The Role of Internationalization and English as a Lingua Franca in English-Medium Instruction in Higher Education

Abstract

The practice of English-Medium Instruction (EMI) is on the rise around the world and as Clive W. Earls points out, though it is complex and challenging it is also full of opportunities and benefits concerning internationalization and globalization (2016). EMI has been the subject of much research in recent years, among which the two books in this comparative book review. The first, English-Medium Instruction and the Internationalization of Universities, edited by Hugo Bowles and Amanda C. Murphy (2020), focuses on the intersection of EMI and internationalization by questioning the role of English in internationalization, while the second, English-Medium Instruction from an English as a Lingua Franca Perspective: Exploring the Higher Education Context, edited by Kumiko Murata (2019), explores the type of English used in EMI settings from both theoretical and pedagogical perspectives. Despite the many publications on EMI, these two volumes do make a useful contribution to the field, most notably in that they deal head-on with such current concerns as ideology towards English, the roles of English and equity in the higher education (HE) context