Introducing and validating the teaching-in-English-competencies-scale (TECS) for English-medium instruction in Sweden and Spain

Journal article, 2026

This paper presents the development and validation of the Teaching-in-English-competencies-scale (TECS), a novel instrument designed to assess lecturers’ perceived language competence, confidence, and preparedness to deliver subject content in English-medium instruction (EMI). After establishing the psychometric properties of the scale, we illustrate its potential analytical applications using data from two contrasting EMI contexts, Sweden and Spain. TECS addresses a critical gap in EMI research, as existing instruments have predominantly focused on lecturers’ general English proficiency challenges and on students’ linguistic needs. Moreover, to date, no empirically validated instrument has been identified that matches TECS in scope or application. Validation procedures included exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), which yielded a robust and consistent four-factor structure encompassing both productive and receptive competencies, in addition to a single factor for items loaded onto a self-efficacy scale. The statistical performance of the indicators confirmed the suitability of TECS for group comparisons and institutional and individual diagnostics. Its application in two contrasting EMI contexts further illustrates its capacity to capture variation across settings, providing initial evidence of its applicability beyond a single context, while acknowledging that structures found may be context dependent due to the dominance of our sample residing in Sweden. The results indicate that TECS can function as a systematic tool for a wide range of EMI stakeholders, including researchers, teacher educators, and pre- and in-service EMI lecturers.