Perceived Challenges and Implementation of English Medium Instruction (EMI) in the Classroom

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to explore the perceived problems and classroom practice of English Medium Instruction (EMI) in public secondary schools of Nepal.Community schools have become more and more interested in implementing EMI in response to the increasing interest and demand in the community and shifting policies to English education to boost the quality of education and enrollment. However, there is a big gap between the policy goals and the practice in the classrooms. This study uses qualitative narrative inquiry and is based on Vygotsky's Social Constructivism and Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) theory to examine the lived experience of four teachers from two public schools in the municipality of Gurbhakot, Surkhet district.The data were gathered with semi-structured in-depth interviews, and analyzed using narrative and thematic analysis.The findings suggest that EMI has potential for improving students' communication skills in the right contexts of readiness, but it is highly limited in practice due to students' lack of English proficiency, language anxiety, teachers' overload, reliance on textbooks being translated into English, and systemic inequalities.In response, teachers use pragmatic strategies such as: using translanguaging, simplifying classroom language, and pre-teaching vocabulary.The study finds that classroom inequities can be exacerbated and weaker students may be alienated from the successful implementation of unreflective top-down EMI, if they are not prepared with the necessary scaffolding and structural support. It highlights the necessity of context-sensitive language policy, thorough professional development, as well as assessment realignment in Nepalese public schools.