ELT WTF 3.02: What Tim Feels about English as a medium of instruction (EMI)
In this episode, Tim is reflecting based on an essay he wrote last year about English as a medium of instruction. He argues that this kind of approach is being taken without enough evidence existing that it is actually effective. He then goes on to look at how globalisation, neoliberalisation and internationalisation, rather than a belief in it as a teaching method, have driven EMI's rise. Finally, he argues that researchers and teachers should push back against this type of program instead of accepting it as inevitable. Books cited: Bernstein, K. A., Hellmich, E. A., Katznelson, N., Shin, J., & Vinall, K. (2015). Introduction to Special Issue: Critical Perspectives on Neoliberalism in Second / Foreign Language Education. L2 Journal, 7(3), 2–14. Harvey, D. (2005). A History of Neoliberalism. Knight, J. (2013). The changing landscape of higher education internationalisation - for better or worse? Perspectives: Policy and Practice in Higher Education, 17(3), 84–90. Lei, J., & Hu, G. (2014). Is English-medium instruction effective in improving Chinese undergraduate students’ English competence? IRAL - International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching, 52(2), 99–126. Macaro, E., Curle, S., Pun, J., An, J., & Dearden, J. (2018). A systematic review of English medium instruction in higher education. Vinke, D. (1995). English as the medium of instruction in Dutch engineering education [Doctoral dissertation, University of Delft]. Delft University Press.
