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Professional Development for EMI: Exploring Taiwanese Lecturers’ Needs

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English Medium Instruction in Higher Education in Asia-Pacific

Part of the book series: Multilingual Education ((MULT,volume 21))

Abstract

Taiwan, like many Asian nations, has been an active promoter of EMI as part of a drive to internationalize its higher education sector. The push to implement EMI at a quick pace creates a need for teacher support, as lecturers adapt their courses to the new medium of instruction. This situation presents an opportunity for Anglophone nations to provide EMI teacher training within a fully immersive environment. This chapter provides an analysis of the current state of EMI in Taiwan and the place of the lecturer within it, as well as common solutions and professional development responses to the challenges posed by EMI. The chapter then examines the case of a professional development program for Taiwanese university lecturers at an American university, examining the preparatory work undertaken to ascertain the participants’ views on EMI as a policy (both institutional and national) and practice in the context of Taiwanese higher education, and to understand their perceived needs in relation to short-term training in an overseas Anglophone locale.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Humanities, Languages and Social Science, Griffith University, Brisbane, QLD, Australia

    Ben Fenton-Smith

  2. School of Education, University of California, Irvine, USA

    Christopher Stillwell

  3. Division of Continuing Education, University of California, Irvine, USA

    Roger Dupuy

Authors
  1. Ben Fenton-Smith
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  2. Christopher Stillwell
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  3. Roger Dupuy
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ben Fenton-Smith .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Humanities, Languages and Social Science, Griffith University, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

    Ben Fenton-Smith

  2. Griffith English Language Institute, Griffith University, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

    Pamela Humphreys

  3. School of Humanities, Languages and Social Science, Griffith University, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

    Ian Walkinshaw

Appendix: EMI Survey Instrument

Appendix: EMI Survey Instrument

Q1 What is your name? (Family name, Given name): ———

Q2 (Choose all that apply.) What type of teacher roles do you fill?

  1. a.

    Content area instructor (e.g., “I teach (science/marketing/etc.) classes”)

  2. b.

    Program Administrator

  3. c.

    Public Service Officer (Government staff, etc.)

  4. d.

    Teacher educator

  5. e.

    Other (please specify)

Q3 Please choose the best response to describe your experience as a teacher using EMI:

  1. a.

    I have never used English in my lectures or class assignments

  2. b.

    I have used EMI only a little bit in my classes, and I have never taught a class entirely using EMI

  3. c.

    I have used EMI a fair bit in several classes, and/or I have taught a course entirely using EMI

  4. d.

    I have used EMI a lot in many classes and/or I have taught several courses entirely using EMI

Comment (optional):

Q4 EMI for my classes is:

  1. a.

    required by my institution.

  2. b.

    likely to be required by my institution in the future.

  3. c.

    not likely to be required by my institution in the future.

  4. d.

    Other (please specify):

Comment (optional):

Q5 Why might EMI be a good thing for your institution to use?

Q6 How strongly would you rate your personal support for EMI in your institution?

  1. a.

    strongly against

  2. b.

    against

  3. c.

    neutral

  4. d.

    in favor

  5. e.

    strongly in favor

Comment (optional):

Q7 How would you rate your confidence in conducting EMI at your institution?

  1. a.

    not confident at all

  2. b.

    somewhat confident

  3. c.

    very confident

Comment (optional):

Q8 How often do you currently use English in the classes that you teach?

  1. a.

    never

  2. b.

    sometimes

  3. c.

    often

  4. d.

    always

Comment (optional):

Q9 Please briefly explain which teaching activities you currently conduct in English, if any.

Q10 What areas of EMI would you like to develop while in the UCI English Mediated Instruction Teacher Training Program?

Q11 In your opinion, what do you think is most challenging about EMI?

Q12 (Choose all that apply.) At the UCI English Mediated Instruction Teacher Training Program, I hope to:

  1. a.

    have opportunities to practice teaching

  2. b.

    receive help with my lessons

  3. c.

    improve my English skills

  4. d.

    learn about American culture

  5. e.

    go sightseeing

  6. f.

    forge relationships with American professionals in my content area (e.g., business, science)

  7. g.

    learn from my peers

  8. h.

    learn from experts

  9. i.

    interact with Americans in informal settings

  10. j.

    Other (please comment):

Q13 (Choose all that apply.) As a teacher in the classroom I usually:

  1. a.

    lecture

  2. b.

    ask questions

  3. c.

    take questions from students

  4. d.

    lead discussions

  5. e.

    have students talk in pairs or small groups

  6. f.

    assign student presentations

  7. g.

    Other (Please comment)

Q14 In the classes that I teach, the students’ reading material is:

  1. a.

    all in English

  2. b.

    all in Chinese

  3. c.

    some is in Chinese, but most is in English

  4. d.

    some is in English, but most is in Chinese

  5. e.

    Other (Please comment)

Q15 How often do your students ask questions during lectures?

  1. a.

    never

  2. b.

    sometimes

  3. c.

    often

  4. d.

    always

Comment (optional):

Q16 How often do your students need to take notes during your classes?

  1. a.

    never

  2. b.

    sometimes

  3. c.

    often

  4. d.

    always

Comment (optional):

Q17 How well do your students take notes during your classes?

  1. a.

    not well

  2. b.

    okay

  3. c.

    very well

  4. d.

    I don’t know

Comment (optional):

Q18 (Choose all that apply.) What kind of information do you provide on handouts?

  1. a.

    I don’t provide handouts

  2. b.

    An outline of the lecture

  3. c.

    Discussion questions

  4. d.

    Lecture notes with gaps for students to fill in

  5. e.

    Other (Please comment):

Q19 (Choose all that apply) What technology do you normally use for your lectures?

  1. a.

    projector

  2. b.

    presentation slides

  3. c.

    printed handouts

  4. d.

    whiteboard/chalkboard

  5. e.

    video

  6. f.

    polling clickers (e.g., e-clickers, etc.)

  7. g.

    Other (Please comment)

Q20 On average, how many students do you have in a typical course?

  1. a.

    2–20

  2. b.

    21–50

  3. c.

    51–100

  4. d.

    over 100

  5. e.

    Other (Please comment)

Q21 (Choose all that apply.) What are your biggest concerns about using EMI?

  1. a.

    students have low level English language ability

  2. b.

    students have mixed English language ability (i.e., students have different levels of English ability; some may have adequate skills while others do not)

  3. c.

    insufficient support for students to develop their English language abilities at my institution

  4. d.

    my own limited English language ability

  5. e.

    EMI may diminish the quality of the content I try to teach

  6. f.

    Other (Please comment)

Q22 (Please think about your own prior experience as a student, and choose all that apply.) As a student, I have

  1. a.

    never taken a class that was mostly taught in English

  2. b.

    taken ESL/EFL classes (i.e., classes on how to speak English) that were mostly taught in English

  3. c.

    taken classes on other subjects (e.g., science, business) that were mostly taught in English

Comment (optional):

Q23 If you have taken any classes as a student where the content was communicated in English, what practices helped you to understand and/or made the classes effective for you?

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Fenton-Smith, B., Stillwell, C., Dupuy, R. (2017). Professional Development for EMI: Exploring Taiwanese Lecturers’ Needs. In: Fenton-Smith, B., Humphreys, P., Walkinshaw, I. (eds) English Medium Instruction in Higher Education in Asia-Pacific. Multilingual Education, vol 21. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-51976-0_11

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-51976-0_11

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  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-51976-0

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