Constructing Lecturers’ Language Identities through EMI Training

Abstract

Within French Higher Education the use of English as a medium of instruction (EMI) impacts on lecturers’ language identities and professional development. This ethnographic case study explored fifteen French-speaking lecturers’ language identity through an EMI workshop held at an Ecole des Mines engineering school in France in 2017. The main research questions therefore focused on how the participants positioned themselves in terms of competence, how they defined themselves in relation to their multilingual identities and how they would present themselves as EMI lecturers in the future. The in situ position of the ethnographer-trainer enabled her to collect data based on written and visual documents produced by the participants during the workshop. The participants were also asked to self-assess their level of English competence and to provide written feedback on the workshop by completing a questionnaire. The results show that introducing the participants to the concepts of ELF (English as a lingua franca), and more current definitions of bilingualism broadened their views on the English language itself. The workshop helped them to feel better prepared to present themselves as EMI lecturers and to teach their academic disciplines in English.