(3) Kirkpatrick, A. (2014). English as a medium of instruction in East and Southeast Asian universities. In Dynamic ecologies (pp. 21-24). Springer, Dordrecht.
The debate over the role of English has been mirrored in other Asian countries. For example, in 2011, Malaysia abandoned its policy of teaching maths and science in primary school using English as a medium of instruction and has reverted to teaching these subjects through the national language, Bahasa Melayu. This decision was taken as exam results showed that children from poorer and rural backgrounds were failing to cope with learning science and maths through English. Even more radically, the Philippines, after several decades of a bilingual education policy in primary school that saw maths and science subjects taught in English and other subjects in the national language, Filipino, is now implementing a mother-tongue policy which allows the use of twelve other Filipino languages as languages of education for the early years of primary education (Agcaoili et al. 2013). While this shows that some school systems in the region are now promoting local languages as languages of education, in the great majority of contexts, there has been an increase in the teaching of English. Those who can afford it will send their children to kindergartens where English is taught. They will also send their children to private English medium schools in favour of local government schools. 'To actually forsake the public school system that teaches in your own language for the private one that teaches in English is an increasingly common phenomenon' (Wang Gungwu 2007, p. xiv).
The Japanese Government recently introduced the Global 30 Project (2012b), which is designed to attract international students to Japan to study in one of 30 universities. The website announces that 'With the introduction of the "Global 30" Project, the best universities in Japan are now offering degree programs in English. By doing this, these universities have broken down the language barrier which was one of the obstacles preventing international students from studying in Japan. A range of courses in a number of fields are offered in English at the universities under the "Global 30" Project.
The accompanying booklet, *Study in English at Japanese Universities* (Global 30 Project 2012a), lists the 30 universities involved and gives brief details of each. The following excerpts from the Tokyo University and Osaka University entries give a flavour of the booklet. They read:
The University of Tokyo (Todai) is a comprehensive research University that engages in education and research at the cutting-edge of knowledge across the full range of human endeavour. We provide over 35 degree programs in English in the following 10 graduate schools; Economics; Arts and Sciences; Science; Engineering; Agricultural and Life
Sciences; Medicine; Frontier Sciences; Information Science and Technology;
Interdisciplinary Information Studies; and Public Policy. In October 2012, 2 new English
programs will be launched at the undergraduate level; International Program on Japan in
East Asia; International Program on Environmental Sciences. (p. 8) Osaka University is
recognized as one of the leading research universities in the world and at the forefront of
technological innovation in Japan. We offer degree programs conducted in English.
Undergraduate level: Chemistry-Biology Combined Major Program and Human
Sciences
All-English Undergraduate Degree Program.
Graduate level: Special Integrated Science Course and International Physics Course
sponsored by Graduate School of Science.
Osaka University welcomes international students of all nationalities with aspiration and
commitment to excel. (p. 10)
The aim of the Global 30 project is to attract 300,000 international students; to date, however, results have been disappointing, with less than 22,000 international students enrolled in 2011.
In South Korea, some form of English-fever seems to have taken hold. For example, in what is known as the 'wild geese' phenomenon, Korean mothers take their children to study in English-speaking countries, leaving the fathers behind to earn the money to fund their children's overseas education. In 2007, there were nearly 7000 Korean children in New Zealand schools (Takeshita 2010, p. 274). There is also increasing pressure for Korean universities to adopt English medium instruction. In 2007, the prestigious Korean Advanced Institute of Science and Technology adopted the policy of enforcing EMI across the entire curriculum, a policy being adopted by an increasing number of Korean universities (Kim in press). However, as Kim also reports, the policy has received criticism (Kang 2012), not least because it places great linguistic demands on both staff and students. Demands for the return to the use of Korean as an Mol are being heard.
Chinese universities are also increasing the number of EMI courses which they offer. As long ago as 2001, the then Premier Zhu Rongji, said that he hoped all classes (at his alma mater, Tsinghua University's School of Economics and Management) would be taught in English, as China needed to be able to exchange ideas with the rest of the world (Gill 2004).
In addition to the several 'foreign' universities setting up in China, offering their programmes through English, of which Nottingham University in Ningpo is a good example, many local universities are seeking to increase their international student numbers by increasing their EMI programmes. While the most prestigious universities may have the staff—and be able to recruit international staff—to be able to deliver programmes through English, there remain concerns. For example, even at Beijing University, while many are proud of the introduction of bilingual and EMI courses, some lament the reduction of Chinese-medium courses. One sociology professor felt that students do not have enough knowledge of the subject in Chinese and that teaching in English would only undermine their grasp of the subject (Hayhoe et al. 2011b, p. 123).
The prestigious East China Normal University in Shanghai is also increasing its EMI programmes. The university's goal is to attract 5000 international students to live on campus and for 10% of courses to be 'taught bilingually' (Hayhoe et al. 2011a, p. 204), although it is not clear what 'taught bilingually' means in practice. The longer term goal is to develop 100 courses taught in English.
Geographical position and prestige can hamper drives toward internationalisation. For example, Southwest University in Chongqing, Siquan, has plans to increase its number of international students from 393 in 2007–1500, but 'a prohibitive factor is the lack of qualified teachers who are able to teach courses in English' (Li et al. 2011, p. 234).
Indeed, it would appear that, with few exceptions, most Asian universities have accepted that if they want to raise their international profile they need to provide EMI courses. They have done this, but without developing carefully considered language education policies. Yet, with the increase of internationalisation and the consequential increase in the number of EMI courses, universities need to establish language education policies. Different contexts provide different circumstances and different problems. In Europe, for example, the Finnish Minister of Education explained that 'we were realistic enough to see that foreign students who came to Finland to study for a term or two couldn't be expected to do that study in Finnish or Swedish. So the Ministry started to promote English-language education' (Doiz et al. 2013, p. 214). At the same time, the five Nordic countries have language education policies that insist Nordic languages are used along with English. Preisler (2009, p. 26) has argued for a form of
'complementary languages'. This would involve the use of English and the relevant
language (Danish in Preisler's context) in some form of complementary distribution.
How the languages would complement each other would depend on the nature of the
individual programme, i.e. 'the national or international scope of their academic
content and orientation of the students' (2009, p. 26)
Generally speaking, in the Asian contexts reviewed here, only few universities
have established and implemented their own language education policies. We
reviewed the developments at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, which showed
how the original charter of the university to provide Chinese medium education has
been compromised by the university's decision to embrace internationalization and
increase EMI programmes. It is important to note that the Hong Kong Government's
aim is to create a citizenry which is trilingual in Cantonese, Putonghua and English
and biliterate in Chinese and English. This laudable policy is undermined by six of the
eight government-funded institutions being EMI institutions. Only the Hong Kong
Institute of Education (HKIEd) has a specific language policy whose aim is to
produce graduates who are functionally trilingual. This includes setting language exit
requirements in each of the three languages that students agree to work towards. The
exit requirements vary depending on the L1 of the students and the courses they are
undertaking (See Xu (forthcoming) for a full account). The HKIEd policy also
recognizes how important it is for language policy to match actual language use. For
example, although many universities advertise their courses as EMI, actual practice
shows that the students and teachers commonly use the languages available to them in
their teaching and learning (Barnard and McLellan in press). A Hong Kong study
showed that, in fact, 'English is a medium of instruction for just over half the lectures'
(Li et al. 2001, pp. 297-298). Instructively, the HKIEd policy makes a crucial
distinction between official medium of instruction and classroom language use.
The MOI, to be adhered to strictly in all undergraduate and postgraduate programmes,
bears on the following: (a) the course outline, including synopsis, aims and objectives,
main assigned readings, teaching and learning activities, and the course's intended
learning outcomes; (b) formative assessment in writing, including major assignments
and quizzes; and (c) summative assessment such as the final exam. Accordingly, all
assessed activities of an EMI course should be in English, while those of a CMI course
should be in Chinese 'classroom language' (CL) refers to the language of interaction
between teacher and students and among students in the classroom (lectures, tutorials,
labs and so on). While the CL of an EMI courses is English by default, a CMI course
may be conducted in Cantonese or Putonghua, subject to the teacher's reference after
consulting all relevant factors, such as the students' language backgrounds and abilities.
Subject to moment-by-moment classroom learning and teaching needs, the teacher of a
CMI or EMI course may find it necessary to switch to some other language(s). It
should be noted that classroom code-switching, which is typically justified by students'
enhanced learning outcomes, do not constitute a breach of the Institute's new LLT
policy. (Xu forthcoming)
Xu proposes that higher education institutions in multilingual societies should
implement language policies that mirror the multilingual reality of the settings.
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