A Systematic Review of Student Success in English-Medium Instruction in Higher Education

Exploring the Educational Role of English-Medium Instruction in Internationalized Higher Education

With the internationalization of higher education, English-Medium Instruction has developed rapidly in Sino-foreign cooperative education programs. However, the existing research mainly understands EMI from the perspective of language teaching and teaching implementation, and pays less attention to its educational value in the cultivation of international talents. In this view, this paper attempts to explore how EMI curriculum, as an international educational practice, plays a potential role in promoting students’ academic development, cross-cultural understanding and global competence. It also examines key challenges associated with EMI, including language barriers, inadequate teaching support and the risk of superficial or formal internationalization. This article tries to address a practical question that in the context of Sino-foreign cooperative education projects, how can EMI curriculum design and international talent training be more practical and closer to actual needs.

University in English? Changes in Japanese Student Confidence and Interest

Japan is rapidly expanding English-medium instruction (EMI) and English-taught degree programs (ETPs), assuming high schools will produce students ready to learn academic content in English. Yet readiness for EMI depends on confidence in using English, not only proficiency. This study compared survey data from 3rd-year students at the same Japanese public high school (international studies curriculum) in 2013 (N = 147) and 2024 (N = 132). Confidence in speaking, listening, reading, and writing for an English-taught degree increased significantly over 11 years, with the largest gains in speaking. In contrast, interest in enrolling in an ETP was stable across cohorts. New 2024 items showed why this matters: students reported that confidence in every skill strongly shaped whether they would apply. The findings suggested that expanding ETP participation will hinge not just on test scores but on confidence-building communicative experiences in the secondary–tertiary transition. 日本では、英語による授業（EMI）や英語による授業のみで学位取得できる課程（ETP）の拡大が進められているが、その前提となる高校生の「準備性」は十分には検証されていない。本研究は、同一公立高校（国際系学科）に在籍する高校3年生を対象に、2013年（N＝147）と2024年（N＝132）の調査データを比較し、英語力への自信とETPへの関心の変化を分析した。その結果、「話す・聞く・書く・読む」の4技能すべてで自信は有意に向上していた一方、ETPへの関心はほぼ変化しなかった。ただし、2024年の調査では、4技能への自信がETP出願への判断に強く影響することが示された。これらの結果は、英語能力のみならず、高校段階での自信形成がETP拡大の鍵であることを示唆している。

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.

An Evaluation of English Language Learning Based on Outcome-Based Education (OBE) in Higher Education

The implementation of Outcome-Based Education (OBE) in Indonesian higher education has reshaped English language learning, yet systematic evaluation of its effectiveness remains limited. This research addresses the urgent need to evaluate whether OBE-based English instruction achieves intended learning outcomes, given persistent gaps between curriculum design and classroom practice. The objective of this study is to evaluate OBE-based English language learning in higher education, specifically examining outcome achievement, curriculum-practice alignment, implementation challenges, and stakeholder perception consistency. A qualitative evaluative approach was employed, involving semi-structured interviews with six English instructors, focus group discussions with fifteen students across proficiency levels, classroom observations of twenty sessions, and document analysis of course syllabi and OBE policy documents. Thematic analysis revealed four main findings: OBE learning outcomes are partially achieved, with writing outcomes significantly lower than speaking and listening; substantial misalignment exists between OBE curriculum documents and practice, with teacher-centered instruction dominating 70% of observed sessions; multidimensional challenges including resource limitations, pedagogical difficulties, and cultural factors constrain implementation; and instructors systematically overestimate student outcome attainment compared to student self-assessments. The study concludes that OBE-based English learning requires targeted writing interventions, instructor professional development in authentic assessment design, technology infrastructure investment, multi-stakeholder evaluation mechanisms, and cultural adaptation strategies. Further longitudinal and comparative studies across institutions are recommended.

English-Medium Curriculum Delivery Through Learning Management Systems: Undergraduate Students’ Experiences of Learning Content Comprehension

This study investigates how undergraduate students at a rural South African university experience English-medium instruction delivered through LMS platforms and recommends language-responsive course design, strengthened digital infrastructure, targeted digital literacy support, and inclusive pedagogical approaches to enhance equitable access to online learning.

“Teach in English or retire”: linguistic, pedagogical and career consequences of English medium instruction