Article published in:
10th Anniversary Celebration
Edited by Pádraig Ó Duibhir and Laurent Cammarata
[Journal of Immersion and Content-Based Language Education 10:2] 2022
► pp. 265–285

EMI as discursive positioning

Exploring the voices of content subject teachers in Hong Kong

| The Education University of Hong Kong

Set against a background of societal pressure and preference for English language education in Hong Kong, this paper explores the policy and practice of English medium instruction (EMI) from the perspective of one group of content subject teachers. Grounded in Bakhtin’s dialogism, the paper reports the results of a qualitative study that used in-depth interviews to explore the perspectives and experiences of these teachers as they implement EMI policy in Hong Kong schools. The results reveal the existence of several discourses of EMI in Hong Kong that position the teachers at community, institutional, and professional levels. The results also suggest that the interplay of EMI discourses can offer content subject teachers positions which they regard as undesirable. Suggestions for ensuring that the voices of these teachers are heard within the context of teacher professional development opportunities in EMI settings are considered and implications for future research are discussed.

Keywords: English medium of instruction, Hong Kong, dialogism, positioning theory
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Conceptual framework
    • 2.1Positioning
    • 2.2Dialogism
  • 3.Data collection and analysis
    • 3.1Data collection
    • 3.2Data analysis
  • 4.Results
    • 4.1The discourse of business
    • 4.2The discourse of education
    • 4.3The discourse of professionalism
    • 4.4The discourse of status
    • 4.5The discourse of business versus the discourse of education
    • 4.6The discourse of business versus the discourse of professionalism
    • 4.7The discourse of status versus the discourse of education
    • 4.8The discourse of status versus the discourse of professionalism
  • 5.Discussion
    • 5.1Perception – realism
    • 5.2Community – individual
    • 5.3Discretion – disclosure
    • 5.4Positioning and repositioning EMI content subject teachers
  • 6.Conclusion
  • Note
  • References
Published online: 02 March 2022
https://doi.org/10.1075/jicb.21018.tre
References
Kayi-Aydar, H.
(2019) Positioning theory in applied linguistics. Research design and applications. Palgrave Macmillan. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Bakhtin, M.
(1981) Discourse in the novel. In M. Holquist (Ed.), The dialogic imagination: Four essays by M. M. Bakhtin (pp. 259–422). University of Texas Press.Google Scholar
Banks, M.
(2018) Exploring EMI lecturers’ attitudes and needs. EPiC in Language and Linguistics, 31, 19–26. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Baxter, J.
(2016) Positioning language and identity. Poststructuralist perspectives. In S. Preece (Ed.), The Routledge handbook of language and identity (pp. 34–49). Routledge.Google Scholar
Borg, S.
(2017) Teachers’ beliefs and classroom practices. In P. Garrett & J. Cots (Eds.), The Routledge handbook of language awareness (pp. 75–91). Routledge. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Braun, V., & Clarke, V.
(2006) Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3 (2), 77–101. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Chan, J.
(2014) Fine-tuning language policy in Hong Kong education: stakeholders perceptions, practices and challenges. Language and Education, 28 (5), 459–476. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Cohen, L., Manon, L., & Morrison, K.
(2018) Research methods in education (8th ed.). Routledge.Google Scholar
Davies, B., & Harre, R.
(1990) Positioning: The discursive production of selves. Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour, 20 (1), 43–63. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Dearden, J. & Macaro, E.
(2016) Higher education teachers’ attitudes towards English medium instruction: A three-country comparison. Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching, 6 (3), 455–486. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Emerson, C.
(1983) The outer word and inner speech: Bakhtin, Vygotsky, and the internalization of language. Critical Inquiry, 10 (2), 245–264. https://​www​.jstor​.org​/stable​/1343349
Evans, S.
(2011) Historical and comparative perspectives on the medium of instruction in Hong Kong. Language Policy, 101, 19–36. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2013) The long march to biliteracy and trilingualism: language policy in Hong Kong education since the handover. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 33 1, 302–324. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Harre, R.
(2012) Positioning theory: moral dimensions of social-cultural psychology. In J. Valsiner (Ed.), The Oxford handbook of culture and psychology (pp. 191–206). Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Holquist, M.
(1983) Answering as authoring: Mikhail Bakhtin’s trans-linguistics. Critical Inquiry, 10 (2), 307–319. https://​www​.jstor​.org​/stable​/1343352
(1990) Dialogism. Routledge. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Layder, D.
(2006) Understanding social theory (2nd ed.). SAGE. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Lau, C.
(2020) English language education in Hong Kong: a review of policy and practice. Current issues in Language Planning, 21 (5), 457–474. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Lo, Y. Y.
(2014) Collaboration between L2 and content subject teachers in CBI: contrasting beliefs and attitudes. RELC Journal, 45 (2), 181–196. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2019) Development of the beliefs and language awareness of content subject teachers in CLIL: does professional development help? International Journal of Bilingual education and Bilingualism, 22 (7), 818–832. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2020) Professional development of CLIL teachers. Springer. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Lo, Y. Y., & Lin, A.
(2019) Content and language integrated learning in Hong Kong. In X. Gao (Ed.), Second handbook of English language teaching (pp. 963–982). Springer. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Lo, Y. Y., & Lo, E.
(2014) A meta-analysis of the effectiveness of English-medium education in Hong Kong. Review of Educational research, 84 (1), 47–73. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Macaro, E.
(2020) Exploring the role of language in English medium instruction. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 23 (3), 263–276. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Merriam, S., & Tisdell, E.
(2016) Qualitative research. A guide to design and implementation. Jossey-Bass.Google Scholar
Poon, A.
(2013) Will the new fine-tuning medium-of-instruction policy alleviate the threats of dominance of English-medium instruction? Current Issues in Language Planning, 14 (1), 34–51. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Poon, A., Lau, C., & Chu, D.
(2013) Impact of the fine-tuning medium-of-instruction policy on learning: some preliminary findings. Literacy Information and Computer Education Journal 4 (1), 1037–1045. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Tollefson, J.
(2015) Language policy-making in multilingual education: mass media and the framing of medium of instruction. Current Issues in Language Planning, 16 (1–2), 132–148. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Trent, J.
(2010) Teacher identity construction across the curriculum: promoting cross-curriculum collaboration in English-medium schools. Asia Pacific Journal of Education, 30 (2), 167–183. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2018) ‘Fitting in’ or ‘being different’? Integration, separation, and identity construction during a teaching practicum in Hong Kong. Teacher Development, 22 (4), 571–586. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
van Langenhove, L., & Harre, R.
(1999) Introducing positioning theory. In R. Harre & L. van Langenhove (Eds.), Positioning theory: Moral contexts of intentional action (pp. 14–31). Blackwell.Google Scholar
Wang, L., & Kirkpatrick, A.
(2015) Trilingual education in Hong Kong primary schools: an overview. Multilingual Education, 5 (3). DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Wortham, S.
(2001) Narratives in action. A strategy for research and analysis. Teachers College Press.Google Scholar
Zare-ee, A. & Hejazi, S.
(2017) University teachers’ views on English as the medium of instruction in an Iranian higher education institution. Arab World English Journal, 8 (4), 467–485. DOI logoGoogle Scholar