CODESWITCHING IN EMI IN HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS: ARE LECTURERS WALKING ON THIN ICE?
CODESWITCHING IN EMI IN HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS: ARE LECTURERS WALKING ON THIN ICE?

Summary/Abstract: Amid ongoing globalization process exerting a considerable influence on various aspects of higher education worldwide, an increasing number of higher education institutions (HEI) of non-English-speaking countries opt for English as the language of instruction. Along with a host of benefits of the shift from the learners’ first language (L1) to English, there are a variety of serious challenges imposing a heavy burden on stakeholders. Students’ insufficient command of English constitutes among them a significant obstacle to a successful implementation of the language as a medium of instruction. In an endeavour to overcome the obstacle, policy makers resort to a range of different strategies. Switching to learners’ L1 is one of the strategies employed by educators to overcome a problem of insufficient command of English within Englishmedium instruction (EMI) settings. This paper looks at the pros and cons of codeswitching (CS) to L1 in HEI along with presenting a brief snapshot of other strategies. The paper argues that CS to L1 of both teachers and students may compromise the whole idea behind EMI within HEI. The paper concludes with a recommendation that stakeholders should be equipped with necessary language skills prior to teaching or learning in English.

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