A glocalized framework for English as a Medium of Instruction (EMI) Aymen Elsheikh, PhD Texas A&M University at Qatar TDSIG/GISIG PCE Liverpool April 1, 2019

EMI: Paradigm Shift? The “new normal” (Fenton-Smith et al. 2017) “English has become the normal medium of instruction in higher education for many countries – including several where the language has no official status” (Crystal 2004, p. 20). Neghina (2017) has estimated that Asia alone may have more than 2,600 EMI programs. Though some scholars have suggested that EMI is the “new normal,” we believe that EMI has yet to take its final, normalized form (Graham, Elsheikh & Eslami, forthcoming).

EMI: Paradigm Shift? The evidence of EMI’s current academic and cultural identity outcomes is far from on stable ground, and we feel the paradigm shift has yet to come. Current research on academic outcomes is inconclusive on EMI’s ability to match the content outcomes of instruction in the local language (Graham et al, 2018). EMI negatively affecting students’ cultural identities both professionally and personally (Kane 2014) What might the final paradigm shift look like?

A Glocalized EMI Glocalized EMI will take into account global and local demands for curriculum, instruction and professional development in order to form an EMI that is responsive to instructors, students and communities.

EMI: A Glocalized Framework

Curriculum International Branch Campuses (IBCs) History curriculum in Qatar IBCs “History of the United States,” “American Military History, “American Indians History,” and “Blacks in the United States after 1877” “World History”, “Islamic Identity”, “Nationalism”, and Environmental History”

Curriculum I regularly observed looks of incomprehension being exchanged among the Arabic- educated cohort when references to culturally bounded phenomena were made, such as to Weight Watchers, to Alcoholics Anonymous, to the Bill of Rights to Medicaid, in addition to when advanced terminology was employed (Kane 2014, p. 100).

Curriculum “The fact that WCMC-Q students’ acquisition of professional language is restricted to English hinders students from communicating effectively with patients in what is expected to be a common language” (Kane 2014, p. 108).

Pedagogy From content to language Language as a pedagogy in glocalized EMI Which English? Macaro (2018), in his examination of EMI, challenges readers to consider which English should be the English of EMI: the native variety used in Western, Inner Circle countries, the English as a lingua franca (ELF) version used between two non-native speakers from different cultures, or a World English (WE) that is used in a particular locale.

Pedagogy: Strategies Students may be better served if taught through the language they will be using in Qatar—either ELF or the Gulf variety WE (Hillman & Ocampo Eibenschutz, 2018). The instructor, if a non-native speaker, should be a model of this type of English, be it an ELF or a WE. An instructor should raise awareness about different Englishes used in the discipline and use imported course books critically. Role-playing as a means of cross-cultural training. Translanguaging

Professional Development From top-down to bottom-up approaches. Mustafawi and Shaaban (2018) report that one of the major issues with Qatar’s Education for a New Era reform is that it came from the top-down. Participants in the study suggested this may have been one of the reasons for the reform’s failure. Glocalized EMI Framework could also suffer the same consequences if it is imposed from the top-down, rather than being informed by the stakeholders who are in the classrooms every day.

Professional Development Instructors should ask whether the current curriculum, particularly if it has been imported, best supports the goal of the course. Instructors’ beliefs about language and instruction and encourage examination of whether their current practices best serve students. Professional development can move forward with training in strategies for successful classroom experiences: e.g., translanguaging. The role of language teacher associations: e.g., conferences/events on glocalization of ELT practices.

Conclusion Western ideologies of curriculum, instruction and professional development have guided EMI implementation and have largely gone unquestioned. Professional development: Curriculum and instructional plan based on data collected from current students and past graduates. The English form chosen will be based on the nature of the activity and the learning outcome. Translanguaging as an instructional practice. The real paradigm shift in EMI will be when instructors make decisions based on the global and local needs of students.

References Crystal, D. (2004). The Language Revolution, Cambridge: Polity Press. Fenton-Smith, B., Humphreys, P. & Walkinshaw, I. (2017). English Medium Instruction in Higher Education in Asia- Pacific: From Policy to Pedagogy, Cham, Switzerland: Springer. Graham, K. Choi, Y., Davoodi, A., Razmeh, S. and Dixon, L. Q. (2018). Language and content outcomes of CLIL and EMI: A systematic review, Latin American Journal of Content & Language Integrated Learning, 11, pp. 19-37. Hillman, S. & Ocampo Eibenschutz, E. (2018). English, super‐diversity, and identity in the State of Qatar, World Englishes. Kane, T. (2014). Whose lingua franca?: The politics of language in transnational medical education, The Journal of General Education, 63, pp. 94-112. Macaro, E. (2018). English Medium Instruction, Oxford: Oxford University Press. Neghina, C. (2017). Asia rising, http://www.studyportals.com/intelligence/asia-rising. Accessed 21 October 2018. Mustafawi, E. & Shaaban, K. (2018). Language policies in education in Qatar between 2003 and 2012: From local to global then back to local, Language Policy.

Aymen Elsheikh, PhD aymen.elsheikh@qatar.tamu.edu THANK YOU! Aymen Elsheikh, PhD aymen.elsheikh@qatar.tamu.edu