ERIC Number: EJ1106831
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2016
Pages: 17
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0305-0068
EISSN: N/A
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
Comparative Education, v52 n3 p375-391 2016
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.
Descriptors: Language of Instruction, English (Second Language), Higher Education, Educational Policy, Educational Practices, Global Approach, Social Systems, Knowledge Economy, Educational Resources, Policy Analysis, Political Influences, Economic Factors, Cultural Influences, Foreign Countries
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Asia
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A