English as a Medium of Education

Tips for How to Teach your Specialty in English

In today’s world educational institutions are called upon to provide their students with the key to living in a multicultural context. This is especially true in countries where English is not the primary language. In non-English-speaking countries this often means, first and foremost, providing a good English education.

However, being well trained in the subtleties of the English language does not mean that you will be able to explain what you do as a professional. This is especially true for people who are scientists or in business and have to give public speeches or professional presentations.

Knowing both the English language and what you need to teach is a prerequisite, but how effectively can you teach your subject matter in a language that is not your native language? In addition, in some contexts, how effectively can you teach your subject matter in a language that is not your native language and not the native language of your audience?

I have recently been asked to teach my field, philosophy, in English. I have to do this in the philosophy department of a Japanese university, where students are not really used to interacting in English. Moreover, I have never had to teach in English before.

As a researcher, I am used to presenting parts of my research in English at conferences or invited lectures, but teaching to a room full of well-trained specialists is very different from teaching to students.

To prepare myself, I did some research and learned English as a Medium of Instruction (EMI), also known as English as a Medium of Education. I did this through various content, including a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) offered by the University of Southampton on FutureLearn, a UK digital education platform.

In this article, I would like to share the key elements of what I learned. Whether you need to teach in English or not, if you have any interest in language and interculturalism, I think you will find EMI as interesting as I did.

The Good Intentions Behind EMI

English as a Medium of Instruction is an approach that uses English as the primary language to teach academic subjects to non-native speakers, most often in countries where the majority of the population does not speak English as a first language.

This approach represents a significant shift from the traditional model of teaching English only as a foreign language to one in which English becomes the vehicle for learning subjects such as science, mathematics, and history.

The rise of EMI has been driven by globalization, the economic and cultural influence of the United States, and the spread of technology and the Internet. The creation of online educational content, including MOOCs, is also contributing to this shift and providing teachers with resources to educate themselves.

EMI is now present at various levels of education and is particularly noticeable in higher education, where an increasing number of courses are being offered in English. However, this trend also brings with it difficulties and controversies, including concerns about educational quality, accessibility, linguistic diversity, and the impact on local languages and cultures.

In a recently published collective book, Ruanni Tupas judges:

Many scholars, policy makers, and educators, when they talk about English Medium Instruction (EMI), assume that it is essentially about the English language per se. (…) But “English” in EMI is invested with ideology, history, political economy, and culture. It enters educational systems loaded with intersecting and conflicting agendas of institutions, states, and other various stakeholders such that local educational spaces and practices are altered, rearranged, or transformed not by English per se but by various vested interests. (Critical English Medium Instruction in Higher Education, p. xi)

Critics will certainly be heard. It is true that the dominance of English in the academic and business world is being questioned, but we cannot ignore the fact that English has become a lingua franca (a language used for communication between groups of people who speak different languages). This lingua franca also contributes to a higher level of communication, exchange and cooperation, which are essential in both science and business.

As far as I can tell, people who teach EMI — or write books to do so — are not ideologues. They are pragmatic teachers trying to help other teachers succeed in their responsibilities — a goal with the best intentions in mind.

Contextually Based English

When I started looking into EMI, the first thing I found interesting is that it is contextually based. It does not provide a single way to teach your subject in English, but something more like a toolkit that begins with very basic ideas. Here are three examples of how it is contextual and why this approach is important in an international classroom.

1. Language is a means, not an end

Classes are not about teaching grammatically perfect English, but about teaching your field or a specific subject effectively. Therefore, if your English is not native and not perfect, it is not a problem because you are not teaching English per se. In addition, research has shown that native English-speaking teachers are not always the best teachers in this context because they may lack self-awareness of their own language use.

2. The context is inherently intercultural

Students come from different backgrounds and, in most cases, from different countries. This implies different cultural references, different moral values and different language skills. It requires the teacher to be inclusive, compassionate, and aware of potential language difficulties.

Furthermore, clarity, empathy, flexibility, and compromise —all notable in English use — are key. In fact, research suggests that an emphasis on grammar and language accuracy can be a barrier to success in the classroom, increasing stress for both students and teachers rather than being helpful. In this case at least, speaking better English can lead to students learning less, not more.

3. The multicultural context invites a multilingual toolkit

Another big issue in EMI is whether EMI teacher should use languages other than English? Many language teachers think they should not. However, this is a misconception for both language teaching and teaching in another language.

Remember, the goal is efficiency. Multilingualism is a lever for mutual understanding. Many EMI teachers are faced with teaching situations where they are teaching students who have at least the ability to speak another language, so using another language can be highly beneficial.

Real Practical Advice

Next, I would like to share with you some advice that I have found particularly helpful in my teaching using EMI. What is important is that none of them pertain to language skills in themselves. Instead, they are about how to teach an international group of students.

First, do not rush your teaching. You need to be clear, and you need to give your students time to process the information you are giving them. You do not need to speak too quickly (which is very likely under stress) or too slowly (which is unlikely but would make your class boring).

It may also be necessary to give your students some pauses (e.g. short times when you are not speaking) during your lesson. This is not to give them time to relax or discuss things among themselves, but simply to give them enough time to understand what you are saying.

Second, write on the board anything that might be misunderstood, such as names, key concepts, and difficult words. Again, the goal is to be as clear as possible, remembering that this is not just based on your ability to have perfect pronunciation, as they need to understand your words. Then, write and, if possible, prepare some support to help them such as slides that would present the most important information and/or illustrate your point.

Third, a less intuitive, but equally important, point is to make your teaching understandable by avoiding speaking academic English as much as possible. Academic English is a very specific kind of writing based on literary cultures. It involves aesthetic considerations, social positioning, cultural references, and a rather complex way of conveying information.

What is required of you is not to look great as an intellectual, but to be a good teacher, that is, someone who is able to explain the most difficult things in your field in the simplest and most accessible way. In a word, you need to provide learner-friendly teaching.

Conclusion

Globalization has shaped the landscape of higher education, imposing English as the lingua franca for academic, scientific, and professional communication. The use of English as a Medium of Instruction (EMI) has become widespread as institutions attempt to internationalize their programs and attract diverse student populations.

This development facilitates access to global networks, but it also presents a number of difficulties that educators must carefully manage. Teaching an academic discipline in English requires much more than linguistic competence. It requires a pedagogical reorientation that places clarity, accessibility, and inclusiveness at the center of education.

Teachers must develop strategies to ensure that content is delivered in a way that can be understood by students from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds. This often means adapting language, avoiding idioms and overly complex constructions, and supplementing spoken content with written or visual materials.

At the same time, EMI is not a single approach. It is a set of pedagogical practices that may or may not be used depending on the teaching context. These good practices are not only valuable in the context of teaching English. They are useful in many communication contexts, whether for teaching or not, whether in English or not. For example, I already use some of them in the other languages I rely on for teaching, Japanese and French.

Bibliography

• Jim McKinley, Nicola Galloway (eds.), English-Medium Instruction Practices in Higher Education: International Perspectives, Bloomsbury Academic, 2022.

• David Lasagabaster, English-Medium Instruction in Higher Education, Cambridge University Press, 2022.

• Francesca Costa, Cristina Mariotti (eds.), Input in English-Medium Instruction, Routledge, 2023.

• Dogan Yuksel, Mehmet Altay, Samantha Curle (eds.), Multilingual and Translingual Practices in English-Medium Instruction: Perspectives from Global Higher Education Contexts, Bloomsbury, 2024.

• Seyyed-Abdolhamid Mirhosseini, Peter I. De Costa (eds.), Critical English Medium Instruction in Higher Education, Cambridge University Press, 2025.