Attitudes Toward EMI in East Asia and the Gulf: A Systematic Review
Keith M. Graham, M.Ed.Texas A&M UniversityZohreh Eslami, Ph.D.Texas A&M University
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Background
Major Expansion of EMI• Over 2,638 EMI Programs in Asia (Neghina, 2017)• EMI is becoming a “new normal” (Fenton-Smith, Humphreys, &
Walkinshaw, 2017)
Current EMI Attitude Research• A lot of individual country research• Little cross-country research
Attitudes and Formation
Definition“a psychological tendency that is expressed by evaluating a particular entity with some degree of favor or disfavor” (Eagly & Chaiken, 1993, p. 1).
Formation(1) Affect (2) Beliefs (3) Behavior (Albarracín, Johnson, Zanna, & Kumkale, 2005)
Defining EMI
• a variant of Content-Based Instruction (CBI) (Snow & Brinton, 2017), a
method of instruction that involves “both academic subject matter
content and a new language at the same time” (Lightbown, 2014, p.
6).
• “no explicit English language-related learning outcomes” (Airey, 2016,
p. 73).
• Dafouz and Smit’s (2016) ROADMAPPING Framework
• Roles of English (RO), Academic Disciplines (AD), (language) Management (M),
Agents (A), Practices and Processes (PP), and
Internationalization/Glocalization (ING).
The Study
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Research Questions
1. What are the attitudes toward EMI in countries in East Asia and the Gulf?
2. What are the similarities/differences between countries and what factors can they be attributed to?
Search Method
Databases• ERIC• Education Source • PSYCHInfo• Web of Science
Search Terms[TI (attitude* OR opinion* OR belief* OR perspective* OR satisfaction) OR AB (attitude* OR opinion* OR belief* OR perspective* OR satisfaction) OR SU (attitude* OR opinion* OR belief* OR perspective* OR satisfaction) ]
AND[ TI (English medium instruction) OR AB (English medium instruction) OR SU (English Medium Instruction) ].
Search Criteria
• The article was published between 2007-2017. • The article was an empirical study published in an academic journal.• The study focused on EMI in East Asia* or the Gulf.• The study examined attitudes of stakeholders toward EMI in higher
education.
*Studies from Hong Kong and Macau were excluded due to their multilingual histories.
281 Articles Found
69 Duplicates
27 Removed (Time)
38 Removed (Publication)
86 Removed (Location)
46 Removed (Topic)
3 Added (References)
2 Added (Recommended)
20 Articles
Included
TheSelection Process
Results
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Author(Date)
Country Data Collection
Study Participants
Academic Discipline EMI Attitude Attitude Score
Beckett and Li (2012) China Qualitative Questionnaire 34 Students Finance Slightly
Positive 0.80
Lei and Hu (2014) China Mixed Methods Questionnaire & Interview 136 Students Business Slightly
Positive 0.78
Muthanna and Miao (2015) China Qualitative Interview 6 Graduate
Students Multiple Positive 3 Positive Themes
Ghorbani and Alavi (2014) Iran
Mixed Methods Questionnaire & Interview
344 Student36 Instructors Multiple Positive 3.61
Chapple (2015) JapanMixed Methods Questionnaire
& Interview 89 Students MultipleSlightly
Negative -0.68
Bouhmama and Bouhmama (2015) Kuwait Quantitative Questionnaire 158 Students Not Reported
Slightly Negative -0.29
Al-Bakri (2013) Oman Qualitative Interview & Observation
10 Students5 Business Classrooms
Multiple Neutral2 Positive &
Two Negative Themes
Ellili-Cherif and Alkhateeb (2015) Qatar Quantitative Questionnaire 259 Students Multiple
Slightly Positive 0.16
Al-Jarf (2008)Saudi Arabia
QualitativeInterview 470 Students Multiple Positive
3 Positive Themes
Al-Kahtany et al. (2016)
Saudi Arabia Quantitative Questionnaire 702 Students
162 Instructors Science Positive 1.41
Author(Date)
Country Data Collection
Study Participants
Academic Discipline EMI Attitude Attitude Score
Byun et al. (2011) South Korea Mixed MethodsQuestionnaire & Interview
>100,000 Students
(2004-2009)Multiple Slightly
Positive 0.86
Chun et al. (2017) South Korea Quantitative Questionnaire 187 Students Business Slightly Negative -0.30
Joe and Lee (2013) South Korea Quantitative Questionnaire 61 Students Medicine Slightly
Negative -0.08
Kim and Tatar (2017) South Korea Mixed Methods
Questionnaire & Interview 91 Instructors Multiple Slightly Negative -0.09
Kim et al. (2017) South Korea Mixed MethodsQuestionnaire 524 Students Engineering Negative -1.70
Chang (2010) Taiwan Mixed MethodsQuestionnaire & Interview
370 Students6 Instructors Multiple Slightly
Negative -0.01
Huang (2012) Taiwan Qualitative Interview24 Students4 Instructors
3 Administrators
Interdisciplinary Program Neutral
1 Positive & 1 Negative Theme
Yeh (2014) Taiwan Quantitative Questionnaire 476 Students Multiple Slightly Positive 0.42
Belhiah and Elhami (2015) UAE Mixed Methods
Questionnaire500 Students
100 Instructors Not Reported Slightly Positive 0.27
Holtzhausen (2010) UAE Qualitative Focus Group 40 Students Social Work Slightly Positive
3 Positive & 1 Negative Theme
RQ1: Calculating Attitude Scores
What is the Attitude Score?For quantitative studies: The distance of the attitudes, in standard deviations, from neutral
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For qualitative studies: The amount of positive/negative themes present.
RQ1: Attitude Scores
• Negative (< -1)• Slightly negative (between -1 and -0.01)• Neutral (0)• Slightly positive (between 0 and 1)• Positive (>1)
RQ1: Attitudes toward EMI in East Asia and the Gulf?Country Positive Slightly
PositiveNeutral Slightly
NegativeNegative TOTAL
China 1 2 - - - 3
Japan - - - 1 - 1
South Korea - 1 - 3 1 5Taiwan - 1 1 1 - 3
TOTAL 1 4 1 5 1 12
Country Positive Slightly Positive
Neutral Slightly Negative
Negative TOTAL
Iran 1 - - - - 1
Kuwait - - - 1 - 1
Oman - - 1 - - 1
Qatar - 1 - - - 1
Saudi Arabia 2 - - - - 2UAE - 2 - - - 2
TOTAL 3 3 1 1 0 8
RQ2: Identifying Themes
1. Reading code organization sheet (Shon, 2015)2. Analyzed for common themes
Identified Themes1. Language and Content Issues2. Choice of Medium of Instruction3. Instructor Quality4. Motivation to Learn English5. Deficit Views of the L1
RQ2: Language and Content Issues
• Lack of content coverage possible in an EMI class, usually as a result of the instructor’s and/or students’ English ability. • One study from China (Lei & Hu, 2014), one from Japan (Chapple,
2015), one from Saudi Arabia (Al-Kahtany, Golam Faruk, & Al Zumor, 2016), one from Taiwan (Huang, 2012) and four from South Korea (Chun et al., 2017; Joe & Lee, 2013; Kim, Kweon, & Kim, 2017; Kim & Tatar, 2017) reported language and content issues affecting attitudes toward EMI.
RQ2: Choice of Medium of Instruction
• Positive attitudes emerged in places that wanted more EMI options to supplement their L1 education (Ghorbani & Alavi, 2014; Muthanna & Miao, 2015; Yeh, 2014) • Negative attitudes were mostly related to university or government
policy mandating EMI (Belhiah & Elhami, 2015; Kim, Kweon, & Kim, 2017).
RQ2: Instructor Quality
• Many students in Yeh’s (2014) reported choosing EMI courses over L1
courses due to the instructor’s expertise or teaching style.
• A study from South Korea by Chun et al., 2017 showed negative
perceptions toward their EMI instructors and, subsequently, negative
attitudes toward EMI.
RQ2: Motivation to Learn English
• Two motivations for enrolling in EMI: • To improve English (Belhiah & Elhami, 2015; Byun et al., 2011; Chang, 2010;
Huang, 2012; Yeh, 2014) • To use English as a tool for future advancements (Al-Bakri, 2013; Al-Jarf, 2008;
Beckett & Li, 2012; Ellili-Cherif & Alkhateeb, 2015; Holtzhausen, 2010; Muthanna & Miao, 2015)
RQ2: Deficit Views of the L1
• Across countries in the Gulf, many of the studies reported positive attitudes toward EMI simply because Arabic was seen as an insufficient language of instruction (Al-Bakri, 2013; Al-Jarf, 2008; Al-Kahtany, Golam Faruk, & Al Zumor. 2016; Ellili-Cherif & Alkhateeb, 2015; Holtzhausen, 2010) • Al-Jarf (2008) reported that 96% of students consider English superior
to Arabic and 93% believe Arabic lacks much of the vocabulary needed in academics. • This could be termed as a “false positive” attitude toward EMI
Discussion and Conclusion
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Roles of English (RO)
• Programs in which EMI courses are seen to be of practical importance for students’ futures may cultivate more positive attitudes. • Programs with mandated EMI courses in which students see no need
for English tend to result in negative attitudes.
POLICY SUGGESTION: EMI programs should be implemented to add value to students’ future lives, not just for the sake of having EMI at a university.
Academic Discipline (AD)
• Not enough research on specific academic disciplines
• A concern that students are not learning as much academic content
as a result of EMI (Al-Bakri, 2013; Huang, 2012; Kim & Tatar, 2017).
POLICY SUGGESTION: EMI programs should set prerequisite language
proficiency for student enrollment and that instructors receive
adequate language support or training.
Agents (A)
• Agents who are adequately prepared for EMI generally elicit more positive behaviors and, subsequently, more positive attitudes. • Zhao and Dixon (2017) suggest that Krashen’s “i + 1” input hypothesis,
with “i” being language you are capable of and “+1” being the level above that, is two-fold in EMI with an “i” for English knowledge and an “i” for academic knowledge.
POLICY SUGGESTION: Policies should be developed that support content learning in the L1 with supplementary L2 instruction.
Practices and Processes (PP)
• Student attitudes can be affected by teaching style.
POLICY SUGGESTION: Universities should provide instructors, both EMI and non-EMI, opportunities to grow professionally and improve as educators.
Internationalization/Glocalization (ING)
• One of the more concerning findings of this review is the deficit attitudes toward Arabic compared to English in the Gulf.
POLICY SUGGESTION: While EMI should not be discouraged, governments and universities should make efforts to protect and promote their L1 in academia and industry.
Limitations and Conclusion
• Only studies published in English were included• Terms for CBI are being used inconsistently, making comprehensive
reviews difficult• The number of studies from the various countries concerning EMI
attitudes remains low.• Examining EMI attitudes in specific academic disciplines is much
needed.
Questions?
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