EMI in Chinese higher education: the Muddy water of ‘Englishisation’

Jim  McKinley; Heath Rose; Xiao Lan Curdt-Christiansen

doi:10.1515/applirev-2022-0015

EMI in Chinese higher education: the Muddy water of ‘Englishisation’

Jim McKinley
, Heath Rose
, Xiao Lan Curdt-Christiansen

University College London
University of Oxford

Research output: Contribution to journal › Special issue › peer-review

42 Citations (SciVal)

Abstract

English in Chinese higher education has shifted from being taught as a
foreign language alongside other disciplinary-focussed courses to becoming an
important medium of instruction used for learning and teaching non-language
related academic subjects. While using English medium instruction (EMI) seems a
natural and neutral academic exercise, the switch has muddied the water of EMI
implementation and caused a number of social and academic issues for both
students and lecturers. These problems include unfair promotion opportunities,
unequal access to EMI classes, inadequate learning outcomes, and poor teaching
quality. This special issue builds on past and current EMI work that explores issues related to EMI implementation in Chinese higher education institutions and in classrooms. Through the selection of several empirical papers, the special issue
shines light on current knowledge, policies and practices of EMI in China to pave
the way for research-informed recommendations.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	1475-1481
Number of pages	7
Journal	Applied Linguistics Review
Volume	14
Issue number	6
Early online date	15 Apr 2022
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1515/applirev-2022-0015
Publication status	Published - 27 Nov 2023

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 Jim McKinley et al.

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Language and Linguistics
Linguistics and Language

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10.1515/applirev-2022-0015Licence: CC BY

Cite this

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abstract = "English in Chinese higher education has shifted from being taught as a foreign language alongside other disciplinary-focussed courses to becoming an important medium of instruction used for learning and teaching non-language related academic subjects. While using English medium instruction (EMI) seems a natural and neutral academic exercise, the switch has muddied the water of EMI implementation and caused a number of social and academic issues for both students and lecturers. These problems include unfair promotion opportunities, unequal access to EMI classes, inadequate learning outcomes, and poor teaching quality. This special issue builds on past and current EMI work that explores issues related to EMI implementation in Chinese higher education institutions and in classrooms. Through the selection of several empirical papers, the special issue shines light on current knowledge, policies and practices of EMI in China to pave the way for research-informed recommendations.",

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EMI in Chinese higher education: the Muddy water of ‘Englishisation’

Abstract

Bibliographical note

ASJC Scopus subject areas

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