A survey of EMI lecturer training programmes: content, delivery, ways forward.

This talk will provide insights into designing and delivering English Medium Instruction (EMI) lecturer training by surveying published initiatives worldwide (Deroey, 2021). Although EMI is not a recent phenomenon, many higher education institutions are only now beginning to organize specific support for EMI lecturers. EAP practitioners are often tasked with providing such support, since the perception commonly is that language is the main issue requiring improvement.
However, the efficient design and delivery of EMI lecturing training and support is a complex challenge. First, most literature highlights the need for pedagogical and communication training in addition to language work. Second the varied EMI context means training should be adapted to the local cultural, educational, linguistic and institutional contexts (Herington, 2020; Martinez & Fernandes, 2020; Tuomainen, 2018). Third, we need to be sensitive to lecturers’ attitudes towards EMI and EMI training (Tsui, 2018). Fourth, there are practical considerations such as the timely provision of support (Guarda & Helm, 2017); promoting participation; facilitating learning transfer to lectures; and working with what are usually heterogeneous participant groups in terms of English proficiency, (EMI) lecturing experience and discipline (Ball & Lindsay, 2013). Finally, the design of these programmes typically needs to happen with very limited institutional resources, few (if any) published materials and relatively little published research on lecture discourse and EMI lecturer training.
Having surveyed the main components, formats and work forms of the programmes, the conclusion highlights ways forward in EMI lecturer training that emerge from this analysis.
References
Ball, P., & Lindsay, D. (2013). Language demands and support for English-medium instruction in tertiary education. Learning from a specific context In A. Doiz, D. Lasagabaster, & J. M. Sierra (Eds.), English-medium instruction at universities: Global challenges (pp. 44-61). Multilingual Matters.
Deroey, K. L. B. (2021). Lecturer training for English Medium Instruction: what and how? In B. D. Bond, A. & M. Evans (Ed.), Innovation, exploration and transformation. Proceedings of the 2019 BALEAP Conference (pp. 245-253). Garnet.
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.
Herington, R. (2020). Observation as a tool to facilitate the professional development of teaching faculty involved in English as a Medium of Instruction: trainer and trainee perspectives. In M. L. Carrió-Pasto (Ed.), Internationalising Learning in Higher Education (pp. 65-82). IGI Global.
Martinez, R., & Fernandes, K. (2020). Development of a teacher training course for English medium instruction for higher education professors in Brazil. In M. Del Mar Sánchez-Pérez (Ed.), Teacher Training for English-Medium Instruction in Higher Education (pp. 125-152). IGI Global.
Tuomainen, S. (2018). Supporting non-native university lecturers with English-medium instruction. Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education, 10(3), 230-242.