Research

Title of thesis

English Medium Instruction in Higher Education: A Mixed-methods Study of EMI Practices at Three Chinese Universities (tentative)

Description of thesis research

Given the influences of globalization and marketization in higher education in the past decades, English has been increasingly adopted as a medium of instruction for content subjects in non-English speaking contexts around the world. There are various terms used to describe this educational phenomenon (e.g., English medium instruction, Content and Language Integrated Learning, Content-based instruction) but no consensus has been reached. This proposed study uses the term English medium instruction (EMI) following Macaro (2018). While many studies have been carried out in European contexts, research on EMI in Asian contexts is scarce, especially in China where EMI has become increasingly prevalent. Furthermore, few studies have been done at the tertiary level. Previous research in higher education has focused mostly on teachers and students’ attitudes and beliefs towards EMI and the impacts of EMI on development of the students’ English proficiency, but the implementation and practices of EMI are underexplored.

To fill in these research gaps, this study will explore EMI practices at Chinese universities comprehensively. Using a mixed-methods design (Creswell & Clark, 2011), this study will not only use quantitative approach (e.g., questionnaire) to explore business instructors’ and students’ views on EMI teaching and learning but also use qualitative approach (e.g., case study) to investigate the classroom practices of six focal instructors at three different types of Chinese universities.

Publications