•Do you think it’s reasonable for Taiwan to promote English- Medium Instruction (EMI)? If so, why? If not, why not?
•How can we incentivize teachers to teach EMI courses? How can we incentivize students to take EMI courses?
•What are the biggest challenges when it comes to converting a Chinese-Medium Instruction (CMI) course into an EMI course?
•In your courses, do you do anything in addition to lecturing during class time? If so, what else do you do?
2. The long-term goal of EMI in Taiwan / NYCU
CMI courses can attract Chinese-speaking students. But English is the language of international communication. EMI courses can attract English-speaking students from all over the world.
3. Concerns you might have about going from CMI to EMI
My advice:
If you teach an EMI course, don’t spend your class time giving a two-hour lecture in English every week.
Do something else during class time, for example, short lectures followed by small group activities and class discussions.
4.Why not give a two-hour lecture in English?
I don’t usually give two-hour lectures.
I use class time to do things that we can’t do outside of class time.
Small group activities followed by large group discussions can only happen when we’re all together.
What’s the difference between watching/listening to a lecture in class (when we’re all together) vs. on YouTube (by yourself)?
5. What if students need a two-hour lecture?
You could make a video of yourself giving a lecture each week, and ask students to watch it outside of class time.
If there are videos on YouTube that have lectures on the material that you’re teaching, you could ask students to watch those videos.
Another advantage of videos vs. in-class lectures: subtitles
6. What can you do in class besides lecturing for two hours?
7. Harry Brighouse’s two iron laws of college reading
“Law One: The more reading you assign, the less the students will read.”
“Law Two: The more you talk in class, the less the students will read.”
8. Challenges and goals in going from CMI to EMI
Ensuring that the use of English does not result in poor learning outcomes
Making effective use of class meetings and mixing lectures with discussions and activities
Encouraging students to complete the required readings before class and to participate actively in class discussions
Using classroom activities to improve students’ understanding of the material and to encourage discussion
We don’t teach English, we teach in English
We kill two birds (content and language) with one stone if EMI works well.
The major EMI challenge at the YM campus
Teacher lack a consensus on the necessity of teaching in English
Most of them think they have insufficient English proficiency and cannot teach in English fluently, so they have low motivation and lack self-confidence
語言技巧教學之課室用語For English teacher/課室英語手冊For all subject teachers
https://www.emi.eng.ntnu.edu.tw/blank-3
My personal experience at USF
Make your speaking easy to understand and follow
Make sure that students understand essential information
Code-switching should be allowed as a teaching strategy in EMI classrooms when necessary
Help students (less proficient in English) cope with EMI content by facilitating learning in Chinese and guiding them to repackage content
Some closing thoughts
Learning to teach content in English is challenging but worthwhile
Make it easier by
Avoiding reinventing the wheel – many resources are already available
Trying one thing at a time – perhaps start with the most comfortable thing to change
Watching and getting feedback from instructors who are experienced with EMI learning
Being transparent with students
I’m not telling you it’s going to be easy, I’m telling you it’s going to be worth it.
[2022.04.13] 110學年04月份EMI教師經驗交流會 April EMI Teacher Experience Sharing Meeting in the 110th Academic Year
[2022.01.10] 110學年01月份EMI教師經驗交流會 January EMI Teacher Experience Sharing Meeting in the 110th Academic Year
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