Challenging the language competence fallacy: A cross-contextual study of EMI teacher preparedness in established and emerging settings

Other conference contribution, 2025

While English is widely used as the language for teaching and learning in higher education, questions persist about the factors that most influence teaching effectiveness in English-medium instruction (EMI) settings. Although language proficiency is often emphasized, the complexities of the interplay between language skills, orientations to pedagogy, and other factors merit exploration. This study examined how EMI teaching manifests differently across established and emerging contexts through a comparative analysis of EMI teachers in Sweden (n=978) and Brazil (n=97). Based on an online teacher survey using the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) and the Higher Education Approaches to Teaching (HEAT) inventory, we investigated the interaction between English proficiency, teaching approaches (interactive vs. non-interactive teaching), teaching self-efficacy and pedagogical training in both settings. Across both EMI contexts, pedagogical training emerged as the most powerful driver of interactive teaching, followed by teaching self-efficacy, overshadowing the comparatively modest influence of English proficiency. These findings strongly suggest that language proficiency, although relevant, should not be the exclusive focus of EMI teacher training programs. Instead, fostering comprehensive pedagogical training and enhancing teacher self-efficacy should be central considerations.