Acceso usuarios
Rima Saidani, Kamal Belmihoub
This study explored the nascent implementation of English-medium instruction (EMI) among non-English majors at a public university in Algeria. To this end, we collected qualitative data through individual interviews with administrators, professors, and students and conducted a content analysis of relevant pedagogical materials. Interview data displayed a deficit subtractive approach to language choices, positioning English at the top of the language hierarchy while stigmatising French and neglecting Arabic as a viable STEM language. Pedagogical materials reflected an emphasis on general and business communication for some STEM majors without much sustained and contextualised practice, leading to limited acquisition of content knowledge in English. Interview data also demonstrated a range of institutional, curricular, and administrative challenges, resulting in inconsistent teaching practices and insufficient progress toward teaching in English. The results underscored significant suggestions for institutional adjustments and professional development opportunities. We found that a focus solely on EMI undermines stakeholders’ ability to draw on their entire linguistic and semiotic repertoires, hindering progress toward organic translanguaging that facilitates productive uses of English. We suggest replacing EMI with a translingual model in Higher Education (HE) to expand participation in the international scientific community using English and enhance teaching and research productivity in the language.
