ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the lecturers’ views through questionnaires and in-depth interviews on the importance of English Medium Instruction (EMI), the necessity of training and their feedback on the short training programme they took. The development of the Oxford EMI course for lecturers was deliberately different from existing courses. Research also shows that training courses for professional development at Higher Education level are often inadequate. Dearden’s project provided an overview of the rapidly growing global phenomenon of EMI worldwide, collecting data concerning the size, shape and future trends of EMI from 2013 to 2014 from 55 countries, of which 22 countries had policies supporting EMI and 27 had official documents on EMI. The Chinese government has been particularly supportive and active in promoting EMI, issuing official public documents and providing generous financial support. In the case of Tsinghua University, even very experienced academics with high-level language skills, faced difficulties when teaching through EMI and sensed that they needed support.
