English medium instruction in Asia: a review of teachers’ professional development

Abstract

Higher Education Institutions (HEI) in the Asia Pacific region have noticed a widespread adoption of English Medium Instruction (EMI). However, the nature of EMI policy directives, code-switching to mother tongue in the classrooms, a lack of professional development programs, the use of local materials, the teachers' insufficient instruction, nationalism, and the nature of EMI policy directives have made it more difficult for STEM teachers to become prepared as EMI teachers. The current study aims to investigate the level of STEM teachers' professional development preparedness in EMI courses. Conducting a systematic review of the research that has been published on the EMI phenomena in Asian universities, and discussing the results in light of reflective practices a process that facilitates teaching, learning, and understanding, and it plays a central role in teachers' professional development (Mathew et al., 2017). Also, May Britt Postholms’ suggestion of using metacognitive processes and learning explicitly for lecturers' professional growth (2012). The implications of this study will assist the stakeholders in rethinking bilingual higher education, where English and the national language will predominate to facilitate the acquisition of information. Furthermore, because teachers' preparation for professional development in connection with EMI has been relatively underexplored, the study laid the groundwork for future researchers to take into account such a topic for empirical examination.