EMI Lecturer Trainers: Reflections on the Implementation of EMI Lecturer Training Course

Abstract

Universities in non-native English-speaking countries strive to increase the number of international students using EMI as one of their internationalisation strategies, “being caught up in the rush to offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programmes through the medium of English” (Macaro et al. 2018, 37). This has resulted in an unprecedented demand for EMI lecturers to acquire both improved English language proficiency and new teaching methodology skills (Gay et al. 2020). The research, however, evidences the lack of published materials for the development of EMI lecturer training courses (Costa 2015; Dafouz 2018; Gay et al. 2020). Moreover, the literature on hands-on practice with respect to the experience of those involved in EMI lecturer training is scant. Thus, here, the authors offer an outline of an EMI lecturer training course and provide an analysis of the experience of eight EMI lecturer trainers from three leading Russian universities that conducted EMI training courses in the academic years 2017-2019. Semi-structured interviews and pre-and post-course surveys show that EMI trainers encounter difficulties which are psychological, methodological and linguistic in nature, these being low English language proficiency of EMI lecturers, their insufficient knowledge of pedagogical strategies, their lack of self-reflection and feedback and their resistance to active learning techniques and a student-centered approach. The findings of this study will be useful for EMI lecturer trainers since the study highlights potential challenges and practical advice on how to increase training efficacy.