Enhancing Interactional Competence in EMI: Teacher Reflective Practices

Terminological Considerations

‘English Medium Instruction’ (EMI) is often the label adopted for the delivery of content in English in Higher Education (HE) (among others, Coleman, 2006; Dafouz, Camacho & Urquía,, 2014; Hellhekjaer, 2010; Sercu, 2004). Others prefer the more generic term ‘Content and Language Integrated Learning ‘(CLIL), a dual-focused educational approach in which focus on language and focus on content are interwoven (Aguilar & Rodriguez, 2012; Fortanet, 2010; Lasagabaster, 2008), widely used across all levels of education.¹ An intermediate position between the dual approach adopted in CLIL programmes, applied mainly in pre-university education, and the primary focus on content of EMI programmes is the use of the label ICLHE ‘Integrating Content and Language in Higher Education’. This is the term used for HE programmes which acknowledge the importance of integrating both language and content in HE settings (see Smit & Dafouz, 2012).²