroom. 

Related News:

• Western Sydney University among AUN Strategic Partners in Promoting ASEAN Higher Education English Language Capability through EMI Workshop and Training
• English as a Medium of Instruction (EMI): What it is and the Current state of EMI in the Landscape of Higher Education