EMI teachers’ English proficiency across contexts

Övrigt konferensbidrag, 2026

Teachers play a central role in effective English-medium instruction (EMI), yet they often work in contexts where English is not the first language of either teachers or students. Teachers' English proficiency is therefore widely seen as foundational to EMI, although there is little consensus on the level or type of proficiency required for EMI teaching (Lasagabaster, 2022). Reports of linguistic challenges among EMI teachers (e.g., Malmström et al., 2025) have resulted in calls for more systematic verification of teachers’ English proficiency (Macaro et al., 2019). In some contexts, this has led to local assessment regimes (e.g., Kling & Stæhr, 2012; van Splunder et al., 2022). More commonly, however, proficiency is not assessed systematically in many institutions today, and suitability decisions rest on informal perceptions, including teachers' self-perceived preparedness. Because robust assessment is resource-intensive, self-assessment has been proposed as a low-resource alternative; although findings are mixed, research suggests that under certain conditions it can provide a useful complement to formal testing (Pilkinton-Pihko, 2013; Trofimovich et al., 2016). Yet the extent to which EMI teachers accurately calibrate their own proficiency remains underexplored. To address this gap, this study examines the relationship between EMI teachers' self-assessed proficiency and externally measured general English proficiency in higher education in Spain, Brazil, and Sweden. In total, 150 pre-service and in-service EMI teachers completed a proficiency self-assessment and the Cambridge Linguaskill test. Correlational and agreement analyses evaluate alignment between self-reports and test outcomes, including systematic over- or under-estimation across contexts. By benchmarking self-assessment against a standardized measure across settings, the study contributes to debates on construct validity, professional language assessment, and the relative emphasis on language proficiency, preparedness, and pedagogy in EMI research (cf. McKinley, 2025; Vander Borght et al., 2025). Findings will inform institutional decisions about recruitment to EMI programmes and targeted professional development.