Article published in:
Journal of English-Medium Instruction
Vol. 1:1 (2022) ► pp. 124–136

A research agenda for English-medium instruction

Conversations with scholars at the research fronts

| The University of British Columbia

Since English-Medium Instruction (EMI) has emerged as an important field of policy and research, there are a multiplicity of issues that are unexamined but need critical attention. This paper features some key scholars of EMI who together highlight contemporary issues of EMI as a field of research and its primary future research agendas moving forward, including appropriate methods of collecting information about EMI. The nine researchers, who represent different geographical contexts (South/East Asia, Africa, Europe, and South America), have offered their views regarding the future research agendas of EMI. Based on the conversations with these researchers, this paper presents eight strands of EMI research agendas that need to be carried on.

Keywords: English-medium instruction, research agenda, the role of language, political economy, language assessment, professional development
Article outline
  • Introduction
  • What should be on the EMI research agenda going forward?
    • Interview 1: Roger Barnard
    • Interview 2: M. Obaidul Hamid
    • Interview 3: Anna Kristina Hultgren
    • Interview 4: Ernesto Macaro
    • Interview 5: Ron Martinez
    • Interview 6: Lizzi O. Milligan
    • Interview 7: Heath Rose
    • Interview 8: Philip Shaw
    • Interview 9: Yuen Yi Lo
    • Conclusion: Key issues and research strands
  • Note
  • References
Available under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) 4.0 license.

For any use beyond this license, please contact the publisher at rights@benjamins.nl.

Published online: 21 January 2022
https://doi.org/10.1075/jemi.21022.sah
References
Block, D.
(2017) Political economy in applied linguistics research. Language Teaching, 50 (1), 32–64. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Jahan, I., & Hamid, M. O.
(2019) English as a medium of instruction and the discursive construction of elite identity. Journal of Sociolinguistics, 23 1, 386–408. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Macaro, E., Curle, S., Pun, J., An, J., & Dearden, J.
(2018) A systematic review of English medium instruction in higher education. Language Teaching, 51 (1), 36–76. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Milligan, L. O.
(2020) Towards a social and epistemic justice approach for exploring the injustices of English as a medium of instruction in basic education. Educational Review. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Olssen, M., & Peters, M. A.
(2005) Neoliberalism, higher education and the knowledge economy: From the free market to knowledge capitalism. Journal of Education Policy, 20 (3), 313–345. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Sah, P. K., & Karki, J.
(2020) Elite appropriation of English as a medium of instruction policy and epistemic inequalities in Himalayan schools. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Sah, P. K., & Li, G.
(2018) English medium instruction (EMI) as linguistic capital in Nepal: Promises and realities. International Multilingual Research Journal, 12 (2), 109–123. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2020) Translanguaging or unequal languaging? Unfolding the plurilingual discourse of English medium instruction policy in Nepal’s public schools. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Tsou, W., & Baker, W.
(Eds.) (2021) English-medium instruction translanguaging practices in Asia: Theories, frameworks and implementation in higher education. Springer.Google Scholar
Wijesekera, H. D., & Hamid, M. O.
forthcoming). The dynamics of bilingual education in post-conflict Sri Lanka. In L. Adinolfi, U. Bhattacharya, & P. Phyak Eds. Multilingual education in South Asia: At the intersection of policy and practice Routledge
A research agenda for English-medium instruction