Cover not available
Article published In:
Journal of English-Medium Instruction
Vol. 2:2 (2023) ► pp.134–158

EMI and its sociolinguistic entanglement with local languages

Disciplinary differences in two engineering programs in Flemish higher education

ORCID logo | Ghent University | University of the Western Cape

Against the backdrop of inter-institutional competition and transnational ambitions, the prevalence of English-medium instruction (EMI) programs in higher education and their relative distribution across various national, regional, and institutional contexts is rapidly growing. When studying the increasingly globalized phenomenon of EMI, there is a tendency to adopt macro-pedagogical perspectives, with comparatively little attention being devoted to disciplinary differences which may warrant intra-institutional differentiation through situationally adaptable approaches to EMI policy and implementation strategies. The present study attempts to further enhance and nuance our understanding of the influence of disciplinary knowledge structures and literacies on lecturers’ and students’ linguistic needs in EMI courses. This article reports on linguistic ethnographic fieldwork at a Belgian higher education institution in which graduate students in international bio-science engineering and industrial design engineering programs were observed during the 2021–2022 academic year. Differences in disciplinary knowledge structures and literacies are explored through means of survey, interview, and classroom observation data. Results corroborate earlier findings on the interplay between disciplinary knowledge structures and attitudes towards EMI. Additionally, the data illustrate how the active inclusion of local languages alongside English can be considered disciplinarily relevant in certain programs.

Keywords: tertiary education, EMI, linguistic ethnography, context specificity, disciplinary knowledge structures, disciplinary literacies
Article outline
  • Introduction: The “whole-brainer” metaphor
  • EMI as a global phenomenon in localized teaching and learning realities
  • Research context
  • Data collection sites and participants
  • Description of the dataset
  • Conceptualizing the role of language: Disciplinary knowledge structures
    • Disciplinary knowledge structures
    • Didactic dynamics of the EMI classroom
    • Attitudes towards EMI in the classroom
    • Discussion: Disciplinary knowledge structures and language preferences
  • Instrumentalizing the role of language: Disciplinary literacies
    • Social-affective language use
    • Discussion: Disciplinary literacies and language preferences
  • Concluding notes: A call for attention to disciplinary contexts
  • Ethical clearance
  • Availability of data and materials
  • Declarations
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 12 June 2023
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/jemi.22018.des
References
Airey, J., & Linder, C.
(2009) A disciplinary discourse perspective on university science learning: Achieving fluency in a critical constellation of modes. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 46 (1), 27–49. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Airey, J.
(2015) From stimulated recall to disciplinary literacy: Summarizing ten years of research into teaching and learning in English. In S. Dimova, A. K. Hulgren & C. Jensen (Eds.), English-medium instruction in European higher education (pp.157–176). De Gruyter-Mouton. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Airey, J., Lauridsen, K. M., Räsänen, A., Salö, L., & Schwach, V.
(2017) The expansion of English-medium instruction in the Nordic countries: Can top-down university language policies encourage bottom-up disciplinary literacy goals? Higher Education, 73 (4), 561–576. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Alberts, M.
(2016) The development of Afrikaans technical language: Past, present and future. Tydskrif vir Geesteswetenskappe, 56 (2–1), 314–334. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Anderson, L., Krathwohl, D., Airasian, P., Cruikshank, K., Mayer, R., Pintrich, P., Raths, J., & Wittrock, M.
(2001) A taxonomy for learning, teaching, and assessing: A revision of Bloom’s taxonomy. Longman.Google Scholar
Antia, B. E.
(2017) Shh, hushed multilingualism! Accounting for the discreet genre of translanguaged siding in lecture halls at a South African university. International Journal of the Sociology of Language, 2431, 183–198. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Belgian Constitution
(1831) Art IV.Google Scholar
Bernstein, B.
(1999) Vertical and horizontal discourse: An essay. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 20 (2), 157–173. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Bloom, B. S.
(ed.) (1956) Taxonomy of educational objectives: The classification of educational goals. McKay.Google Scholar
Bologna Process
(2010) Bologna Process. Towards the European higher education area. [URL] (last accessed 07/02/2013)
Breeze, R., & Roothooft, H.
(2021) Using the L1 in university-level EMI: Attitudes among lecturers in Spain. Language Awareness, 30 (2), 195–215. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Caruso, E.
(2018) Translanguaging in higher education: Using several languages for the analysis of academic content in the teaching and learning process. Language Learning in Higher Education, 8 (1), 65–90. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Creese, A., & Blackledge, A.
(2015) Translanguaging and identity in educational settings. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 35 1, 20–35. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Christie, F., & Maton, K.
(2011) Disciplinarity: Functional linguistic and sociological perspectives. Continuum.Google Scholar
Council of Europe
(2001) Common European framework of reference for languages: Learning, teaching, assessment. Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
De Moor, T., & Mous, L.
(2021) Teaching through English: The didactics and language of English-medium instruction in practice. Academia Press.Google Scholar
De Schutter, H.
(2021) Personality and territoriality in theory and in Belgium. Language Problems and Language Planning, 45 (2), 218–238. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Dewaele, J.-M.
(2013) Emotions in multiple languages. Palgrave Macmillan.Google Scholar
Donald, J. G.
(2002) Learning to think: Disciplinary perspectives. Jossey-Bass.Google Scholar
Fang, F. G.
(2018) Review of English as a medium of instruction in Chinese universities today: Current trends and future directions: New language policies to promote multilingualism and language support for EMI will be needed in Chinese tertiary contexts. English Today, 34 (1), 32–37. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Flemish Government
(2012) Decreet betreffende de integratie van de academische hogeschoolopleidingen in de universiteiten [Decree integration academic university college programs in university curricula].Google Scholar
Galloway, N., & Ruegg, R.
(2022) English medium instruction (EMI) lecturer support needs in Japan and China. System, 102728. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
García, O.
(2009) Education, multilingualism and translanguaging in the 21st century. In T. Skutnabb-Kangas, R. Phillipson, A. Mohanty & M. Panda (Eds.), Social justice through multilingual education (pp. 140–158). Multilingual Matters. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
García, O., Johnson, S. I., Seltzer, K., & Valdés, G.
(2017) The translanguaging classroom: Leveraging student bilingualism for learning. Caslon.Google Scholar
Gillis, V.
(2014) Disciplinary literacy: Adapt not adopt. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, 57 (8), 614–623. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Guarda, M., & Helm, F.
(2017) A survey of lecturers’ needs and feedback on EMI training. In K. Ackerley, M. Guarda, & F. Helm (Eds.), Sharing perspectives on English-medium instruction (pp. 167–194). Peter Lang.Google Scholar
Hemberg, J., & Sved, E.
(2021) The significance of communication and care in one’s mother tongue: Patients’ views. Nordic Journal of Nursing Research, 41 (1), 42–53. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Hu, G., & Duan, Y.
(2019) Questioning and responding in the classroom: A cross-disciplinary study of the effects of instructional mediums in academic subjects at a Chinese university. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 22 (3), 303–321. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Hultgren, A. K., Gregersen, F., & Thøgersen, J.
(2014) English at Nordic universities: Ideologies and practices. In A. K. Hultgren, F. Gregersen, & J. Thøgersen (Eds.), English in Nordic universities: Ideologies and practices (pp. 1–26). John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Kasworm, C. E.
(2008) Emotional challenges of adult learners in higher education. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, 120 1, 27–34. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Kirsch, C.
(2020) Opening minds to translanguaging pedagogies. System, 92 1, 102271. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Kuteeva, M., & Airey, J.
(2014) Disciplinary differences in the use of English in higher education: Reflections on recent language policy developments. Higher Education, 67 (5), 533–549. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Laureys, G., & Versluys, K.
(2022) Language matters: Taalgebruik en taalbeleid aan Vlaamse universiteiten [Language matters: Language use and language policy in Flemish universities]. (751). Koninklijke Vlaamse Academie van België voor Wetenschappen en Kunsten.Google Scholar
Morgan, D. L., & Nica, A.
(2020) Iterative thematic inquiry: A new method for analyzing qualitative data. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 19 1, 1609406920955118. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Papen, U.
(2019) Participant observation and field notes. In K. Tusting (Ed.), The Routledge handbook of linguistic ethnography (pp. 141–153). Routledge. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Pavlenko, A.
(2005) Emotions and multilingualism. Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Roothooft, H.
(2022) Spanish lecturers’ beliefs about English medium instruction: STEM versus Humanities. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 25 (2), 627–640. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Shanahan, T., & Shanahan, C.
(2012) What is disciplinary literacy and why does it matter?. Topics in Language Disorders, 32 (1), 7–18. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Slembrouck, S., & Rosiers, K.
(2018) Translanguaging: A matter of sociolinguistics, pedagogics and interaction? In P. Van Avermaet, S. Slembrouck, K. Van Gorp, S. Sierens & K. Maryns (Eds.), The multilingual edge of education (pp. 165–187). Palgrave Macmillan. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Tannenbaum, M., & Har, E.
(2020) Beyond basic communication: The role of the mother tongue in cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). International Journal of Bilingualism, 24 (4), 881–892. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
ten Thije, J. D.
(2013) Lingua receptiva (LaRa). International Journal of Multilingualism, 10(2), 137–139. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Thompson, G., Aizawa, I., Curle, S., & Rose, H.
(2022) Exploring the role of self-efficacy beliefs and learner success in English medium instruction. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 25 (1), 196–209. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Tsou, W., & Kao, S. M.
(2017) English as a medium of instruction in higher education. Springer. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Tsui, C.
(2018) Teacher efficacy: A case study of faculty beliefs in an English-medium instruction teacher training program. Taiwan Journal of TESOL, 15 (1), 101–128.Google Scholar
van Splunder, F., Verguts, C., De Moor, T., & De Paepe, S.
(2022) The Interuniversity Test of Academic English (ITACE): Assessing lecturers’ English proficiency in Flanders. Journal of English-Medium Instruction, 1 (2), 255–274. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Vandenbussche, W.
(2020) Language policy in higher education in Flanders: Legislation and actual practice. Sociolinguistica, 34 (1), 71–87. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Williams, D. G.
(2015) A systematic review of English medium instruction (EMI) and implications for the South Korean higher education context. English Language Teaching World Online, 1–23.Google Scholar