Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Applied Research in Education
Year: 2023
DOI:
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Exploring the potential introduction of English as a medium of instruction in Algerian Business Degree Programmes
Sid Ahmed Berrabah
ABSTRACT:
English as a Medium of Instruction (EMI) is expanding rapidly in the world. Yet, less attention has been given to understanding EMI in a context where its introduction has been discussed but not yet put into practice. One such context is Algeria, where the first courses that will likely to be delivered using EMI are Business degree programmes. This study aims to examine the current discourses and attitudes towards the potential implementation of EMI and the language practices in Business degree programmes in three Algerian universities. The research is conducted in three different universities in different regions in Algeria with the aim of including both ‘centre’ and ‘periphery’ Algerian universities. In order to achieve the previous aims, a mixed research paradigm is used. Questionnaires, semi structured interviews and classroom observations are used to gather data from three participant cohorts: university students of Business, lecturers of Business and lecturers of English for specific purposes. The findings showed that students and lecturers of Business are found in favour of the introduction of English instead of French or standard Arabic as a medium of instruction. The reason is that English is seen as having internationalisation and instrumental benefits, while French is too closely linked to the colonial history of the country. The favourable attitudes towards EMI, however, seem to contrast with the daily classroom practices at the departments of Business studies, where students and lecturers make practical choices of using their language repertoire based on their linguistic background and skills. Classrooms in the three Algerian universities featured fluid and translanguaging practices that cannot be reduced to a monolingual EMI policy.
keywords: EMI, Algerian universities, Business degree programmes, translanguaging