Abstract:

This presentation aims to explore higher education teachers’ perceptions of their teaching practice in English-medium instruction (EMI) programmes and offer a synthesized list of competences teachers need to acquire to implement EMI courses effectively. As part of the internationalisation efforts of universities worldwide, an increasing number of institutions have begun to offer EMI programmes in a variety of disciplines (Block & Khan, 2021; Lasagabaster, 2022). Hence, experienced instructors often need to start the process of transferring their courses from L1 to English, which poses challenges beyond their English as a foreign language skills (Sánchez-Pérez, 2020; Macaro et al., 2019). The study adopts a qualitative approach, conducting semi-structured interviews with teachers on their course design, teaching material development, teaching experience and assessment practices. The results of this study will provide valuable insights into the challenges teachers face and the opportunities they can seize within the culturally diverse context. Such challenges are often associated with stakeholder requirements regarding quality instruction, learner achievement and attainment. To maximise the potentials of EMI programmes, institutions need to capitalise on the opportunities stemming from culturally diverse learning environments by reconsidering course curricula and teaching approaches. The implications of this study will contribute to a better understanding of the teacher competences beyond translanguaging that are required for effective EMI teaching and how instructors can be assisted and developed in designing, implementing, and evaluating such courses.

Keywords:

English-medium instruction, internationalisation, teacher competences, academic development.