Jul 2026· LEARN Journal : Language Education and Acquisition Research Network· Vol 19, pp. 18· 0 citations· 40 references
Abstract
Driven by the forces of globalization, internationalization agendas, ASEAN regional integration, and increasing competition within higher education institutions, English-medium instruction (EMI) has expanded rapidly across Thai universities. Despite its growing prominence, EMI implementation in Thailand remains conceptually contested and pedagogically uneven. This article examines the emergence, conceptualization, and implementation of EMI in Thai higher education by synthesizing contemporary research on policy, pedagogy, language, and assessment. It then identifies five persistent conceptual ambiguities that result in EMI development, including the conflation of EMI with English language teaching, the belief that native-like English proficiency is necessary for EMI teaching, the assumption that EMI automatically improves students’ English proficiency, the perception that EMI guarantees educational quality and internationalization, and the belief that effective EMI requires English-only instruction. The review reveals a range of implementation challenges, including uneven English proficiency among students and lecturers, limited pedagogical preparation, assessment and curriculum tensions, institutional resource disparities, and the absence of a coherent national EMI framework. Taken together, these issues reflect a broader policy–practice disconnect in which internationalization goals often exceed local institutional capacity and classroom realities. Drawing on comparative insights from Taiwan’s Bilingual 2030 initiative, the article argues that sustainable EMI development requires moving beyond monolingual and deficit-oriented assumptions toward multilingual, context-sensitive approaches that integrate language support, disciplinary learning, and educational equity. The paper concludes with policy, pedagogical, institutional, and research recommendations for strengthening EMI implementation in Thai higher education.
English-medium instruction (EMI) has expanded across Bangladeshi higher education as a marker of academic quality, internationalisation, and graduate employability. Yet the institutional promotion of English does not necessarily translate into sustained English-medium classroom interaction or improved opportunities for students’ language development. This qualitative multiple-case study examines how EMI is interpreted, negotiated, and enacted across three private universities in Bangladesh. Data were generated through semi-structured interviews with six teachers of content-oriented English-department courses and 18 final-year undergraduate students, three student focus-group discussions, and three classroom observations. The dataset was analysed using reflexive thematic analysis, supported by iterative coding, memo writing, within-case analysis, and cross-case comparison. Findings indicate that EMI functioned less as a stable English-only instructional model than as a negotiated bilingual practice shaped by uneven English proficiency, time constraints, and institutional expectations. Teachers used Bangla to clarify difficult concepts, sustain interaction, and support comprehension, while students valued English for its academic and professional benefits but often experienced English-only instruction as limiting confidence, participation, and access to disciplinary knowledge. Bilingual mediation, however, rarely formed part of a systematic approach to academic-English development. The central tension therefore lies not simply in teachers’ departure from English-only instruction, but in universities’ expectation that EMI will deliver both disciplinary learning and English proficiency without adequate linguistic, pedagogical, and assessment support. Conceptualising this tension as the EMI institutional promise–practice paradox, the study argues for a linguistically responsive model that combines planned bilingual scaffolding, explicit disciplinary-language development, language-sensitive assessment, and sustained teacher support. By showing how bilingual mediation both sustains and complicates EMI, the study contributes to debates on multilingual pedagogy, linguistic equity, and institutional responsibility in multilingual higher education.
Sultana Jahan· ICRRD Quality Index Research...· 0 citations
The expansion of English Medium Instruction (EMI) across Asian higher education has intensified post-pandemic, yet a comprehensive understanding of its implementation landscape remains limited. Following PRISMA 2020 guidelines, this systematic review synthesizes 15 empirical studies (2015–2025) from four academic databases to explore implementation trends, stakeholder challenges, and adaptation strategies in Asian EFL contexts. Frequency analysis revealed that linguistic difficulties were a primary barrier in 87% of the studies, pedagogical inconsistency in 60%, and language anxiety affected 53% of the combined participants. Thematic synthesis identified three core dimensions: top-down policies generating macro-micro gaps and institutional stratification; multidimensional linguistic and psychological barriers impacting engagement; and emergent adaptive strategies, including translanguaging, bilingual professional learning communities, and learner metacognition. These findings highlight that EMI is a complex educational ecosystem rather than a mere linguistic shift. This review offers a structured, geographically scoped framework for policymakers, institutions, and future researchers to improve EMI quality and equity in the region.
A. Saifulloh, Muhammad Arif Al Hakim· IJEE (Indonesian Journal of...· 0 citations
: English‑Medium Instruction (EMI) refers to the teaching of academic subjects in English in contexts where English is not the students’ first language. EMI has expanded rapidly in higher education worldwide over the past two decades as part of university internationalization, student mobility, and academic competitiveness. However, the extent to which EMI contributes to student success-beyond simply using English in instruction-remains debated. This review synthesizes empirical and theoretical research on student success in EMI settings, focusing on academic achievement, language development, classroom engagement, learning experience, and equity. The evidence indicates that EMI has the potential to support students’ disciplinary learning and English proficiency; however, success is most likely when there are adequate language supports, informed pedagogy, teacher capacity, and inclusive institutional policies. Without such supports, EMI may exacerbate language challenges and learning inequities.
Jianghua Wu· Adult and Higher Education· 0 citations
This study examines how lecturers in a Brazilian public university perceive English-medium instruction (EMI) and the development of intercultural competence (IC) within their teaching. It aims to understand the importance they assign to IC, the challenges they encounter and the types of institutional support they consider necessary for integrating IC into EMI.
This study draws on data from an online questionnaire completed by 31 lecturers across multiple disciplinary fields. Closed-ended items generated descriptive statistics on language use and proficiency, while open-ended responses underwent qualitative content analysis, combining deductive and inductive coding procedures. The instrument was part of a larger project that collected comparable data in Brazil and Portugal.
EMI use was selective and concentrated in course materials, readings and slides rather than full English-medium course delivery. Lecturers identified insufficient English proficiency, lack of training, limited institutional policies and restricted opportunities for intercultural exposure as major barriers. They viewed IC as a multidimensional competence encompassing educational, social and professional dimensions. Participants emphasized the need for continuous pedagogical training, sustained language support and institutional recognition of EMI- and IC-related work.
Findings highlight the urgency of coordinated institutional policies, integrated EMI–IC professional development, expanded language support and opportunities for intercultural engagement to sustain EMI initiatives in Brazilian higher education.
This study provides one of the few empirical examinations of how Brazilian lecturers conceptualize IC within EMI practice. It offers context-specific insights into how structural inequalities and limited institutional frameworks shape EMI adoption in public, tuition-free systems.
Marcelo Kremer, Susana Pinto· Journal for Multicultural Ed...· 0 citations
The medium of instruction remains one of the most critical determinants of learners' cognitive development, literacy acquisition, and educational achievement, particularly within multilingual societies. In Nigeria, the National Policy on Education prescribes the use of the child's mother tongue or the language of the immediate environment during the first three years of primary education before a gradual transition to English language. Despite this policy provision, implementation across states, including Kogi State, has remained inconsistent due to sociolinguistic diversity, inadequate teacher preparation, insufficient instructional resources, and parental preference for English-medium education. This paper evaluates the extent to which the prescribed language policy has been translated into classroom practice in Kogi State and examines its implications for effective and sustainable basic education. Drawing on policy documents, empirical studies, theoretical literature, and international best practices, the study adopts a qualitative review methodology anchored on language planning and sociocultural theories of learning. Findings indicate a significant disconnect between policy intentions and classroom realities, resulting in reduced learning outcomes, poor literacy development, and widening educational inequalities among learners from different linguistic backgrounds. The study further reveals that effective implementation of mother tongue-based multilingual education has the potential to improve foundational literacy, classroom participation, learner retention, and educational sustainability when supported by adequate teacher training, curriculum development, and community engagement. The paper concludes that strengthening policy implementation requires coordinated efforts among government agencies, educational institutions, teachers, communities, and development partners. It recommends enhanced investment in indigenous language materials, continuous professional development for teachers, improved monitoring mechanisms, and stronger stakeholder advocacy to ensure that language policy contributes meaningfully to quality basic education and sustainable national development in Kogi State and Nigeria at large.
Moses Gideon Odibah, Aderinsola Helen Adeyemi, Moses Valentina Ogu· International journal of ass...· 0 citations
As Taiwan advances its agenda under the Bilingual 2030 policy, English is increasingly framed as a medium for intercultural engagement rather than merely an academic subject. With the expansion of English-medium instruction and English use in a variety of domains, Taiwanese learners are more likely to use English with other non-native speakers in global contexts. In this setting, pragmatic competence and Global Englishes Language Teaching (GELT), a framework with pragmatics at its core, are essential for enabling learners to negotiate meaning, manage interaction and adapt to diverse cultural norms in an increasingly multilingual and globalized world. Despite this policy shift, English Language Teaching (ELT) curriculum reform has not kept pace. This study examines the extent to which GELT dimensions are incorporated into Taiwan's national ELT curriculum guidelines and four widely used elementary English textbook series. Using deductive thematic analysis and qualitative content analysis across eight dimensions of an adapted GELT framework, the findings reveal a significant divergence between policy-level intentions and their realization in instructional materials. The curriculum guidelines align closely with GELT principles, emphasizing communicative effectiveness, intercultural awareness and the de-centring of native-speaker norms. However, GELT-related pragmatic elements remain largely conceptual, with limited explicit guidance on context-sensitive language use and interactional strategies at the elementary level. In contrast, textbook representations of GELT are partial and uneven. Although some cultural diversity and strategic use of learners’ first language are evident, key dimensions, such as target interlocutors, role models and language norms, continue to privilege Inner-Circle orientations and accuracy-focused conventions. Overall, the study characterizes Taiwan's ELT landscape as a hybrid and transitional model in which globally oriented communicative aims coexist with persistent native-normative practices, highlighting the need for stronger alignment among curriculum design, materials development, assessment practices and teacher education to support sustainable GELT-informed ELT reform.