EMI, internationalisation, and the digital

ABSTRACT

Technologies are seen to have made a strong contribution to the global spread of the English, yet their role in relation to EMI contexts has been little explored. This paper seeks to address this gap by looking at some of the ways in which EMI, internationalisation and the use of technologies are intertwined. Two specific approaches to the use of technology in education are presented and explored, MOOCs (massive open online courses) and virtual exchange, that is sustained interaction and/or collaboration between students located in geographically distant contexts. Specific examples of how these applications of technology can and have been used for teaching and professional development in EMI contexts are provided. The paper seeks to take a critical stance, unpicking some of the assumptions and ideologies in the discourses surrounding educational technologies and exploring how different models of use contribute to the ‘ecology of knowledges’.

KEYWORDS:

• English-medium instruction
• internationalisation
• MOOCs
• virtual exchange
• internationalisation of the curriculum

Acknowledgements

This paper was developed from a presentation at the University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU. I would like to thank Aintzane Doiz and David Lasagabaster for their invitation to contribute to the event and special issue, and for their support as editors. I would also like to thank the three anonymous reviewers for their invaluable suggestions for the revision of this paper. I would like to acknowledge the contribution of Sarah Guth with whom some of this content was previously developed and presented.

Notes on contributor

Francesca Helm is assistant professor of English language at the Department of Political Science, Law and International Studies of the University of Padova. Her research and publications have focused on technology for language and intercultural learning, online intercultural exchange and the internationalization of higher education.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

ORCID

Francesca Helm http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2197-7884

Notes

1 A distinction has been made between xMOOCs and cMOOCs. xMOOCs make use of established teaching approaches and students watch pre-recorded lectures, complete required eradings and may participate in discussions. These are the types of MOOCs found on platforms such as Coursers. cMOOCs are based on connectivist learning models that privilege collaboration. (Kurt 2018)

2 https://www.classcentral.com/languages.

3 https://www.class-central.com/report/coursera-2018-revenue-140-million/.

4 https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/emi-academics.

5 https://www.coursera.org/learn/teachingenglish.

6 This exchange was offered through the Erasmus+ Virtual Exchange project to universities in Europe and South Mediterranean countries https://europa.eu/youth/erasmusvirtual/activity/interactive-open-online-courses_en.

7 This pilot project was launched by the European Commission in 2018.