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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Correspondence: Keith M. Grahamkmgraham@tamu.eduhttps://keithmgraham.com/

Thank You!

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