Cover not available

Article published In: Journal of English-Medium Instruction
Vol. 4:1 (2025) ► pp.99–122

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

Beyond English-medium education

Insights on effective communication in a multicultural high-risk industry

ORCiD logo with link | Independent researchers
ORCiD logo with link | Independent researchers
Published online: 6 January 2025
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/jemi.23023.van
Abstract
This linguistic ethnography investigates perspectives on effective English communication of nine English-medium graduates employed in a multicultural high-risk industry. Our collaboration as two nuclear professionals uses an interdisciplinary approach to examine workplace communication at a joint venture involving Emirati and Korean partners in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) where English is seen as both a problem and a solution. The study draws on etic inputs from English-medium education (EME) discourses linking English to employability and lingua franca communication, a concern with miscommunication in organizational studies, and workplace sociolinguistics for conceptual tools highlighting transactional goals within workplace communication. This study uses ethnographic interviews to generate understandings of the safety basis of workplace communication in English in a multicultural high-risk industry. The study provides practical insights for language educators on effective communication in a high-stakes sector where safety is a topic of talk and safety informs the development of a professional variety of nuclear English and associated communication techniques. The study highlights safe communication practices as a feature of workplace communication in English, provides some guidance on relevant resources from aviation English, and emphasizes the need for further collaborations between academia and industry.
Article outline
  • Introduction
  • Literature review
    • English-medium education and employability
    • From multicultural crisis communication to effective safety communication
    • Communication goals in workplace sociolinguistics
  • Research methodology
    • Nuclear power in the UAE
    • Workforce at the worksite
    • Positionality: Methodological and theoretical stances
    • Ethnographic interviews with English-medium graduates
    • Thematic analysis
  • Findings: English for effective safety communication
    • English for teaching about safety
    • English as a professional variety
    • English as the medium of safe communication
  • Conclusions and future directions
    • Industry insights for educators
    • Insights for interdisciplinary collaborations: Industry and academia
  • References
References (66)
References
Ahmad, R., & Hillman, S. (2020). Laboring to communicate: Use of migrant languages in COVID-19 awareness campaign in Qatar. Multilingua, 3(40), 303–337. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Ahn, J., Carson, C., Jensen, M., Juraku, K., Nagasaki, S., & Tanaka, S. (2015). Reflections on the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident: Toward social-scientific literacy and engineering resilience. Springer Nature. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Al Shemeili, H., Davidson, R., & Khalid, K. (2022). Impact of empowering leadership on safety behavior and safety climate: Mediating and moderating role of safety monitoring. Journal of Engineering, Design and Technology, 22 (4), 1282–1305. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Alhamami, M. (2020). Switching of language varieties in Saudi multilingual hospitals: Insiders’ experiences. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 41(2), 175–189. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2024). A systematic review of English as a medium of instruction policy in the Arab world. Education as Change, 281, 1–27. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Alred, G., & Byram, M. (2002). Becoming an intercultural mediator: A longitudinal study of residence abroad. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 23(5), 339–352. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Angouri, J., Kerekes, J., & Suni, M. (2023). Language, migration and in/exclusion in the workplace. Multilingual Matters. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Angouri, J., & Miglbauer, M. (2014). “And then we summarise in English for the others”: The lived experience of the multilingual workplace. Multilingua, 33(1–2), 147–172. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Angouri, J., & Piekkari, R. (2018). Organising multilingually: Setting an agenda for studying language at work. European Journal of International Management, 12(1–2), 8–27. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Asian Development Bank. (2012). Improving transitions from school to university to workplace. Asian Development Bank.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Barbieri, B. J. (2015). Aviation English: History and pedagogy. Journal of Teaching English for Specific and Academic Purposes, 2(4), 615–623. [URL]
Beck, U. (2016). The metamorphosis of the world. Polity Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Berger, P., & Luckmann, T. (1971). The social construction of reality. Penguin.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Blazsin, H., & Guldenmund, F. (2015). The social construction of safety: Comparing three realities. Safety Science, 711, 16–27. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Bradley, C., Midraj, J., & Hassan, A. (2023). An “inconvenient truth”: EMI University STEM Instructors in the Arab Gulf need targeted professional development to help them address their learners’ needs. In M. Wyatt & G. El Gamal (Eds.), English as a medium of instruction on the Arabian Peninsula (pp. 202–218). Routledge. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2022). Thematic Analysis: A practical guide. Sage. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Carroll, K., Al Kahwaji, B., & Litz, D. (2017). Triglossia and promoting Arabic literacy in the United Arab Emirates. Language, Culture and Curriculum, 30(3), 317–332. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Carroll, K., & van den Hoven, M. (2017). Translanguaging within higher education in the United Arab Emirates. In C. Mazak & K. Carroll (Eds.), Translanguaging practices in higher education: Beyond monolingual ideologies (pp. 141–156). Multilingual Matters. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Carvalho, P., Vidal, M., & de Carvalho, E. (2007). Nuclear power plant communications in normative and actual practice: A field study of control room operators’ communications. Human Factors and Ergonomics in Manufacturing and Service Industries, 17(1), 43–78. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Chan, C. S. C. (2021). University graduates’ transition into the workplace: How they learn to use English for work and cope with language-related challenges. System, 1001, Article 102530. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Consoli, S. (2022). Life capital: An epistemic and methodological lens for TESOL research. TESOL Quarterly, 56(4), 1397–1409. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Copland, F., & Creese, A. (2015). Linguistic ethnography: Collecting, analysing and presenting data. Sage. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Dafouz, E., & Smit, U. (2022). Towards multilingualism in English-medium higher education. Journal of English-Medium Instruction, 1(1), 29–47. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Dearden, J. (2014). English as a medium of instruction: A growing global phenomenon. British Council. [URL]
Dickson, M., & Al Harthi, M. (2023). Gender representation in STEM departments in higher education institutions in the UAE. In M. Dickson, M. McMinn & D. Cairns (Eds.), Gender in STEM education in the Arab Gulf countries (pp. 221–244). Springer Nature. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Dickson, M., & Litz, D. (2023). Using EMI in teaching STEM subjects on the Arabian Peninsula to support Arabic-speaking learners. In M. Wyatt & G. El Gamal (Eds.), English as a medium of instruction on the Arabian Peninsula (pp. 187–201). Routledge. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Emirates News Agency. (2018). [Company name] establishes world’s first Nuclear Language Proficiency Standards. [URL]
Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation. (2022). Joint venture. [URL]
. (2017). UAE Peaceful Nuclear Energy Program one of the most diverse, multinational and multicultural nuclear programs in the world. [URL]
Erling, E. (2015). The relationship between English and employability in the Middle East and North Africa. British Council. [URL]
Estival, D., & Pennycook, A. (2023). Why aviation English is not ELF. In K. Murata (Ed.), ELF and applied linguistics (pp. 172–188). Routledge. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Falkheimer, J., & Heide, M. (2006). Multicultural crisis communication: Towards a social constructionist perspective. Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management, 14(4), 180–189. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Friginal, E., Mathews, E., & Roberts, J. (2019). English in global aviation: Context, research, and pedagogy. Bloomsbury Publishing.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Galloway, N., Kriukow, J., & Numajiri, T. (2017). Internationalisation, higher education and the growing demand for English: An investigation into the English medium of instruction (EMI) movement in China and Japan. (0863558623). British Council. [URL]
Gonçalves, K. (2020). Managing people with language: Language policy, planning and practice in multilingual blue-collar workplaces. Language Policy, 19(3), 327–338. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Guldenmund, F. (2015). Organizational safety culture. In S. Clarke, T. Probst, F. Guldenmund & J. Passmore (Eds.), The Wiley Blackwell handbook of the psychology of occupational safety and workplace health (pp. 437–458). Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Hamer, R., Waterson, P., & Jun, G. T. (2021). Human factors and nuclear safety since 1970: A critical review of the past, present and future. Safety Science, 1331, 105021. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Hiss, F. (2023). Contextualising diversity, work and mobility across time: Cases from Norway’s “High North.” In J. Angouri, J. Kerekes & M. Suni (Eds.), Language, migration and in/exclusion in the workplace (pp. 13–31). Multilingual Matters. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Homan, Z., Shaban, Y., & Rane, S. (2022). The language of nuclear security: Language diversity in open-source internet searches. International Journal of Intelligence and CounterIntelligence, 36(3), 870–891. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Hopkyns, S. (2020). The impact of Global English on cultural identities in the United Arab Emirates: Wanted not welcome. Routledge. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Hopkyns, S., & van den Hoven, M. (2024). Researching language and communication during the COVID-19 pandemic: A linguistic duo-ethnography. In J. M. Ryan, V. Visanich & G. Brandle (Eds.), Transformations in social science research methods during the COVID-19 pandemic (pp. 64–85). Routledge. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Hua, Z. (2014). Piecing together the “workplace multilingualism” jigsaw puzzle. Multilingua, 33(1–2), 233–242. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
International Atomic Energy Association. (2022). IAEA Opens COP27 Pavilion, Highlights Role of Nuclear Science and Technology in Tackling Climate Change. [URL]
Jones, I. P., & Askew, L. (2014). English as the working language. In I. Jones & L. Askew (Eds.), Meeting the language challenges of NATO operations: Policy, practice and professionalization (pp. 28–39). Palgrave. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kerekes, J., & Sinclair, J. (2023). The role of soft skills in vocational ESL: Their potential to (dis)empower migrant employment seekers. In J. Angouri, J. Kerekes & M. Suni (Eds.), Language, migration and in/exclusion in the workplace (pp. 122–148). Multilingual Matters. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Macaro, E., Curle, S., Pun, J., An, J., & Dearden, J. (2018). A systematic review of English medium instruction in higher education. Language Teaching, 51(1), 36–76. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Meier, G., & Styger, E. (2023). Multilingualism in technical vocational education and training (VET): A case study from eastern Switzerland and the Principality of Liechtenstein (0902746936). [URL]
Orikpete, F. O., & Ewim, D. R. E. (2024). Interplay of human factors and safety culture in nuclear safety for enhanced organisational and individual performance: A comprehensive review. Nuclear Engineering and Design, 4161, Article 112797. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Pecorari, D., & Malmström, H. (2022). Introducing the Journal of English-Medium Instruction. Journal of English-Medium Instruction, 1(1), 1–6. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
QS Quacquarelli Symonds. (2022). QS Arab Region University Rankings. [URL]
Sahan, K., & Şahan, Ö. (2024). Investigating student and alumni perspectives on language learning and career prospects through English medium instruction. Teaching in Higher Education, 29(1), 194–215. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Schöbel, M., Silla, I., Teperi, A.-M., Gustafsson, R., Piirto, A., Rollenhagen, C., & Wahlström, B. (2022). Human and organizational factors in European nuclear safety: A fifty-year perspective on insights, implementations, and ways forward. Energy Research and Social Science, 851, 1–13. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Shaghaghi, A., Bhopal, R. S., & Sheikh, A. (2011). Approaches to recruiting “hard-to-reach” populations into research: A review of the literature. Health promotion perspectives, 1(2), 86–94. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Shaw, S. (2015). Case study four: Ethnography, language and healthcare planning. In F. Copland & A. Creese (Eds.), Collecting, analysing and presenting data: Linguistic ethnography (Vol. 101, pp. 143–170). Sage. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Theodoropoulou, I. (2019). Blue-collar workplace communicative practices: A case study in construction sites in Qatar. Language policy, 191, 1–25. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Times Higher Education (2021). Arab University Rankings 2021: Methodology. [URL]
United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission. (2014). Safety culture trait talk: Effective safety communication. [URL]
van den Hoven, M., & Ahmad, R. (forthcoming). Industry insights: Multilingualism and safe workplace communication in a high-risk industry in the Gulf. In K. Gallagher (Ed.), World Englishes in the Arab Gulf states. Routledge.
van den Hoven, M., & Hopkyns, S. (forthcoming). Reconceptualizing intercultural communication research for the MENA: A rereading of the social construction of reality. In H. R’boul (Ed.), Intercultural communication education and research in the Middle East and North Africa. Routledge.
Viitanen, K. (2021). Human performance tools as a part of programmatic human performance improvement. In A. Teperi & N. Gotcheva (Eds.), Human factors in the nuclear industry (pp. 107–126). Woodhead. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Vine, B. (2020). Introducing language in the workplace. Cambridge University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Wachter, J. K., & Yorio, P. L. (2013). Human performance tools: Engaging workers as the best defense against errors & error precursors. Professional safety, 58(02), 54–64. [URL]
World Association for Nuclear Operators. (2012). Traits of a healthy nuclear safety culture. Resource Library — WANO.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
World Nuclear Assocation. (2022). Nuclear power in the United Arab Emirates. [URL]
Zhao, H. (2020). Explicating the social constructionist perspective on crisis communication and crisis management research: a review of communication and business journals. Journal of Public Relations Research, 32(3–4), 98–119. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Mobile Menu Logo with link to supplementary files background Layer 1 prag Twitter_Logo_Blue