Language proficiency of English-medium instruction teachers across contexts

Abstract

In many higher education contexts, English-medium instruction (EMI) is now more common than education in the national language. However, the wider implications of teaching and learning academic content through English remain poorly understood. Concerns have been raised about EMI teachers’ level of English proficiency and the effect of poor English proficiency on the learning environment in EMI. What remains unclear is which aspects of English are perceived as problematic and which receptive and productive English competences serve the complex tasks involved in EMI pedagogy.

Drawing on theories from within a disciplinary literacies framework (cf. Airey, 2020), this study addresses this dearth of research and aims to explore teachers’ English proficiency and self-efficacy for EMI teaching tasks (Tschannen-Moran et al., 1998). Based on a contrastive cross-sectional design, EMI teachers of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics in Sweden, Hong Kong, and Brazil respond to a questionnaire (partly inspired by the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages descriptors). Responses from 900 (3x300) teachers across the three locations will be analysed and findings will speak to (i) teachers’ perceived level of English productive and receptive proficiency for teaching purposes, (ii) their perceived need for English language support for teaching (both for themselves and others), and (iii) their self-efficacy when teaching in EMI. The multi-site data collection enables unique international comparison of EMI teacher cohorts, validating and (dis)proving perceptions about EMI teachers’ English proficiency and self-beliefs, while helping to identify ways to support teachers and addressing quality concerns in internationalised higher education.