English-Medium Instruction as a Pedagogical Strategy for the Sustainable Development of EFL Learners in the Chinese Context: A Meta-Analysis of Its Effectiveness

Abstract

With English-medium instruction (EMI) as a pedagogical strategy being practiced worldwide in higher education (HE), extensive research has explored stakeholders’ attitudes toward, and perceived benefits and challenges of EMI based on self-report data. However, the actual effectiveness of EMI on students’ subject content and English language learning achievements tested with objective measures has accrued little evidence. This meta-analysis synthesized 44 independent samples (32 in medical disciplines) from 36 studies. The results show that EMI students performed significantly better in both subject content and English learning than students in Chinese-medium courses, but it should be noted that the difference in content learning was found only with students from medical disciplines. Discipline was the only significant factor moderating content learning, while disciplines, research design, and instruction time in English significantly moderated English learning. The findings provide implications for implementing EMI in similar contexts and highlight the importance of rigorous future research to examine the benefits of EMI.

Incidental vocabulary acquisition from listening to English teacher education lectures: A case study from Macau higher education

“…While EMI research conducted in the nearby contexts of Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, and Vietnam have underscored the needs for student support and teacher professional development (Kung, 2013;Hu et al, 2014;Chen and Kraklow, 2015;Aizawa and Rose, 2019;Tri and Moskovsky, 2019;Hong and Basturkmen, 2020;Macaro and Han, 2020;Sung, 2020;Toh, 2020), it is currently unknown whether Macau higher education is also in need of such support. While previous researchers have acknowledged that it is crucial to evaluate the effectiveness of EMI for content learning and English proficiency development (Peng and Xie, 2021), EMI as input for incidental vocabulary acquisition has largely remained under-researched. The studies that do exist lacked ecological validity as they examined incidental vocabulary learning gains from a severely limited number of lectures that were listened to over a very short period of time.…”

When Proficiency and Education Matter: The Mediating Role of English Proficiency and Moderating Effect of Parents’ Education in the SES–Academic Achievement Relationship During EMI

“…In the EMI contexts, English proficiency measured by standardized tests like TOEFL and IELTS had a significant relationship with students' academic outcomes among EMI students in Japan (Rose et al, 2020) and in Australia (Oliver et al, 2012). English proficiency also predicted the academic achievement among medical students in China (Peng & Xie, 2021) and the international students in a business school in Australia (Dooey & Oliver, 2002). In addition, Joe and Lee (2013) found that students' English proficiency level affected their content understanding in an EMI class at a Korean university.…”

“…Few studies have focused specifically on using both SES variables and English proficiency as predictors of students' academic achievement in the EMI context. In addition, previous studies have mostly focused on self-reported data, such as data obtained through questionnaires (Peng & Xie, 2021). This study, therefore, offers a different approach by employing empirical institutional data, namely students' SES, English proficiency test results (TOEFL score), and academic achievement (overall GPA) in an EMI program to reveal the extent to which the two factors interact in predicting students' academic achievement through mediation and moderation analyses.…”

Experiences and Challenges of an English as a Medium of Instruction Course in Taiwan during COVID-19

“…EMI is not just a Taiwan phenomenon or a trend in countries that do not speak English. A large number of countries have adapted EMI courses to their curriculums as a result of globalization and internationalization [ 18 , 19 , 20 ]. Moreover, higher education institutions are embracing a holistic approach to internationalization as part of the Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) goals of the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) [ 21 ].…”

“…To understand their effectiveness, universities have required the submission of course outlines, sample lectures, and course reflections at the end of each semester. However, for a truly effective EMI teaching and learning process, further analysis is still needed [ 20 , 29 ]. Importantly, with the recent shift from face-to-face to online instruction, it is also necessary to gain a deeper understanding of the experiences and challenges associated with the blended EMI courses.…”