IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v14y2022i4p2168-d749091.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Questioning the Sustainability of English-Medium Instruction Policy in Science Classrooms: Teachers’ and Students’ Experiences at a Hong Kong Secondary School

Author

Listed:
  • Jack Pun

    (Department of English, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR 999077, China)

  • Nathan Thomas

    (UCL Institute of Education, University College London, London WC1H 0AL, UK)

  • Neil Evan Jon Anthony Bowen

    (Department of English & Linguistics, Thammasat University, Bangkok 12121, Thailand)

Abstract

Teaching science through English as a medium of instruction (EMI) is a growing phenomenon around the world. In Hong Kong, this was realised on a large scale in 2010, with the implementation of a “fine-tuning” compulsory language policy. This allowed Chinese-medium schools to adopt EMI fully. Yet, despite such rapid and widespread adoption, an adequate understanding of key stakeholders’ experiences in relation to their perceptions of what constitutes effective EMI science education remains scarce. Thus, we question the sustainability of EMI programs that are driven by top-down policy. In this case study, we explore the perspectives and experiences of six EMI science teachers and thirteen of their students as their secondary school transitions from partial to full EMI. From in-depth interviews (complemented by classroom observations), findings reveal that the transition to full EMI has presented challenges that appear to hinder students’ development of scientific knowledge and the language of science in English. This directly counters the primary goal of the fine-tuning policy. Nevertheless, findings also illuminate a number of coping strategies teachers and students use to deal with their changing curricula. Overall, we offer insights into this under-researched context of transitioning EMI programs and provide recommendations for future research and practice.

Suggested Citation

  • Jack Pun & Nathan Thomas & Neil Evan Jon Anthony Bowen, 2022. "Questioning the Sustainability of English-Medium Instruction Policy in Science Classrooms: Teachers’ and Students’ Experiences at a Hong Kong Secondary School," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-18, February.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:4:p:2168-:d:749091
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/4/2168/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/4/2168/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. David Huynh & Olivia N. Lee & Phuong M. An & Twyla A. Ens & Cynthia A. Mannion, 2021. "Bedrails and Falls in Nursing Homes: A Systematic Review," Clinical Nursing Research, , vol. 30(1), pages 5-11, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Yixi Qiu & Yongyan Zheng, 2023. "Transnational Students’ Epistemic Participation in English-Medium Instruction Programs," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-11, April.
    2. Liping Pu & Renquan Heng & Bingchao Xu, 2022. "Language Development for English-Medium Instruction: A Longitudinal Perspective on the Use of Cohesive Devices by Chinese English Majors in Argumentative Writing," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(1), pages 1-15, December.
    3. Yuntao Zeng & Matthew P. Wallace & Chun-Wai Fan & Yawei Guo, 2022. "University Students’ Attitudes towards English as a Lingua Franca in a Multilingual Sustainable Society," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-17, April.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Wenhe Min & Zhonggen Yu, 2023. "A Bibliometric Analysis of Augmented Reality in Language Learning," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(9), pages 1-15, April.
    2. Nadine Bachmann & Shailesh Tripathi & Manuel Brunner & Herbert Jodlbauer, 2022. "The Contribution of Data-Driven Technologies in Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-33, February.
    3. Andrés Calvache-Mateo & Laura López-López & Alejandro Heredia-Ciuró & Javier Martín-Núñez & Janet Rodríguez-Torres & Araceli Ortiz-Rubio & Marie Carmen Valenza, 2021. "Efficacy of Web-Based Supportive Interventions in Quality of Life in COPD Patients, a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(23), pages 1-19, December.
    4. Alvisa Palese & Jessica Longhini & Angela Businarolo & Tiziana Piccin & Giuliana Pitacco & Livia Bicego, 2021. "Between Restrictive and Supportive Devices in the Context of Physical Restraints: Findings from a Large Mixed-Method Study Design," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(23), pages 1-14, December.
    5. Yeji Seo & Kyunghee Kim & Ji-Su Kim, 2021. "Trends of Nursing Research on Accidental Falls: A Topic Modeling Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(8), pages 1-15, April.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    language of science; L2 science education; EMI adoption; translanguaging; language challenges; coping strategies; teacher/student perspectives;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • L2 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:4:p:2168-:d:749091. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.