English as a Medium of Instruction (EMI)

Module 1: Task 2 – Complete 5 Readings

Reading 1.1: Common Models for EMI Instruction

EMI is a broad topic that is taking place across the world. This leads to different institutional models
(Dearden, 2015; Tsou & Kao, 2017). Of course, they are going to vary by country and by the needs of the
institution. There are three main models for how a university can implement EMI. Being aware of these
models can help instructors and administrators with their own planning and implementation.

1. Preparatory year model. In this model, the university offers an English program before EMI
courses begin. Students must pass an English test at the end of their preparatory year, or years,
before they are allowed to do content courses in English. In some universities, that preparatory
year focuses on English for Specific Purposes (ESP), while in other institutions, the courses are
general English. Or, students can have half the year in general English, and half the year in ESP,
before moving into their EMI coursework. These decisions depend on the student body and
their English level when they come in, the EMI content courses they’ll be taking later, and the
faculty who are teaching. Oftentimes with the preparatory year model, the preparatory year
teachers and content teachers are separate and collaborate only minimally.
2. Institutional support model. This is where instructors from the content are and English classes
collaborate in order to support students’ English development as they learn content. This can be
phased in over several years. It can be very similar to ESP courses for students, moving to full
implementation EMI.
3. International collaboration model. There are three common ways for this model to work:
a. International institutions deliver content in-country with international instructors.
Often, the instructors don’t speak the native language of the students.
b. International programs teach under franchise by local staff, such as Advanced Programs,
or APs. In this case, the instructors do speak the native language of the students, and
the instructors have been trained by the international partner.
c. Domestic programs are used and are informed by international curricula with the
curricula being modified for local requirements.

In summary, there are three overall models: preparatory year, institutional support model, or
international collaborations. But there is one more less official model—and that is when individual
lecturers decide to teach a course or part of a course in English. In this situation, the instructor often has
less support from the institution or from any other educators.

© 2019 by Ohio University. Reading 1.1. Common Models for EMI Instruction for the AE E-Teacher Program, sponsored by the
U.S. Department of State with funding provided by the U.S. government and administered by FHI 360. This work is licensed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License, except where noted. To view a copy of this license, visit
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
References1

Dearden, J. (2015). English as a medium of instruction—A growing global phenomenon. The British
Council. Available from: https://www.britishcouncil.org/education/ihe/knowledge-
centre/english-language-higher-education/report-english-medium-instruction

Tsou, W., & Kao, S. M. (2017). Overview of EMI development. In W. Tsou & S. M. Kao (Eds.), English as a
Medium of Instruction in higher education: Implementations and classroom practices in Taiwan
(pp. 3-18). Singapore: Springer.

1
(This content is copyrighted, and cannot be adapted in any way, or distributed after the end of this course. It is not Public Domain or Creative
Commons-licensed, and therefore not for public use.)