Cover not available

Article published In: English-medium instruction: Different stakeholders and conflicting interests
Edited by Robert Wilkinson and René Gabriëls
[Journal of English-Medium Instruction 3:1] 2024
► pp. 48–67

Get fulltext from our e-platform
JBE logo with link
PDF logo with download linkDownload PDF
EPUB logo with download linkDownload EPUB
authorization required

Perspectives of business stakeholders about EMI in Turkiye

ORCiD logo with link | The Open University
ORCiD logo with link | Kocaeli University
Published online: 14 December 2023
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/jemi.22021.yuk
Abstract
EMI programmes have grown exponentially in various parts of the world. While the reasons for the growth in EMI programmes have been commonly discussed, the consequences or outcomes of EMI studies did not attract too much attention. Moreover, various stakeholders of EMI, such as students, lecturers, parents and administrators, have been examined, but the stakeholders in industry have received less consideration. Motivated by the necessity for a deeper investigation of the business stakeholders’ opinions about EMI, this study examined the perspectives of business stakeholders about EMI programmes and their graduates in Turkiye. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 company managers and 12 human resources (HR) supervisors from a range of large, medium and small companies. Our findings revealed that recruiters perceived obtaining a degree from an English-taught programme as an important aspect of human capital taken together with other factors such as prior working experience, certificates and/or further training. Nevertheless, company managers and HR supervisors occasionally had different perspectives regarding EMI graduates’ English proficiency levels, which might be a sign of these stakeholders’ different perceptions towards EMI graduates and their language proficiency.
Article outline
  • Introduction
  • Review of Literature
    • Englishisation and internationalisation of higher education
    • Stakeholders interests in EMI
    • EMI in the Turkish context and job prospects of Turkish EMI graduates
    • Human capital theory
  • Methodology
    • Context of the study
    • Participants
    • Research tools and analysis
  • Findings
    • Theme 1: Technical English can be a more serious issue to deal with than content/specialist knowledge
    • Theme 2: Companies consider EMI in recruitment
    • Theme 3: Some EMI graduates have reportedly quite low English proficiency levels
    • Theme 4: Some EMI graduates lack content/specialist knowledge
  • Discussion
  • Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • References
References (70)
References
Al-Issa, A. S. (2017). Meeting students’ expectations in an Arab ICLHE/EMI context: Implications for ELT education policy and practice. International Journal of Applied Linguistics and English Literature, 6(1), 209–226. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Altay, M. (2020). The implication of EMI education for graduates employment conditions. Kocaeli Universitesi Journal of Social Sciences, 2(40), 109–120. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Altay, M., & Erçin, N. (2020). Uncovering the reflections of English medium instruction in engineering graduates’ career. Sakarya University Journal of Education, 10(3), 577–588. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Altay, M., Soruç, A., Yuksel, D., & Curle, S. (2022). Investigating academic achievement of English medium instruction courses in Turkey: The influence of English proficiency, first language medium, and academic subject. Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching, 12(1), 117–141. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Altay, M., & Yuksel, D. (2021). Effectiveness of different EMI engineering programmes on job prospects. Participatory Educational Research, 8(2), 460–475. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2022). An investigation of language related challenges in full and multilingual English medium instruction models in Turkey. In M. A. Christison, J. A. Crandall & D. Christian (Eds.), Research on integrating content and language in diverse contents (pp. 181–194). Routledge/TIRF. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Aksit, T., & Kahvecioğlu, A. S. (2022). Stakeholder perspectives on the use of English-medium instruction (EMI) in Turkish universities. In Y. Kirkgoz & A. Karakas (Eds.), English as the medium of instruction in Turkish higher education (pp. 87–106). Springer. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Atik, E. (2010). Perceptions of students towards English medium instruction at tertiary level: The case of a Turkish private university (Publication No. 19555) [Master’s thesis, Middle East Technical University]. [URL]
Başıbek, N., Dolmacı, M., Cengiz, B. C., Bür, B., Dilek, Y., & Kara, B. (2014). Lecturers’ perceptions of English medium ınstruction at engineering departments of higher education: Study on partial English medium ınstruction at some state universities in Turkey. Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences, 1161, 1819–1825. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Becker, G. (1994). Human capital: A theoretical and empirical analysis with special reference to education. The University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Blundell, R., Dearden, L., Meghir, C., & Sianesi, B. (1999). Human capital investment: The returns from education and training to the individual, the firm and the economy. Fiscal Studies, 20(1), 1–23. [URL].
Bologna Declaration (1999). The European higher education area. The Bologna Declaration of 19 June 1999, Joint Declaration of the European Ministers of Education.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 31, 77–101. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Chandramohan, B., Gajanan, S. N., & Muthulakshmi, B. (2011). Women in the IT sector: Is there an English language premium? International Journal of Economic Policy in Emerging Economies, 4(4), 378–389. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Coyle, D. (2008). CLIL: A pedagogical approach from the European perspective. In N. Van Deusen-Scholland & N. Hornberger (Eds.), Encyclopaedia of language and education: Vol. 1 Second and foreign language education (2nd ed.) (pp. 97–111). Springer. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Curle, S., Yuksel, D., Soruç, A., & Altay, M. (2020). Predictors of English medium instruction academic success: English proficiency versus first language medium. System, 951, 102378, 1–11. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Curle, S., Ali, H. I. H., Alhassan, A., & Scatolini, S. S. (Eds.). (2022). English-medium instruction in higher education in the Middle East and North Africa: Policy, research and pedagogy. Bloomsbury. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Dearden, J. (2016). English as a medium of instruction: A growing global phenomenon. British Council. [URL]
Doiz, A., Lasagabaster, D., & Sierra, J. M. (Eds.). (2012). English-medium instruction at universities: Global challenges. Multilingual Matters. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Erling, E. J. (2017). Language planning, English language education and development aid in Bangladesh. Current Issues in Language Planning, 18(4), 388–406. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Farndale, E., Nikandrou, I., & Panayotopoulou, L. (2018). Recruitment and selection in context. In E. Farndale, I. Nikandrou & L. Panayotopoulou (Eds.), Handbook of research on comparative human resource management (pp. 127–142). Edward Elgar. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Fleischhauer, K.-J. (2007). A review of human capital theory: Microeconomics. University of St. Gallen, Department of Economics Discussion Paper No. 2007–01. SSRN Electronic Journal. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Galloway, N., Kriukow, J., & Numajiri, T. (2017). English medium instruction policies in China: Internationalisation of higher education. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 39(6), 542–555. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Galloway, N., Numajiri, T., & Rees, N. (2020). The “internationalisation,” or “Englishisation,” of higher education in East Asia. Higher Education, 80(3), 395–414. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Galloway, N., & Ruegg, R. (2020). The provision of student support on English medium instruction programmes in Japan and China. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 45, 100846, 1–14. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Genc, E., & Yuksel, D. (2021). Teacher questions in English medium instruction classrooms in a Turkish higher education setting. Linguistics and Education, 66, 10099, 1–16. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Gillies, D. (2015). Human capital theory in education. In M. Peters, (Ed.) Encyclopedia of educational philosophy and theory. Springer. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Goldin, C. D. (2016). Human capital. In C. Diebolt & M. Hauper (Eds.), Handbook of cliometrics (pp. 55–86). Springer. [URL].
Graddol, D. (2006). English next. British Council.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Hamid, M. O., Jahan, I., & Islam, M. M. (2013). Medium of instruction policies and language practices, ideologies and institutional divides: Voices of teachers and students in a priate university in Bangladesh. Current Issues in Language Planning, 14(1), 144–163. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Hu, G., Li, L., & Lei, J. (2014). English-medium instruction at a Chinese University: Rhetoric and reality. Language Policy, 131, 21–40. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Huang, H., & Curle, S. (2021). Higher education medium of instruction and career prospects: An exploration of current and graduated Chinese students’ perceptions. Journal of Education and Work, 34(3), 331–343. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Hultgren, A. K. (2014). English language use at the internationalised universities of Northern Europe: Is there a correlation between Englishisation and world rank? Multilingual-Journal of Cross-Cultural and Interlanguage Communication, 33(3–4), 389–411. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kirkgoz, Y. (2005). Motivation and student perception of studying in an English-medium university. Journal of Language and Linguistic Studies, 1(1), 101–123.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2014). Students’ perceptions of English language versus Turkish language used as the medium of instruction in higher education in Turkey. International Periodical for the Languages, Literature and History of Turkish or Turkic, 9(12), 443–459.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Le Lièvre, F. (2021). An ambivalent picture: The Englishization of higher education in France. In R. Wilkinson & R. Gabriëls (Eds.), The Englishization of higher education in Europe (pp. 97–120). Amsterdam University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Luo, X., & Daly, S. (2019). Human capital and English language proficiency in the Chinese context. Asian Social Science, 15(3), 73–84. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Macaro, E. (2018). English medium instruction. Oxford University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Macaro, E., & Aizawa, I. (2022). Who owns English medium instruction? Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development. Advance online publication. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Marmara University. (2018). Tıp Fakültesi [Faculty of Medicine]. Tarihçe [History]. [URL]
Mert, M., Alkanat Akman, T., & Yuksel, D. (2023). The impact of Englishisation of higher education on exchange students’ attitudes toward local languages. In T. Mammadova (Ed.), Academic mobility through the lens of language and identity, global pandemics, and distance internationalization: Multidisciplinary perspectives (pp. 5–19). Routledge. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Minifie, J. (1998). Merhaba…Allaha ısmarladık: A sabbatical year in Turkey. Journal of College Admission, 1581, 25–29.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Murphy, A. C., & Zuaro, B. (2021). Internationalisation vs Englishization in Italian higher education. In R. Wilkinson & R. Gabriëls (Eds.), The Englishization of higher education in Europe (pp. 163–188). Amsterdam University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Nafukho, F. M., Hairston, N., & Brooks, K. (2004). Human capital theory: Implications for human resource development. Human Resource Development International, 7(4), 545–551. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Nguyen, H. T., Walkinshaw, I., Pham, H. H. (2017). EMI Programs in a Vietnamese university: Language, pedagogy and policy issues. In B. Fenton-Smith, P. Humphreys & I. Walkinshaw (Eds.), English medium instruction in higher education in Asia-Pacific: From policy to pedagogy (pp. 37–52). Springer. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
O’Dowd, R. (2018). The training and accreditation of teachers for English medium instruction: An overview of practice in European universities. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 21(5), 553–563. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Oz, H. H. (2005). Accreditation processes in Turkish higher education. Higher Education in Europe, 30(3–4), 335–344. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Özdemir-Yılmazer, M. (2022). Exploring students’ developing perception of writing in an EAP program of an English-medium university in Turkey. The Reading Matrix: An International Online Journal, 22(2), 186–198.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Rethinasamy, S., Ramanair, J., & Chuah, K. M. (2021). English medium instruction at crossroads: Students’ voice and way forward. Social Sciences, 11(14), 109–123.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Riazi, A. M. (2016). The Routledge encyclopedia of research methods in applied linguistics. Routledge. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Sabaté-Dalmau, M. (2016). The Englishisation of higher education in Catalonia: A critical sociolinguistic ethnographic approach to the students’ perspectives. Language, Culture and Curriculum, 29(3), 263–285. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Sahan, K. (2021). Implementing English-medium instruction. Australian Review of Applied Linguistics, 44(2), 129–153. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Sahan, K., & Şahan, Z. (2021). Investigating student and alumni perspectives on language learning and career prospects through English medium instruction. Teaching in Higher Education. Advance online publication. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Sebola, M. P. (2023). South Africa’s public higher education institutions, university research outputs, and contribution to national human capital. Human Resource Development International, 26(2), 217–231. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Sheils, J. (2010). Council of Europe policy for plurilingual education. In B. O’Rourke & L. Carson (Eds.), Language learner autonomy: Policy, curriculum, classroom: A festschrift in honour of David Little (pp. 315–326). Peter Lang.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Simbolon, N. (2018). EMI in Indonesian higher education: Stakeholders’ perspectives. TEFLIN Journal: A Publication on the Teaching and Learning of English, 29(1), 108–128. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Soler, J., & Rozenvalde, K. (2021). The Englishization of higher education in Estonia and Latvia. In R. Wilkinson & R. Gabriëls (Eds.), The Englishization of higher education in Europe (pp. 57–76). Amsterdam University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Soruç, A., Altay, M., Curle, S., & Yuksel, D. (2021). Challenges faced by students studying through English medium instruction in Turkey: An investigation of English proficiency. System, 103, 102651, 1–14. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Soruç, A., Pawlak, M., Yuksel, D., & Horzum, M. B. (2022). Investigating the impact of linguistic and non-linguistic factors on EMI academic success. System, 107, 102794, 1–15. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Tamtam, A., Gallagher, F., Olabi, A., & Naher, S. (2012). A comparative study of the implementation of EMI in Europe, Asia and Africa. Procedia: Social and Behavioral Sciences, 471, 1417–1425. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Tatzl, D. (2011). English-medium master’s programmes at an Austrian university of applied sciences: Attitudes, experiences and challenges. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 10(4), 252–270. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Toprak, T. E. (2019). Internationalisation, mobility and Englishization in higher education across OECD countries. Journal of University Research, 2(1), 12–17. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Wächter, B., & Maiworm, F. (Eds.). (2014). English-taught programmes in European higher education: The state of play in 2014. Lemmens.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Wei, R. (2011). Parental support for Chinese–English bilingual education: A survey of parents of primary and secondary students in Shanghai. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 32(5), 481496. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
West, R., Güven, A., Parry, J., & Ergenekon, T. (2015). The state of English in higher education in Turkey. British Council & TEPAV. [URL]
Wilkinson, R., & Gabriëls, R. (Eds.). (2021). The Englishization of higher education in Europe. Amsterdam University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Yuksel, D., Altay, M., & Curle, S. (2022). English medium instruction programmes in Turkey: Evidence of exponential growth. In S. Curle, H. Ali, A. Alhassan & S. S. Scatolini (Eds.), English-medium instruction in higher education in the Middle East and North Africa: Policy, research and pedagogy (pp. 109–128). Bloomsbury. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Yuksel, D., Altay, M., Curle, S., & Soruç, A. (2023). Does English language proficiency improve when studying through English medium instruction? A longitudinal study in Turkey. Applied Linguistics Review, 14(3), 533–552. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Zaharie, M., & Osoian, C. (2013). Job recruitment and selection practices in small and medium organisations. Studia Universitatis Babes Bolyai, Oeconomica, 58(2), 86–94.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Zhao, S. (2008). Application of human capital theory in China in the context of the knowledge economy. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 19(5), 802–817. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Cited by (6)

Cited by six other publications

Altay, Mehmet
2025. The intersection of human capital and linguistic protectionism. Journal of English-Medium Instruction 4:1 ► pp. 74 ff. DOI logo
Hopkyns, Sarah, Anna Dillon & Danica Čigoja Piper
2025. A collaborative autoethnography on English as a medium of instruction. Journal of English-Medium Instruction 4:1 ► pp. 44 ff. DOI logo
Yuksel, Dogan, Peter Wingrove, Marion Nao, Beatrice Zuaro & Anna Kristina Hultgren
2025. A Critical Approach to the Rise of EMI. In Critical English Medium Instruction in Higher Education, ► pp. 87 ff. DOI logo
Gabriëls, René & Robert Wilkinson
2024. EMI, power and expressivism. Journal of English-Medium Instruction 3:1 ► pp. 1 ff. DOI logo
Yuksel, Dogan, Marion Nao, Peter Wingrove, Beatrice Zuaro & Anna Kristina Hultgren
2024. Macro-level language policy and planning to promote and maintain English-taught programmes in Turkish higher education: a Process Tracing perspective. Current Issues in Language Planning ► pp. 1 ff. DOI logo
[no author supplied]
2025. Ideologies and Educational Policies. In Critical English Medium Instruction in Higher Education, ► pp. 17 ff. DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 13 november 2025. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.

Mobile Menu Logo with link to supplementary files background Layer 1 prag Twitter_Logo_Blue