Earticle

“Issues and Challenges in Offering English-Medium Instruction: A Close Examination of the Classroom Experiences of Professors.” Studies in English Language & Literature. 39.2 (2013): 275-306. As part of a larger qualitative study, this article examines the ways the national English-medium instruction (EMI) policy is experienced in college classrooms by looking closely into the issues and practices of nine professors working in a regional private university in Korea. I collected data mostly from in-depth interviews and analyzed them qualitatively. The findings reveals that the professors had mixed feelings about their experiences of teaching English-medium classes. While a few were positive about offering EMI because it encouraged students’ participation in class, others evaluated their experience negatively because EMI required them to focus heavily on improving students’ English skills. Still others were ambivalent, expressing frustration with the need to spend much time preparing, while thinking positively of EMI as an opportunity for career advancement. The professors considered that EMI required new teaching approaches and techniques distinct from those used in Korean lectures, which they found challenging. They also regarded students’ low English proficiency as problematic. The study recommends setting up an official EMI preparation program designed to equip students with academic English skills as one example of a concrete management plan for higher education institutions in Korea.