Journal of English-Medium Instruction - Volume 2, Issue 1, 2023

Whilst the vast majority of the Maldivian population speak Dhivehi at home, English typically serves as the only medium of instruction (MoI) starting from primary school. Teachers have expressed their concerns regarding educational quality, as many children are taught in a language they do not master sufficiently. The present study aimed to investigate the level of second language (L2) proficiency in relation to reading abilities and mathematical skills in 25 ten- to twelve-year-old children living in the Maldives. The results showed relatively low performance on all tasks, despite normal nonverbal intelligence. Moreover, we found a significant relation between English vocabulary knowledge and reading accuracy. Our findings contribute to a growing body of research suggesting that using an L2 as the only MoI may be detrimental to literacy development and learning outcomes. Considering the objectives of educational quality, language maintenance of Dhivehi and the pragmatic value assigned to English, we argue in favour of a bilingual model of education, in which the importance of native language development is emphasized.

English-medium instruction (EMI) courses in higher education have increased dramatically over the past decade and Japan is no exception. In the implementation of EMI courses, the role of English and the local language (Japanese) during content education is a subject of debate. The present study analyses EMI teacher talk by looking at aspects such as speech structure, and the role of language during content-education. Twelve undergraduate classes from four academic subjects in Economics, Ethics in Science, Project Planning, and Development Studies (three classes from each subject) were observed and recorded. Transcripts from these classes were analysed using Christie’s (1989) classroom discourse approach of curriculum genre, and Bernstein’s (1996) notion of horizontal and vertical discourses. Research findings revealed that there are similarities in EMI teachers’ classroom speech structure. However, the learning context has an effect on the role of English language which in turn influences content education.

The rise of English in Dutch higher education has been accompanied by a language ideological debate that affects students’ and lecturers’ lives at the micro level, policy and planning at the meso (institutional) level and is related to the macro perspective (national political agenda). This study explores how language ideologies and attitudes play a role in this debate by comparing lecturers’ perceptions of the use of English in higher education to general language ideologies reflected in the Dutch printed press. A thematic analysis was conducted, including a three-dimensional investigation incorporating a vertical approach (macro, meso, micro) combined with a horizontal approach focusing on ideological themes present at the vertical level. Our data consist of 151 news items and 20 interviews with lecturers in higher education. Results show that monolingual language ideologies are the norm in both the perceptions of teaching staff and the Dutch media. Lecturers were generally more positive towards the exclusive use of English than the printed media. The study suggests that the Dutch/English dichotomy and accompanying persistence of a monolingual language ideology contrast with the reality of the Netherlands as a multilingual community. Implications for language policy and practice within EMI are presented.

The purpose of the present study is to offer insights into how Spanish undergraduates, who were mid-way through an English-medium programme at a university in Catalonia, articulate their past decision to study an academic subject in English. Economics students (34 in total) completed an oral elicitation task and the monologues yielded were analysed using thematic analysis. Three dominant themes emerged: (1) The right fit for me; (2) To practise my English; and (3) English comes with benefits. Each of these themes is presented as a composite description of the students’ ideas about their past choice from the temporal position of the here-and-now, and explored through distinct but complementary social psychological and sociological lenses. The present study finds threads running through the students’ narratives of a near effortlessness to choose to learn in this way, as well as an understanding of the capital value of English. For some, their sole stated motive was to develop and preserve this linguistic asset.