Journal Article

English as a medium of instruction in East Asia's higher education sector: a critical realist Cultural Political Economy analysis of underlying logics

Kedzierski, Matt

2016

Overview

As discourses of globalisation and the knowledge-based economy become increasingly influential in both policy-making and in public debates about education, employability and national competitiveness - the choice of language in the classroom takes on a strategic importance. The paper employs a critical realist Cultural Political Economy lens to explore the use of English as a medium of instruction (EMI) at tertiary level in the East Asian context. The discussion builds on existing theoretical framings and on empirical research into the language-globalisation nexus, as well as on language-in-education policy and practice. By doing so, the paper seeks to develop a theoretical account of historically and spatially situated socio-political and socio-economic processes that have favoured the use of EMI in the region. The focus here is on the dialectical relationship between hegemonic imaginaries (semiosis) and material practices in relation to the value attached to particular linguistic resources, where value is understood in both economic and symbolic terms, and how this is often tied to neoliberalism and discourses of competiveness.

• Publisher: Routledge,Routledge Journals, Taylor & Francis,Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subject: Asia / Classrooms / Comparative Education / Competition / Competitiveness / Critical realism / Cultural Influences / Cultural instruction / Cultural Political Economy / Discourses / East Asia / Economic Factors / Education policy / Educational Policy / Educational Practices / Educational Resources / Employability / English (Second Language) / English as a second language / English for academic purposes / English-medium instruction / ESL / Foreign Countries / Foreign language instruction / Global Approach / globalisation / Globalization / Hegemony / Higher Education / International education / Knowledge Economy / Language choice / Language of Instruction / Language policy / Medium of instruction / Neoliberalism / Policy Analysis / Policy making / Political discourse / Political economy / Political Influences / Research methodology / Second language learning / Semiotics / Social Systems / Socioeconomic factors / Teaching / Value