Teacher Agency and Institutional Mediation in English Language Materials Development in Philippine Higher Education

Performing English, Learning Bilingually: The Institutional Promise–Practice Paradox of EMI in Bangladeshi Tertiary Education

English-medium instruction (EMI) has expanded across Bangladeshi higher education as a marker of academic quality, internationalisation, and graduate employability. Yet the institutional promotion of English does not necessarily translate into sustained English-medium classroom interaction or improved opportunities for students’ language development. This qualitative multiple-case study examines how EMI is interpreted, negotiated, and enacted across three private universities in Bangladesh. Data were generated through semi-structured interviews with six teachers of content-oriented English-department courses and 18 final-year undergraduate students, three student focus-group discussions, and three classroom observations. The dataset was analysed using reflexive thematic analysis, supported by iterative coding, memo writing, within-case analysis, and cross-case comparison. Findings indicate that EMI functioned less as a stable English-only instructional model than as a negotiated bilingual practice shaped by uneven English proficiency, time constraints, and institutional expectations. Teachers used Bangla to clarify difficult concepts, sustain interaction, and support comprehension, while students valued English for its academic and professional benefits but often experienced English-only instruction as limiting confidence, participation, and access to disciplinary knowledge. Bilingual mediation, however, rarely formed part of a systematic approach to academic-English development. The central tension therefore lies not simply in teachers’ departure from English-only instruction, but in universities’ expectation that EMI will deliver both disciplinary learning and English proficiency without adequate linguistic, pedagogical, and assessment support. Conceptualising this tension as the EMI institutional promise–practice paradox, the study argues for a linguistically responsive model that combines planned bilingual scaffolding, explicit disciplinary-language development, language-sensitive assessment, and sustained teacher support. By showing how bilingual mediation both sustains and complicates EMI, the study contributes to debates on multilingual pedagogy, linguistic equity, and institutional responsibility in multilingual higher education.

THEORY OF MEASURES CAUSED BY NON-VIABILITY IN QUALITY ENGLISH LANGUAGE INSTRUCTION

This Straussian grounded theory study generated an explanatory theory of why English language educators in basic education experience difficulty translating professional knowledge into consistently effective classroom practice. In this study, non-viability refers to the condition in which ideal English language instruction cannot be fully enacted because available resources, teacher preparation, learner readiness, language exposure, socioeconomic support, and institutional conditions are insufficient or uneven. Data were gathered from sixteen purposively selected informants composed of English language teachers, school administrators, stakeholders, and community members in public elementary school settings in Dalaguete, Cebu, Philippines. Semi-structured interviews served as the primary data source, while field notes and selected school-related documents were used to support contextual understanding and triangulation. Data were analyzed through open, axial, and selective coding. Findings showed that participants valued English instruction for literacy development, academic participation, communication competence, and future readiness, but implementation was constrained by resource limitations, uneven teacher preparation, learner diversity, limited English exposure outside school, socioeconomic conditions, multilingual classroom realities, and resistance to instructional change. Seven categories were generated: building a strong English foundation, tailoring language lessons, overcoming language teaching issues, navigating language dynamics, promoting community participation, addressing education and income-related factors, and using innovative tools. The core category, the Theory of Measures Caused by Non-Viability, explains that schools and communities adopt corrective, adaptive, and preventive measures when ideal English instruction becomes difficult to sustain. The theory contributes to English language education by explaining not only what constraints exist but how local actors respond to them in order to maintain learning continuity.

Deconstructing English Language Learning Facilitation ‎Through A Competency-Based Human Resource Management ‎Perspective In Private Higher Education Institutions

This study aims to deconstruct the dynamics of English language learning facilitation through a Competency-Based Human Resource Management (HRM) lens at two private higher education institutions in Bekasi, Indonesia: STEBIS YPII Bekasi and Pelita Bangsa University Bekasi. The study responds to the persistence of grammar-dominated English instruction in Indonesian private universities, where classroom practices often prioritize credit-hour completion and administrative compliance over communicative competence development. A qualitative comparative multi-locus case study design was employed. Data were collected through participant observation of classroom facilitation, documentary analysis of Semester Learning Plans (RPS), and in-depth interviews with lecturers as key instructional actors and students as representatives of human capital. Data were analyzed using the interactive thematic analysis model of Miles, Huberman, and Saldaña, involving data condensation, data display, and conclusion drawing. The findings show that both institutions experienced functional instructional stagnation caused by activity-based performance practices that neglected instructional needs assessment, student readiness, and sustainable exit strategies. The transition from teacher-centered instruction to dialogic, learner-centered facilitation helped reduce students’ mental blocks and communication anxiety while strengthening their willingness to participate in English communication activities. From a Competency-Based HRM perspective, dialogic facilitation functions not only as a pedagogical technique but also as a strategic change-management mechanism for transforming lecturer work behavior and improving graduate capacity. However, the study is limited to two private institutions; future research should involve broader institutional contexts and examine the long-term impact of facilitation-based HRM interventions on students’ communicative performance.

Four-Skill Alignment in Bangladeshi Higher-Secondary English Education: A Critical Narrative Review of Curriculum, Assessment Washback, and Classroom Implementation

This critical narrative review examines why communicative curriculum intentions have not produced balanced instruction in listening, speaking, reading, and writing at the higher-secondary level in Bangladesh. The review synthesises Bangladesh-focused scholarship, official curriculum and textbook materials, policy reports, and education-system documents available up to June 2026. Sources were analysed through a structured thematic procedure organised around six interacting layers: curriculum intention, textbook affordance, assessment practice, teacher capacity, classroom ecology, and resource availability. The evidence consistently indicates that listening and speaking are marginalised because they carry limited assessment value and are difficult to enact in large, resource-constrained classes. Reading and writing receive substantially more instructional attention, but examination pressure frequently narrows them to predictable item practice, memorised responses, reliance on guidebooks, and limited formative feedback. The article refines the proposed four-skill alignment framework by treating assessment as a powerful institutional signal whose effects are mediated by teacher assessment literacy, training transfer, class size, time, materials, and institutional expectations. It avoids attributing implementation failure to teachers alone. The review recommends piloting low-stakes oral and aural assessments, demonstration-based professional development, the integrated use of English for Today, focused process-writing routines, and low-cost classroom materials. The contribution is a system-level explanation of why the four skills are affected differently and which implementation conditions must accompany reform.

Negotiating Professional Identities in Post-Monolingual Classrooms: A Qualitative Study on Saudi Tertiary-level Bilingual EFL Teachers

This study examines how bilingual EFL teachers in Saudi higher education perceive and negotiate their professional identities while teaching monolingual Arabic-speaking students in English-only institutional settings. Grounded in poststructuralist identity, translanguaging, and language ideology theories, the research explores the intersection of pedagogy, identity, and institutional regulation in post-monolingual EFL classrooms. Using a qualitative multiple-case study design, data were collected from 10 bilingual instructors at 3 universities through semi-structured interviews, classroom observations, and reflective teaching journals over a 6-week period. The data were thematically analysed to enable coding, triangulation, and cross-case comparison. Findings show that teachers strategically used Arabic to scaffold complex content, maintain learner engagement, and address the affective dimensions of teaching, while navigating English-only policy constraints through selective compliance and subtle resistance. Reflective journals revealed identity dissonance stemming from tensions between pedagogical beliefs and institutional expectations, with reflection serving as a mechanism for ethical sense-making and professional resilience. Rather than passive policy implementers, the teachers emerged as reflexive practitioners who constructed professional identity through translanguaging, emotional reflexivity, and adaptive pedagogy. The study highlights the need for institutional policies that recognise and support teachers’ multilingual repertoires in Saudi EFL contexts. В статье рассматривается проблема формирования и согласования профессиональной идентичности билингвальных преподавателей английского языка как иностранного в системе высшего образования Саудовской Аравии. Особое внимание уделяется условиям преподавания монолингвальным институциональной среде, арабоязычным ориентированной на студентам в использование исключительно английского языка. Теоретико-методологическую основу исследования составили постструктуралистские подходы к изучению идентичности, концепция транслингвизма и теория языковых идеологий. В центре анализа находится взаимосвязь педагогической практики, профессиональной идентичности преподавателя и институционального регулирования в постмонолингвальной образовательной аудитории. Исследование выполнено в логике качественного множественного кейс-стади. Эмпирическую базу составили данные, полученные в течение шести недель от 10 билингвальных преподавателей трех университетов. В качестве методов сбора данных использовались полуструктурированные интервью, аудиторные наблюдения и рефлексивные преподавательские дневники. Обработка материалов осуществлялась с применением тематического анализа, включавшего кодирование, триангуляцию данных и межкейсовое сопоставление. Результаты исследования показали, что преподаватели целенаправленно обращались к арабскому языку для объяснения сложного учебного материала, поддержания вовлеченности студентов и работы с эмоционально-аффективными аспектами обучения. При этом они были вынуждены учитывать ограничения институциональной политики «только английский язык», сочетая частичное соблюдение установленных требований с формами скрытого педагогического сопротивления. Анализ рефлексивных дневников позволил выявить диссонанс профессиональной идентичности, возникающий вследствие противоречия между педагогическими убеждениями преподавателей и институциональными ожиданиями. Рефлексия в данном контексте выступала как механизм этического осмысления профессиональной деятельности и поддержания профессиональной устойчивости. Сделан вывод о том, что билингвальные преподаватели не являются пассивными исполнителями языковой политики. Напротив, они выступают как рефлексивные субъекты педагогической практики, конструирующие профессиональную идентичность через транслингвальные стратегии, эмоциональную рефлексивность и адаптивные формы преподавания. Полученные результаты указывают на необходимость разработки институциональных языковых политик, признающих и поддерживающих многоязычные ресурсы преподавателей в контексте обучения английскому языку как иностранному в Саудовской Аравии.

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