A critical look at teacher development for English-Medium Instruction

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 263-287
Author(s):  
Joan Catherine Ploettner
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Development ◽  
Interdisciplinary Collaboration ◽  
Local Level ◽  
First Language ◽  
Language Services ◽  
English Medium Instruction ◽  
University Lecturers ◽  
Participation Frameworks ◽  
Teacher Trainer

Abstract Widespread incorporation of English Medium Instruction (EMI) in higher education has created the need for teacher development initiatives (EMITD) to prepare university lecturers whose first language is not English to teach their content subjects in English. The planning and implementation of such initiatives has frequently been assigned to university language services and the language specialists that collaborate with them. Existing research provides information regarding planned EMITD initiatives, yet there is little research exploring how planned programs are interpreted and implemented in interaction. Such information is vital for quality assessment and for ongoing development. This conversation analysis-informed case study contributes direct evidence regarding how a planned EMITD process is implemented in interaction. Video-recorded interactional data from an EMITD process at a Catalan university are analysed. Participation and notions of interdisciplinary collaboration frame analysis of negotiation sequences. The findings reflect significant modification of the originally planned collaborative process and the roles of participants and the co-construction of participation frameworks that do not support interdisciplinary collaboration. These findings suggest the importance of examining EMI training processes on a local level to better inform future EMITD initiatives and the need for development of training initiatives for EMI teacher trainer-mentors on the part of university language services.

scholarly journals Exploring EMI lecturers’ attitudes and needs

10.29007/gjc1 ◽  
2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Banks
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Development ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
Course Design ◽  
Careful Consideration ◽  
Multiple Sources ◽  
Pedagogical Strategies ◽  
English Medium Instruction ◽  
Field Notes ◽  
University Lecturers

This paper focuses on English-medium instruction (EMI) at a Spanish public university. It reports on a mix-methods study into the attitudes and linguistic and pedagogical needs of EMI lecturers. First and foremost, the study has a practical focus and assesses lecturers’ needs and attitudes as the basis for developing an EMI training course. The study takes a “bottom-up” approach to needs assessment in order to guarantee a course that is fit for purpose. It collects data from university lecturers using multiple sources to provide empirical evidence with which to inform course design decisions. Data sources include a questionnaire, field notes from observations of EMI teaching practice, collaborative planning tutorials, lesson plans and lecturers’ reflections on EMI. The analysis of lecturers’ language use and pedagogical strategies suggests a number of areas for improvement that could enhance EMI teaching and learning. On the whole, the findings show a positive attitude towards EMI and training, but also highlight key tensions regarding attitudes towards more collaborative, learner-centred lecturing practices. It thus argues for careful consideration to be given to lecturers’ attitudes in the design of EMI teacher development courses.

scholarly journals Investigating the roles of first language (L1) speakers in lingua franca communication in multicultural classrooms: a case study of Japanese as a Lingua Franca (JLF)

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 285-311
Author(s):  
Etsuko Yamada
Keyword(s):  
First Language ◽  
Lingua Franca ◽  
Japanese University ◽  
Japanese Students ◽  
Expanding Circle ◽  
Rapport Building ◽  
English Medium Instruction ◽  
Multicultural Classrooms ◽  
Students Attitudes

Abstract In the Expanding Circle (i.e. countries where English is traditionally learned as a “foreign language”), the concept lingua franca cannot be limited to English. Conducted in a Japanese university, this study reports on the perceptions of verbal behaviours by students in multicultural courses where international and Japanese students studied together. These behaviours were analysed and the findings from English medium instruction courses and those of Japanese-medium instruction (JMI) courses were compared. Then, further analysis centred on JMI courses to explore the roles of Japanese L1 speakers in the co-construction of Japanese as a lingua franca with a focus on cognitive and psychological, rather than linguistic, perspectives. Rapport building, accommodation strategies, often initiated by L1 Japanese speakers, and the spontaneous interactions of second language (L2) speakers in discussions, are assumed to have been the keys to more inclusive interactions in JMI courses. The findings emphasize the importance of students’ attitudes and imply that intercultural education in the context, including both L1 speakers and L2 speakers, will have potential to foster effective lingua franca users.

Progressive Law, Activism, and Lawyering in an Age of Preemption

2021 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 252-267
Author(s):  
Rashmi Dyal-Chand
Keyword(s):  
Working Conditions ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Global Supply Chain ◽  
Environmental Movements ◽  
Improve Working ◽  
Detailed History ◽  
History Of ◽  
State And Local ◽  
Core Questions

Preemption is one of the most important legal doctrines for today’s progressives to understand because of its power to constrain progressive policymaking and social movement lawyering at the state and local level. By examining the detailed history of a decades-long campaign by the labor and environmental movements to improve working conditions in an industry at the heart of the global supply chain, Scott L. Cummings’s Blue and Green: The Drive for Justice at America’s Port (2018) provides a case study about the doctrine and impacts of preemption. The study also inspires lawyers and activists alike to reexamine core questions of factual relevance, representation and voice, and precedent.

scholarly journals Comprehension in English Medium Instruction (EMI) lectures: On the impact of lecturer L2 English use

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-91
Author(s):  
Joseph Siegel
Keyword(s):  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
First Language ◽  
Student Body ◽  
University Campuses ◽  
Student Comprehension ◽  
Teachers And Students ◽  
English Medium Instruction ◽  
Low Levels ◽  
Effectiveness And Efficiency ◽  
The Impact

AbstractThe importance and amount of English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) usage and English Medium Instruction (EMI) lectures continue to increase on university campuses as universities worldwide seek to promote internationalization among both the student body and the faculty. While EMI has become a priority, the teaching and learning that occurs within this framework needs to be monitored for effectiveness and efficiency. Many of the teachers and students in these EMI courses do not share a common first language and likely have a first language other than English. Therefore, they are operating in EMI with varying levels of second language (L2) English ability, which can lead to low levels of student comprehension, learning and satisfaction unless the lecturer takes special care in their delivery of content. This paper explores the linguistic composition of EMI lectures in the Swedish context and reports survey findings of students’ self-reported levels of comprehension related to lecture content and their lecturer’s L2 English use. Three case studies are described and illustrate various linguistic factors that can contribute to or inhibit student comprehension in EMI lectures. Pedagogic implications are presented with the intention of supporting EMI lecturers and their students.

scholarly journals Decomposition Analysis of the Evolution of the Local Energy System as a Tool to Assess the Effect of Local Actions: Methodology and Example of Malmö, Sweden

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 461
Author(s):  
Isabel Azevedo ◽  
Vítor Leal
Keyword(s):  
Local Level ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
Decomposition Analysis ◽  
Specific Effect ◽  
Energy System ◽  
Local Energy ◽  
Total Change ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Change Mitigation

This paper proposes the use of decomposition analysis to assess the effect of local energy-related actions towards climate change mitigation, and thus improve policy evaluation and planning at the local level. The assessment of the impact of local actions has been a challenge, even from a strictly technical perspective. This happens because the total change observed is the result of multiple factors influencing local energy-related greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, many of them not even influenced by local authorities. A methodology was developed, based on a recently developed decomposition model, that disaggregates the total observed changes in the local energy system into multiple causes/effects (including local socio-economic evolution, technology evolution, higher-level governance frame and local actions). The proposed methodology, including the quantification of the specific effect associated with local actions, is demonstrated with the case study of the municipality of Malmö (Sweden) in the timeframe between 1990 and 2015.

scholarly journals Characterising Local Knowledge across the Flood Risk Management Cycle: A Case Study of Southern Malawi

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 1681 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Šakić Trogrlić ◽  
Grant Wright ◽  
Melanie Duncan ◽  
Marc van den Homberg ◽  
Adebayo Adeloye ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Management ◽  
Local Knowledge ◽  
Flood Risk ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Flood Risk Management ◽  
Group Discussions ◽  
The Social ◽  
Underlying Causes ◽  
Complex Knowledge

People possess a creative set of strategies based on their local knowledge (LK) that allow them to stay in flood-prone areas. Stakeholders involved with local level flood risk management (FRM) often overlook and underutilise this LK. There is thus an increasing need for its identification, documentation and assessment. Based on qualitative research, this paper critically explores the notion of LK in Malawi. Data was collected through 15 focus group discussions, 36 interviews and field observation, and analysed using thematic analysis. Findings indicate that local communities have a complex knowledge system that cuts across different stages of the FRM cycle and forms a component of community resilience. LK is not homogenous within a community, and is highly dependent on the social and political contexts. Access to LK is not equally available to everyone, conditioned by the access to resources and underlying causes of vulnerability that are outside communities’ influence. There are also limits to LK; it is impacted by exogenous processes (e.g., environmental degradation, climate change) that are changing the nature of flooding at local levels, rendering LK, which is based on historical observations, less relevant. It is dynamic and informally triangulated with scientific knowledge brought about by development partners. This paper offers valuable insights for FRM stakeholders as to how to consider LK in their approaches.

Predictors of English Medium Instruction academic success: English proficiency versus first language medium

System ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 95 ◽  
pp. 102378
Author(s):  
Samantha Curle ◽  
Dogan Yuksel ◽  
Adem Soruç ◽  
Mehmet Altay
Keyword(s):  
Academic Success ◽  
English Proficiency ◽  
First Language ◽  
English Medium Instruction

scholarly journals La dimension pragmatico-discursive du français en contact

2014 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 62-92 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martina Drescher
Keyword(s):  
Language Contact ◽  
African Country ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Direct Interaction ◽  
Linguistic Landscape ◽  
Methodological Issues ◽  
Local Contact ◽  
Medical Issues ◽  
Mitigation Technique

The aim of this paper is two-fold : First it argues for a stronger consideration of the pragmatic and discourse level in research on language contact. Secondly it contributes to the pragmatics of a specific regional variety of French, namely Cameroonian French. Starting with a picture of the complex linguistic landscape of this multilingual African country, the paper stresses the importance of the pragmatic and discourse level by raising some of the crucial theoretical and methodological issues that a broader, usage-based view on language contact has to cope with. First it suggests that pragmatic and discourse conventions may be influenced by the local contact languages and secondly it emphasizes that they may not be specific to a language, but be shared by a much larger and encompassing community of discourse. A case study of Cameroonian radio phone-ins where callers seek advice on medical issues points out some of these conventions. Here the participants establish a specific participation framework that avoids direct interaction between caller and expert while the host is set in as a mediator. This global mitigation technique then allows for quite direct realisations of the advice at a local level.

Indian in Education: One Community's Experience

1977 ◽  
Vol 159 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-42
Author(s):  
Kenneth Peterson
Keyword(s):  
American Indians ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Indian Education ◽  
Federal Spending ◽  
Indian Children ◽  
Assistance Programs ◽  
Congressional Committees ◽  
The Right ◽  
Federal Assistance

American Indians have historically been denied the opportunity to participate in policy-making in schools. Now because of belated recognition of tribe's rights to self-determination and because of an awareness of past failures, Indian people can have a voice in their children's education. The original aim of institutionalized Indian education was to separate Indian children from their tribal past and encourage them to adopt the ways of white people. This was often done by sending children hundreds of miles away from their home and reservations to boarding schools. Termed assimilation, this policy has been judged a failure by educators, congressional committees, and Indians themselves. Today federal assistance programs require involvement by Indian parents and students both in reservation and urban schools. By exploiting these programs, Indian parents can change the type of education provided their children. A case study demonstrating possibilities of participation is the focus of this article. Unfortunately special federal spending programs can and do end. Hence, Indian parents, while participating at the local level, must advocate the development of new permanent law guaranteeing their children the right to a bi-cultural education.

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