Multi-level EMI Policy Implementation in Turkey’s Higher Education: Navigating Ideological Tensions

Abstract

In this study, we explored a faculty member’s (Sema’s) EMI beliefs, thoughts, and practices. Methodologically, we utilized narrative inquiry procedures and conceptually, we relied on multilevel (micro, meso, and macro) models of language policy and planning to examine what language (learning) ideologies the faculty member held and how those ideologies interacted with the ways in which she asserted her agency and enacted her personalized EMI policies in her classes at a university in Turkey. Our findings show that Sema’s current micro-level EMI teaching practices are mostly informed by her previous experiences rather than meso- and macro-level English-only policies. Her EMI teaching beliefs oscillate between what she sees ideal and what she encounters in reality which leads to some ideological tension for her. At the core of her EMI practice, there lies the fact that delivering content knowledge well was as imperative as lecturing in English. Therefore, she attends to each student’s needs case by case instead of following pre-conceived language ideologies and institutional policies that enforce English-only instruction. In the light of these findings, we propose that more studies are needed to explore what university lecturers actually do in their EMI classes rather than focusing on what they think about the EMI policies and practices in their institutions. As our study implies, the actual implementation of EMI policies varies across individual lectures, courses, programs, needs, and university contexts. © 2024 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.