Internationalization of higher education through English medium instruction: Voices from the program implementers in private universities

• In Event: Focusing on practice and leadership in university offices and initiatives (I)

Proposal

English-medium instruction (EMI) in higher education has been spreading throughout the non-Anglophone academic world. Governments in East Asian countries, including Japan, South Korea, and China, have actively supported and promoted the expansion of EMI programs through various initiatives (Aizawa & Rose, 2019). In Japan, the government's Top Global University Project has played a pivotal role in driving EMI in higher education, resulting in a recent rise in the number of EMI programs (MEXT, 2023). Similarly, the Ministry of Education of China has included EMI courses as a criterion for evaluating higher education institutions (HEIs) (Gu & Lee, 2019; Yuan et al., 2019). In South Korea, the growth of EMI in higher education has been influenced by domestic university rankings and funding for internationalization initiatives in HEIs (Collins & Park, 2016). The expansion of EMI in the Asia Pacific region is attributed to various reasons (Walkinshaw et al., 2017).
Although there is an increasing amount of literature on EMI in Asia, there is a lack of research specifically focusing on private HEIs. The availability of public data or research on comparative case studies on EMI in higher education across countries is also limited. In a comprehensive review of 83 studies on EMI in higher education, Macaro et al. (2018) found that a high proportion of these studies consisted of single-institution case studies that used mixed methods. However, there was a notable absence of comparative studies that explored multiple institutions and countries.
This study adopts a qualitative comparative case study design to examine the implementation of EMI policies and the underlying rationales at six private universities in Mongolia, South Korea, and Japan. The research is guided by the theoretical framework of rationales for internationalization (Knight & de Wit, 1997; Knight, 2004; Knight, 2021). Furthermore, the study utilizes a conceptual framework of typology of challenges (Tsuneyoshi, 2005; Bradford, 2016; Susser, 2016) to explore the obstacles faced by those responsible for implementing EMI programs.
This study uses various methods to collect data, including class observations, document analysis, and semi-structured interviews. A total of 45 program implementers, including faculty members and administrators, participated in the interview. The study provides noteworthy findings regarding the challenges encountered by the program implementers and their institutions in running EMI programs, thus contributing to a better understanding of the implementation process.
The findings of this study hold significant practical implications for institutions contemplating the initiation or expansion of their EMI programs. Identifying different rationales and characteristics associated with EMI and the challenges encountered during the implementation process provides valuable insights for stakeholders. These insights can assist stakeholders in making well-informed decisions regarding the improvement and development of existing EMI programs and the planning of future initiatives.

Author

• Sainbayar Gundsambuu, Osaka University