“Año de la unidad, la paz y el desarrollo”

UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL DE SAN MARTÍN

FACULTAD DE EDUCACIÓN Y HUMANIDADES

PROGRAMA DE ESTUDIO DE IDIOMAS

ENGLISH AS A MEDIUM OF INSTRUCTION

Definition
Dearden (2015) defines EMI as a global phenomenon consisting of "the use of
the English language to teach academic subjects in countries or jurisdictions
where the mother tongue of the majority of the population is not English" (p.2).

Likewise, Macaro (2018) defines EMI as the use of the English language for the
teaching of academic subjects (does not include English as an academic
subject) in countries or jurisdictions in which the mother tongue of the majority
of the population is not English.
Emphasis is placed on teaching non-linguistic academic subjects.Pecorari and
Malmström (2018) and Chen, Han, and Wright (2020) state that there are five
fundamental characteristics that distinguish EMI:English is the language used in
classes; English is not the subject taught; knowledge of the English language,
although favoured, is not the main objective; English is a foreign language for
most participants; English is a foreign language for the subject teacher (Chen,
Han, yWright, 2020). The use of a language other than the mother tongue in
teaching is not a new phenomenon.

The impact of globalization leaves no choice to universities but to go toward

internationalization in order to survive in the growing competition in higher
education. Following the global trend of internationalization.
With the expansion of the EMI in university teaching, teacher training programs
have been revised and redesigned to prepare teachers with the necessary
professional skills for teaching. Most teacher training programmes focus on
improving English and very few reflect on changes in the scientific-pedagogical
order (Dafouz-Milne, 2018).

Being the most spoken language in the world with about 2 billion speakers,
which is about 30% of the world’s population, and with one of the simplest
learning systems, English has become an essential piece in our educational
training that will allow us to develop in a successful way in multicultural
environments to which we will be increasingly exposed.

Personal development
Learning English is the key that opens the door to a much wider sphere of
vision, bringing greater knowledge through learning about what is happening in
the world. Knowing English allows you to get involved with new cultures,
traditions, customs, ideologies and perspectives, transforming your way of
seeing and understanding reality.
Overcoming the language barrier will also allow you to have a greater cultural
sensitivity when interacting with other people, facilitating the integration of new
groups and easier when getting used to new experiences.

Access to better education

Knowing the importance of the English language in education will give you a
wide variety of options for your academic training without the need to limit
yourself to universities or training centers in one’s country, but also to look for
options for baccalaureates or careers in colleges and universities located
abroad.
Nowadays almost all companies are looking for candidates who speak fluent
English. Therefore, educating ourselves in the English language as early as
possible will keep us prepared for any opportunity that comes along, and that
does not take us by surprise without being prepared and unfortunately, we
cannot then get the opportunity.

Student mobility
Student mobility has been realized since the founding of the universities, with
purposes that varied throughout the development of these.

Perhaps the most recognized strategy is student mobility, which is incorporated

into the field of curriculum internationalization. This has been defined from
various agencies and in countless works and, as noted by the International
Institute of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
(UNESCO) for Higher Education in Latin America and the Caribbean (IESALC,
2019), the multiplicity of approaches to mobility activities can be limited to
foreign students who travel to another country to carry out various activities
related to science and research.

In the Latin American context, Didou (2017) emphasizes that, although mobility
is the best known strategy to internationalize education, at the regional level it is
still at a level well below the numbers of surveys conducted elsewhere. On the
other hand, an indicator that jumps out, according to Didou, is that foreign
students enrolled in Latin American institutions do not add a high percentage.

Internationalization
Regarding internationalization, Gacel and Rodríguez (2018) indicate that the
reasons for internationalization differ by country, by institution and are
conditioned by institutional management structures. Coinciding with Marmolejo
(2018), they mention that currently the budget for internationalization has
increased and, although activities are diversified to attract resources, public
higher education institutions still rely on public resources to sustain international
activities, as they face some risks and obstacles in carrying them out, among
them, unclear understanding of the strategies proposed to achieve the inclusion
of the international vision in the institutions.

It is indisputable that by articulating and inserting the internationalization policy

in its academic and administrative processes, will obtain better results in
university management. Let us list the main aims and benefits of the
internationalization of higher education:
 Obtain academic recognition and national and international
competitiveness.
 Receive favorable response in the management and signing of
agreements international cooperation.
 Make the academic offer of their university programs more attractive, for
both foreigners and nationals.
 Facilitate the approval abroad of the professional titles of their graduates.
 To enable the professional performance of their graduates, at an
international level.
 Increase and qualify knowledge sharing, research and transfer of
technologies, resulting in better results in processes of university
education.