“We have no Chinese classmates”

2021 ◽  
Vol 44 (2) ◽  
pp. 180-207
Author(s):  
Meng Liu ◽  
Phan Le Ha
Keyword(s):  
International Students ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
Chinese Language ◽  
Academic Experiences ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Medium Of Instruction ◽  
Chinese Universities ◽  
Ample Evidence ◽  
The World ◽  
English Medium Instruction

Abstract This paper draws on a small-scale qualitative study with international students enrolled in various English- and Chinese-medium instruction programs in Chinese universities. It seeks to explore these students’ educational experiences and their perceptions of China and China’s higher education. Our study provides ample evidence about the irrelevance of Chinese language in the current policies and practices of Chinese universities regarding internationalization and international students. It also counters earlier studies that show how deeply rooted the discourses of native speaker and native-speaking varieties of English are in English-medium-instruction programs around the world. All in all, the paper makes theoretical and empirical contributions to the emerging literature on international students’ education and academic experiences in China. Through accounts obtained from international students of varied backgrounds, the paper also sheds light on nuances of internationalization, medium of instruction, and academic mobilities.

scholarly journals An Investigation of the Experiences of Working with Multilingual International Students among Local Students and Faculty Members in Chinese Universities

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (16) ◽  
pp. 6419
Author(s):  
Yawen Han ◽  
Wenxuan Li ◽  
Min Bao ◽  
Xinyu Cao
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
International Students ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Academic Programs ◽  
Faculty Members ◽  
Chinese Universities ◽  
Learning Attitudes ◽  
English Medium Instruction ◽  
Local Students ◽  
Depth Interviews

In recent years, as a response to the internationalization of higher education worldwide, China has begun to enroll international students to study at the tertiary level on an increasingly large scale. While the majority of the programs and courses are open to international students via Chinese as Chinese-medium instruction (CMI), there are also an increasing number of programs and courses delivered through English-medium instruction (EMI). In order to understand higher education multilingual contexts, this qualitative study examines how local students and faculty members make sense of their engagement with international students in three Chinese universities. In the study, we conducted in-depth interviews with 11 academics who worked with international students as project supervisors and 25 Chinese university students regarding their experiences of working with international students. The findings that emerged from the thematic analysis revealed that international students’ learning engagement was profoundly mediated by language barriers, cultural assumptions and the academic conventions in host institutions. The study revealed that Chinese academics are concerned about international students’ learning attitudes, their academic progress and a lack of participation due to their language ability. Local Chinese students also reported a lack of satisfaction in working with international students. Some of the local students felt that some international students may have been enabled to enroll in the academic programs as a result of national and university policies, which has led to a ‘dumbing down’ of the curriculum offered in English. The findings indicate that more needs to be done to promote mutual exchanges and better understanding among international students, Chinese faculty members and local students.

Learning Mandarin in Singapore Preschools: Laying the Foundation for Multilingualism

2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Cher Leng Lee
Keyword(s):  
Education Policy ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
Chinese Language ◽  
Preschool Education ◽  
Language Education ◽  
Medium Of Instruction ◽  
Chinese Language Education ◽  
The World ◽  
Singapore Chinese ◽  
Main Language

AbstractSingapore’s multilingual and multicultural sociolinguistic ecology probably makes it one of the best places in the world to nurture strong bilingualism. However, English is fast becoming the mother tongue of Singapore Chinese children. This is due to the fact that over the years of building the country’s economy, English has taken over as the medium of instruction in schools and the working language of the society, as well as the main language spoken in the homes. This paper examines the Chinese language education in Singapore preschools and explains how a change in preschool education policy can help children lay a better foundation for bilingualism, giving them a higher chance of success in later years (Yip and Matthews 2007.

Attitudes toward EMI in East Asia and the Gulf

2019 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 8-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keith M. Graham ◽  
Zohreh R. Eslami
Keyword(s):  
East Asia ◽  
Education Quality ◽  
Medium Of Instruction ◽  
Motivation To Learn ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
The World ◽  
The Status ◽  
English Medium Instruction ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
Local Languages

Abstract In order to raise global profiles of universities, governments around the world have pushed universities to offer English medium instruction (EMI) courses. While research examining the attitudes toward EMI has been conducted in various countries, these studies generally look at a single university and rarely examine attitudes between countries or regions. In order to investigate attitudes from a macro perspective, this study used a systematic literature review method to synthesize findings on attitudes toward EMI in East Asia and the Gulf. The review was guided by the following research questions: (1) What are the attitudes toward EMI in countries in the Gulf and East Asia? and (2) What are the similarities/differences between countries and what factors can be attributed to these? Attitude scores were calculated for twenty studies from ten countries, and the studies were coded by common themes affecting EMI attitudes. Results show that factors affecting attitudes include language and content issues, choice of medium of instruction, instructor quality, motivation to learn English, and deficit views of the L1. As a result of the findings, it is suggested that governments and universities review their EMI policies in order to ensure education quality and maintain the status of local languages.

Smartpens as an Aid for Lecture Notetaking

2021 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
pp. 11
Author(s):  
Michael Crawford
Keyword(s):  
Medium Of Instruction ◽  
Audio Recording ◽  
The World ◽  
L2 Learners ◽  
English Medium Instruction ◽  
Potential Benefits ◽  
Productive Area ◽  
L2 Listening ◽  
L1 And L2

With the growth of English Medium Instruction (EMI) in countries around the world, L2 learners face many challenges, one of which is lecture notetaking. Researchers in the field of L2 listening have sought ways to improve learners’ notetaking skills, but one potentially useful tool, the smartpen, has received little attention. With smartpens, learners can take notes on paper, digitize them, then synchronize them with an audio recording of the lecture. They can then tap anywhere in their digitized notes and hear the corresponding audio for that section, greatly facilitating review. With this functionality in mind, this paper examines the potential benefits of smartpens for notetaking. It first provides an overview of the skill of notetaking and a description of smartpens, and then examines research on their use in L1 and L2 contexts. The paper concludes with a call for more research into this potentially productive area. 世界各国では、授業言語としての英語(EMI: English as a Medium of Instruction)の普及に伴い、EFL学習者は様々な課題に直面しており、その一つが講義を聞きながらノートをとるノートテーキングである。これまでもL2リスニング研究者は学習者のノートテーキング・スキルの向上方法を探ってきたが、一つのツール、すなわちスマートペンはあまり注目されてこなかった。スマートペンを利用すると、学習者が手書きでノートを取り、それをデジタル化し、講義の音声と同期させることができる。そうすれば、デジタル化したノートのどこにでも触れられその部分の音声を聞くことができるため、講義の復習を促進する。これを踏まえ、本論では、講義ノートテーキングにおけるスマートペンの潜在的な利点を考察する。講義ノートテーキング・スキルを概観した後、スマートペンの特徴を説明し、L1及びL2環境における研究について述べる。最後に、この潜在的に有益な研究分野において、さらなる研究の必要性を示唆する。

English medium instruction: Global views and countries in focus

2017 ◽  
Vol 52 (02) ◽  
pp. 231-248 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ernesto Macaro ◽  
Anna Kristina Hultgren ◽  
Andy Kirkpatrick ◽  
David Lasagabaster
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
English Language ◽  
First Language ◽  
English For Academic Purposes ◽  
English For Specific Purposes ◽  
Medium Of Instruction ◽  
Teaching Content ◽  
The World ◽  
English Medium Instruction ◽  
Huge Variety

In virtually every research paper on this topic we come across we read that, in the particular context that the writer is operating, English as a medium of instruction (EMI) is on the increase. But what exactly is EMI? If we consider every classroom around the world in which learners are exposed to English language as their second language (L2) we are faced with a huge variety: English as a foreign language (EFL); Immersion, English for academic purposes; English for specific purposes, English for examination purposes, Content and language integrated learning (CLIL); content-based teaching; content-based language teaching, and so on. And then we have EMI. Here at the EMI Oxford Centre we define EMI as:The use of the English language to teach academic subjects (other than English itself) in countries or jurisdictions in which the majority of the population's first language is not English.This definition was first used in Dearden (2015).

Teaching and Learning in English as the Medium for Instruction for International Students

2014 ◽  
pp. 432-453
Author(s):  
Paul C. Corrigan
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Second Language ◽  
International Students ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Spoken Language ◽  
Medium Of Instruction ◽  
Early Signs ◽  
Robust Model ◽  
The World ◽  
Local Students

Early signs of a systemic shift in higher education towards significant use of English can be seen across some continents where English is not the usual spoken language. Such a shift derives from universities’ efforts to internationalize and capitalize as they navigate the currents of globalization. The use of English as the Medium of Instruction (EMI) as pedagogy should be examined more closely in the context of the concurrent growth of higher education around the world and the increase in the number of international (and local) students who are studying in English as a Second Language (ESL). A robust model of EMI as pedagogy is presented, which can be useful in supporting an internationalizing institution’s EMI policy.

Teaching and Learning in English as the Medium for Instruction for International Students

2014 ◽  
pp. 428-449
Author(s):  
Paul C. Corrigan
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Second Language ◽  
International Students ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Spoken Language ◽  
Medium Of Instruction ◽  
Early Signs ◽  
Robust Model ◽  
The World ◽  
Local Students

Early signs of a systemic shift in higher education towards significant use of English can be seen across some continents where English is not the usual spoken language. Such a shift derives from universities’ efforts to internationalize and capitalize as they navigate the currents of globalization. The use of English as the Medium of Instruction (EMI) as pedagogy should be examined more closely in the context of the concurrent growth of higher education around the world and the increase in the number of international (and local) students who are studying in English as a Second Language (ESL). A robust model of EMI as pedagogy is presented, which can be useful in supporting an internationalizing institution’s EMI policy.

scholarly journals Higher education teachers’ attitudes towards English medium instruction: A three-country comparison

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 455-486 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julie Dearden ◽  
Ernesto Macaro
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Teacher Attitudes ◽  
Political Context ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Teacher Interviews ◽  
University Teachers ◽  
Country Comparison ◽  
The World ◽  
English Medium Instruction ◽  
Teachers Attitudes

We report on a small scale study carried out in Austria, Italy and Poland which investigated the attitudes of university teachers engaged in teaching their academic subject through the medium of English. The data consisted of 25 teacher interviews. We focused on the topics of internationalisation of universities, on policy and resourcing, and on the levels of English proficiency (theirs and those of their students) needed for effective English medium instruction (EMI). We also observed whether there were differences among the respondents from the three countries and attempted to relate any differences to the linguistic, educational and political context of each. Our findings suggest that whilst very similar concerns are in the minds of the teachers regardless of the country they were teaching in, some interesting variability in attitudes, relating to language and to history, could be detected. To our knowledge, this is the first study on EMI that compares teacher attitudes in three countries, hence its exploratory nature. Our findings would suggest that further research of such comparative kind might provide insights into how the phenomenon of EMI is being introduced and accepted across the world.

Challenges to English-medium instruction (EMI) for international students in China: A learners' perspective

English Today ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
pp. 63-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ji-Jun He ◽  
Shiao-Yun Chiang
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
International Students ◽  
International Education ◽  
Rapid Development ◽  
The United States ◽  
Turn Of The Century ◽  
Chinese Higher Education ◽  
Medium Of Instruction ◽  
English Medium Instruction ◽  
Education In China

According to the Institute of International Education, China has become a major receiving country of international students, like the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada. The rapid development of international education in China evidences a major progress in the infrastructure of Chinese higher education. While internationalization creates unprecedented opportunities for the knowledge economy in China, it simultaneously poses unparalleled challenges for Chinese higher education (An & Chiang, 2015) and one of these challenges is the medium of instruction (MOI). While English has been widely taught in China since 1978 (McArthur, 2005), it was not until the turn of the century that English was endorsed as the medium of instruction for the so-called Chinese-English bilingual education.

scholarly journals A Gap in Brain Gain for Emerging Countries: Evidence of International Immigration on Non-Resident Patents

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 7
Author(s):  
Bolortuya Enkhtaivan ◽  
Jorge Brusa ◽  
Zagdbazar Davaadorj
Keyword(s):  
Developed Countries ◽  
Emerging Countries ◽  
Culture Learning ◽  
Host Countries ◽  
Creative People ◽  
Brain Gain ◽  
Ample Evidence ◽  
The World ◽  
Controversial Topic ◽  
Global Data

Immigration is a controversial topic that draws much debate. From a human sustainability perspective, immigration is disadvantageous for home countries causing brain drains. Ample evidence suggests the developed host countries benefit from immigration in terms of diversification, culture, learning, and brain gains, yet less is understood for emerging countries. The purpose of this paper is to examine the presence of brain gains due to immigration for emerging countries, and explore any gaps as compared to developed countries. Using global data from 88 host and 109 home countries over the period from 1995 to 2015, we find significant brain gains due to immigration for emerging countries. However, our results show that there is still a significant brain gain gap between emerging and developed countries. A brain gain to the developed host countries is about 5.5 times greater than that of the emerging countries. The results hold after addressing endogeneity, self-selection, and large sample biases. Furthermore, brain gain is heterogenous by immigrant types. Skilled or creative immigrants tend to benefit the host countries about three times greater than the other immigrants. In addition, the Top 10 destination countries seem to attract the most creative people, thus harvest the most out of the talented immigrants. In contrast, we find countries of origin other than the Top 10 seem to send these creative people to the rest of the world.

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