Abstract
English-medium instruction (EMI) programmes are increasingly implemented in areas in which English is not an official language, hence lecturers have been required to teach in English. This new scenario can impact lecturers' identities and self-concepts, i.e., abstract, complex, and fluid constructs that refer to ideas about the self. While identity refers to the knowledge of who we are, self-concept refers to the evaluation that a person makes of oneself. This chapter focuses on the study of how two EMI lecturers (re)construct and (re)negotiate their professional identities and self-concepts through self-reported experiences by means of content analysis. This chapter reveals the differences in EMI lectures' identities and self-concepts by comparing their different backgrounds, experiences, emotions, and beliefs. Overall, it shows how self-beliefs about one's own linguistic knowledge/abilities are even more important than actual language proficiency and that identity and self-concept are overlapping constructs that cannot be separated.
TopBackground: Emi Teacher Identity And Self-Concept
The spread of EMI programs is now unquestionable, as over a period of twenty years these courses have experienced an exponential increase of 1000% in Europe (Wächter & Maiworm, 2014). This expansion of contexts that involve the teaching of disciplinary knowledge through a foreign language (FL), usually English, has significant implications for instructors and students. In this regard, EMI lecturing is unique as it differs from first language (L1) teaching due to external factors (e.g., linguistic or educational policies, materials, types of tasks and students), but also to internal aspects related to teacher (and also learner) psychology (e.g. cognitions, emotions, behaviors or motivations).
Key Terms in this Chapter
English Medium Instruction (EMI): The teaching of disciplinary content is English in higher education institutions from contexts where English is not used as the first, primary or official language.
Identity: An abstract, dynamic, and plural construct about the self that refers to the knowledge that one has about her/himself that emerges and is constructed in social interaction.
Immunity/Coping mechanism: Strategies that help overcome negative beliefs and emotional experiences, hence developing more resilient selves to function more positively.
Self-Concept: A dynamic and fluid construct referring to the evaluation or judgment that a person makes of oneself in a specific domain, intimately connected to the individual’s beliefs and feelings of self-worth.