English as a medium of instruction and professional development: Exploring the training needs of emi lecturers at Universidad Rey Juan Carlos

Abstract

Over the past twenty years, higher education has undergone profound changes. The Bologna Declaration, the establishment of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) and the mobility programmes for students and staff have all contributed to reshaping the educational landscape of higher education. One of the effects of these changes is the emergence of English-taught degree programmes in non-English-speaking countries. This shift aims to facilitate mobility across countries, improve universities' prestige and rankings, and provide students with the necessary skills for the new global job market. As a result, English as a Medium of Instruction (EMI), i.e., the teaching of academic subjects in English, has been increasingly adopted by many higher education institutions to face these evolving challenges. This thesis examines the role of Professional Development (PD) in supporting EMI lecturers, with a focus on identifying their training needs to design a targeted training course. Using a quantitative methodology, 35 EMI university lecturers from URJC answered our designed questionnaire, which was based on two reference studies. The analysis of the results reveals the participants’ profiles, their views on EMI, and their current teaching practices in EMI classrooms. The relevance of their training needs is analysed considering the current research on EMI and PD and used to create a framework for a proposal for a PD course targeted at the needs of the participants. Findings indicate that our proposal for a PD course for EMI lecturers at URJC, should include communication and language use, pedagogy, material design as well as multilingualism and multiculturalism.