Malaysia’s English-Medium Instruction Policy through Spolsky’s Language Policy Framework: A Critical Review

Abstract

English-medium instruction (EMI) has been promoted in multilingual education systems as a means of improving English proficiency, expanding access to scientific knowledge, and strengthening international competitiveness. In Malaysia, the Teaching and Learning of Science and Mathematics in English (PPSMI) policy represented a major attempt to pursue these objectives while generating tensions concerning national identity, classroom feasibility, and educational equity. This critical narrative review examines the implementation of PPSMI and the relationship between formal policy intentions and their enactment in educational settings. Relevant literature on Malaysian EMI and language-in-education policy was reviewed and analysed through a deductive-inductive thematic approach. Spolsky’s language policy framework guided the analysis of three interconnected dimensions: language practices, beliefs and ideologies, and language management, while policy-practice tensions, educational equity, and teacher agency were examined as cross-cutting themes. The review identifies recurring misalignment between English-oriented policy expectations and classroom language practices, competing pragmatic and nationalist orientations toward English and Bahasa Malaysia, uneven institutional and teacher capacity, and differences in learners’ access to EMI. Teachers’ bilingual adaptations further illustrate how formal language requirements were mediated in response to classroom conditions. The review concludes that sustainable EMI policy depends not simply on selecting English as a medium of instruction, but on aligning policy objectives with institutional readiness, stakeholder beliefs, multilingual classroom practices, and educational equity.