Cover not available

Article published In: Journal of English-Medium Instruction
Vol. 4:1 (2025) ► pp.123–142

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 inter- and transdisciplinarity

A framework for analysing EMI as an autonomous field of inquiry

ORCiD logo with link | Universidad Autónoma de Madrid
Published online: 6 January 2025
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/jemi.24001.mor
Abstract
While English-medium instruction (EMI) is growing rapidly as a field of practice, there is a lack of agreement around its conceptual and terminological boundaries, and its purposes are often ill defined. To deal with the complexity of the phenomena it addresses, it has been argued that EMI should adopt an interdisciplinary or transdisciplinary perspective. This conceptual article adopts a different position, arguing that EMI is best seen as an example of a “practical assemblage” ( (2024). Language assemblages. Cambridge University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar), which draws on different epistemic resources to engage with its own set of problems, rather than vying to become a discipline in itself. Using the sociological lens of Legitimation Code Theory (Maton, K. (2014). Knowledge and knowers: Towards a realist sociology of education. Routledge.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar), the article proposes a framework for positioning EMI as an autonomous field of inquiry, addressing its own problem-situations and research questions. The analysis finds that, rather than building boundaries around itself, EMI as a practical assemblage would be better placed to open itself to ideas from other domains of enquiry while maintaining its autonomy in working on its own problems for its own purposes.
Article outline
  • Introduction
  • Fragmentation, disconnects and tensions in EMI
  • Inter- and transdisciplinarity as a response to the complexities of EMI
  • Legitimation Code Theory: Autonomy
  • An Autonomy analysis of EMI as a field of research
  • Conclusion
  • References
References (44)
References
Airey, J. (2020). The content lecturer and English-medium instruction (EMI): Epilogue to the special issue on EMI in higher education. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 23(3), 340–346. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Baker, W., & J. Hüttner. (2019). “We are not the language police”: Comparing multilingual EMI programmes in Europe and Asia. International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 291, 78–94. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Bernstein, B. (2000). Pedagogy, symbolic control, and identity: Theory, research, critique. Rowman & Littlefield.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Bozbiyik, M., & Morton, T. (2023). Transitioning between “outside” and “inside” knowledge in an online university EMI chemistry course. Applied Linguistics, 44(2), 265–286. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Dafouz, E. (2021). Crossing disciplinary boundaries: English-medium education (EME) meets English for specific purposes (ESP). Ibérica, 411, 13–38. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Dafouz, E., Haines, K., & Pagèze, J. (2020). Supporting educational developers in the era of internationalized higher education: Insights from a European project. International Journal of Bilingual education and Bilingualism, 23(3), 326–339. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Dafouz, E., & Smit, U. (2016). Towards a dynamic conceptual framework for English-medium education in multilingual university settings. Applied Linguistics, 37(3), 397–415. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2020). ROAD-MAPPING English medium education in the internationalised university. Palgrave. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Dimova, S., & Kling, J. (2018). Assessing English-medium instruction lecturer language proficiency across disciplines. TESOL Quarterly, 52(3), 634656. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Doiz, A., & Lasagabaster, D. (2022). Looking into English-medium instruction teachers’ metadiscourse: An ELF perspective. System, 1051, Article 102730. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Douglas Fir Group. (2016). A transdisciplinary framework for SLA in a multilingual world. The Modern Language Journal, 100(S1), 19–47. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Gabriëls, R., & Wilkinson, R. (2021). Introduction: The tension between monolingualism and multilingualism. In R. Wilkinson, & R. Gabriëls (Eds.), Englishization of higher education in Europe (pp. 11–36). Amsterdam University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Galloway, N., & Rose, H. (2022). Cross-fertilisation, not bifurcation, of EMI and EAP. ELT Journal, 76(4), 538–546. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Galloway, N., & Ruegg, R. (2022). English medium instruction (EMI) lecturer support needs in Japan and China. System, 1051, Article 102728. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Hawkins, M. R., & Mori, J. (2018). Considering “trans-”perspectives in language theories and practices. Applied Linguistics, 39(1), 1–8. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Hult, F. M. (2010). Theme-based research in the transdisciplinary field of educational linguistics. In F. M. Hult (Ed.), Directions and prospects for educational linguistics (pp. 19–32). Springer. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Hultgren, A. K., Nao, M., Wingrove, P., Yuksel, D., & Zuaro, B. (2023). New insights into the trend towards English as a medium of instruction in European higher education through transdisciplinary participation. In N. Hynninen, I. Herneaho, E. Sippola, J. Isosävi & M. Yang (Eds.), AFinLa Yearbook 2023 (pp. 318–331). The Finnish Association for Applied Linguistics. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Klein, J. T. (2017). Typologies of interdisciplinarity: The boundary work of definition. In R. Frodeman, J. T. Klein & R. C. Dos Santos Pacheco (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of interdisciplinarity (2nd ed., pp. 21–34). Oxford University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kuteeva, M. (2023). Tension-filled English at the multilingual university: A Bakhtinian perspective. Multilingual Matters.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Lasagabaster, D. (2022). English-medium instruction in higher education. Cambridge University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Li, W. (2018). Translanguaging as a practical theory of language. Applied linguistics, 39(1), 9–30. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2022). Translanguaging as a political stance: Implications for English language education. ELT Journal, 76(2), 172–182. 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., 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
Macaro, E., & Aizawa, I. (2022). Who owns English medium instruction? Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 1–14. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Maton, K. (2014). Knowledge and knowers: Towards a realist sociology of education. Routledge.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Maton, K., & Chen, R. T.-H. (2016). LCT in qualitative research: Creating a translation device for studying constructivist pedagogy. In K. Maton, S. Hood & S. Shay (Eds.), Knowledge-building: Educational studies in Legitimation Code Theory (pp. 27–48). Routledge.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Maton, K. and Howard, S. K. (2018). Taking autonomy tours: A key to integrative knowledge-building, LCT Centre Occasional Paper, 11, 1–35.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Maton, K. & Howard, S. (2020). Autonomy: The next phase of dialogue between systemic functional linguistics and Legitimation Code Theory. Journal of World Languages, 6(1–2), 92–112. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Martin, J. R., Maton, K., & Doran, Y. J. (2019). Academic discourse: An interdisciplinary dialogue. In J. R. Martin, K. Maton & Y. J. Doran (Eds.), Accessing academic discourse: Systemic functional linguistics and Legitimation Code Theory (pp. 1–31). Routledge. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
May, S. (2014). Disciplinary divides, knowledge construction and the multilingual turn. In S. May (Ed.), The multilingual turn: Implications for SLA, TESOL and bilingual education (pp. 7–31). Routledge.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Moncada-Comas, B., & Block, D. (2021). CLIL-ised EMI in practice: Issues arising. The Language Learning Journal, 49(6), 686–698. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Murray, N. (2016). Standards of English in higher education: Issues, challenges and strategies. Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Pecorari, D. (2020). English medium instruction: Disintegrating language and content? In S. Dimova & J. Kling (Eds.), Integrating content and language in multilingual universities (pp. 15–36). Springer Nature. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Pecorari, D., & Malmström, H. (2018). At the crossroads of TESOL and English medium instruction. TESOL Quarterly, 52(3), 497–515. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2024). Language assemblages. Cambridge University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Richards, J. C., & Pun, J. (2023). A typology of English-medium instruction. RELC Journal, 54(1), 216–240. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Rose, H., Macaro, E., Sahan, K., Aizawa, I., Zhou, S., & Wei, M. (2023). Defining English medium instruction: Striving for comparative equivalence. Language Teaching, 56(4), 539–550. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Schmidt-Unterberger, B. (2018). The English-medium paradigm: A conceptualisation of English-medium teaching in higher education. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 21(5), 527–539. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Trappes-Lomax, H. (2004). Discourse analysis. In A. Davies & C. Elder (Eds.), The handbook of applied linguistics (pp. 133–164). Blackwell. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Vorster, J. A. (2020). Academic development: Autonomy pathways towards gaining legitimacy. In C. Winberg, S. McKenna & K. Wilmot (Eds.), Building knowledge in higher education: Enhancing teaching and learning with legitimation code theory (pp. 272–289). Routledge.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Wingate, U., & Hakim, A. (2022). Moving beyond “infancy”: Towards a cross-fertilization between EMI and EAP scholarship. ELT Journal, 76(4), 529–537. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Zhang, L., & Lo, Y. Y. (2021). EMI teachers’ use of interactive metadiscourse in lecture organization and knowledge construction. In D. Lasagabaster & A. Doiz (Eds.), Language use in English-medium instruction at university: International perspectives on teacher practice (pp. 56–79). Routledge. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Mobile Menu Logo with link to supplementary files background Layer 1 prag Twitter_Logo_Blue