Prof. HU Guangwei, Department of English and Communication

Research on EMI in the Asia-Pacific: Where we are and what remains to be done. The 22nd AsiaTEFL International Conference. AsiaTEFL and Chiang Rai Rajabhat University, Chiang Rai Rajabhat University, Thailand, 15-17 November 2024.

Abstract
The past two decades have seen a tremendous expansion of English-medium instruction (EMI) in the Asia-Pacific. This plenary presentation examines the trends and foci of research on EMI in this region with a view to identifying challenges and opportunities in EMI. Drawing on a systematic analysis of publications located by a comprehensive search of the Web of Science, the presentation shows that research on EMI in the Asia-Pacific region has grown rapidly over the past decade, covering a wide range of issues and concerns, including both well-trodden and emerging ones. It identifies three major challenges reported in the literature, namely, misalignments between monolingual ideologies in EMI policies and multilingual realities in EMI practices, non-EMI/EMI transition either from high school to university contexts or in cross-border/transnational contexts, and the professional development of EMI instructors. The presentation concludes by summarizing insights derived from the extant literature and outlining directions for future research.