English medium instruction: Beliefs and attitudes of university lecturers in Bangladesh and Malaysia

Mohammad Mosiur Rahman
University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh, Bangladesh
Md Shaiful Islam
Independent University, Bangladesh, and Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Malaysia
Md Kamrul Hasan
United International University, Bangladesh
Manjet Kaur Mehar Singh
Universiti Sains Malaysia, Malaysia

Evolution of English medium instruction (EMI) in non-native English-speaking countries in recent years has inspired researchers to investigate the various dimensions of this phenomenon. Internationalising higher education, realising the local needs of English-speaking graduates, and eliciting the economic and social benefits of English are often reported as the major factors behind the adoption and implementation of EMI. However, these goals and demands of EMI are perceived and realised to varying extents in diverse higher education contexts. This article reports on a small-scale study conducted in Malaysia and Bangladesh exploring the beliefs and attitudes of university lecturers to EMI. Based on the data extracted from interviews, this study highlights the needs and aspirations of EMI in Malaysia and Bangladesh and identifies several common issues that influenced the adoption of EMI in both countries. However, Malaysia's desire to become a hub of higher education in the region and to encourage the recruitment of international students has been reported by the lecturers in Malaysia as the most prominent reason for their adoption of EMI. Such EMI-related policies in Malaysia have shaped positively the beliefs and attitudes of lecturers towards its adoption and implementation. Furthermore, these policies also supported the lecturers to develop a considerate attitude to students' challenges with regard to EMI.
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Authors: Mohammad Mosiur Rahman (corresponding author) is working as a senior lecturer at the Department of English and Humanities, University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh. From macro-level bilingual language policy, language curriculum development and implementation, to micro-level language attitudes and classroom language teaching, he has published widely. His works have appeared in prestigious international journals, including the Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, English Today, Journal of Language, Identity & Education, English Teaching & Learning, Asian Englishes, The Journal of Asia TEFL, Issues in Educational Research, Language Testing in Asia, and Open Linguistics. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6710-8943 Email: mosiurbhai2.0@gmail.com Md Shaiful Islam is Senior Lecturer, Department of English and Modern Languages, School of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, Independent University Bangladesh (IUB). He obtained MA in Applied Linguistics and ELT and Master of Education from the University of Dhaka. He is currently pursuing doctoral studies in TESL in Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), Malaysia. His areas of research interest include self-regulated language learning, assessment in education, English language education, materials development and evaluation, sociolinguistics, second language acquisition, and discourse analysis. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0856-819X Email: sayeef77@iub.edu.bd Md Kamrul Hasan PhD is an associate professor in English of the English Language Institute at United International University, Dhaka, Bangladesh. He received his doctoral degree from Universiti Uttara Malaysia, Malaysia, and his research expertise covers vocabulary, ELT, sociolinguistics, and SLA. He has published thirty-five research articles in prestigious international peer-reviewed journals, namely The Journal of Asia TEFL, Open Linguistics, Indonesian Journal of Applied Linguistics, MEXTESOL Journal, International Journal of Interactive Mobile Technologies, and Language Testing in Asia. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2353-4673 Email: kamrul@eli.uiu.ac.bd Manjet Kaur Mehar Singh PhD is an associate professor and currently holds the position of Deputy Dean of Research, Innovation and Industry-Community Engagement at the School of Languages, Literacies and Translation, Universiti Sains Malaysia. Her research interests include higher education, academic literacies, international students, and language learning. She publishes widely in indexed journals, and book chapters. She is also the Managing Editor of International Journal of Language, Literacy and Translation and sits on the editorial board of indexed international journals. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7805-4215 Email: manjeet@usm.my Please cite as: Rahman, M. M., Islam, M. S., Hasan, M. K. & Singh, M. K. M. (2021). English medium instruction: Beliefs and attitudes of university lecturers in Bangladesh and Malaysia. Issues in Educational Research, 31(4), 1213-1230. http://www.iier.org.au/iier31/rahman2.pdf