There is an increasing trend in many universities in Asia, as elsewhere in the world, to introduce ‘international’ academic programmes taught through the medium of English. Despite the rapidity of this development, the issue of language of instruction has long been debated and there is a dearth of empirical research that investigates the opportunities and challenges across a range of specific contexts.
The project started in 2016 that took lead from Ali’s (2013) study on ‘a changing paradigm in language learning: English medium instruction policy at tertiary level in Malaysia’. It intends to occupy this research space, firstly by reviewing historical and contemporary trends and changes to EMI, and by exploring the desirability and feasibility of English Medium Instruction (EMI) in specific university settings in South East Asia; as well as to explore Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia lecturers’ beliefs and practices pertaining to EMI through research collaborations.
A survey of Malaysian students’ attitudes to key issues relating to medium of instruction was conducted. Based on these empirical studies, findings were presented and first published by Routledge in 2018.
The project had also successfully gathered other academics and researchers from Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Denmark as contributors to the EMI edited book.
Part of the findings comparing the three case studies was also published in the Classroom Research Column of the Modern English Teacher magazine (link below), United Kingdom.
The research outputs will provide guidance for decision-makers and practitioners for the effective planning and implementation of EMI programmes where English is an additional language for lecturers and students and its implications will be drawn regarding policy, curricula, pedagogical practice, professional development and further research.
The editors are Dr. Roger Barnard and Dr. Zuwati Hasim. Dr Roger Barnard is an honorary associate professor in applied linguistics at the University of Waikato. Before taking up his present post in New Zealand in 1995, he worked in England, Europe and the Middle East as teacher, teacher educator, manager and advisor to ministries of education. His most recent co-edited books are Language learner autonomy: Teachers’ beliefs and practices in Asian contexts. (2016) with Jinrui Li and Reflective practice: Voices from the field (2017) with J. G. Ryan. He is currently working on a volume of ethical issues in educational research. Meanwhile, Dr Zuwati Hasim is currently attached to the International Institute of Public Policy & Management (INPUMA), University of Malaya, as a Deputy Director. She is a senior lecturer at the Faculty of Education. She has recently received acknowledgement for an excellent reviewer contribution from a scopus-indexed journal. Her current research interests include assessment, action research, pedagogy, teacher education, reflective practice, higher education and school-based assessment. She has led several research projects and her most recent one is on "Theorising Good Teaching."
For more information, kindly contact:
Dr. Zuwati Hasim Department of Language and Literacy Education, Faculty of Education, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Email: [email protected]
e-ISBN 9781315397610
