Developing and validating a scale for English-medium instruction pedagogical competency in multilingual and multicultural classrooms

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study aimed to create a scale that is better aligned with and tailored to the needs and perspectives of students for evaluating teachers’ EMI pedagogical competency in the multilingual and multicultural higher education context. Based on a literature review, a preliminary scale was developed. After an expert survey of six EMI experts to ensure face and content validity, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted to validate the scale by examining its convergent validity, discriminant validity, and internal consistency. The result suggested that the scale was comprised of 22 items and 3 factors, viz., ‘general EMI pedagogical competency’, ‘adapt teaching to adjust for variation in culture and academic/linguistic ability’, and ‘boosting student involvement and positive affection toward EMI. The scale exhibited adequate reliability and validity and could be employed to evaluate tutors’ EMI competency in multilingual and multicultural classrooms. This study argued that in addition to possessing general EMI pedagogical competency, teachers should also develop additional competency related to widely-discussed student EMI anxiety and multilingual and multicultural backgrounds. This scale could serve as a framework for EMI professional development in the higher education sector, but also a tool enhancing teachers’ reflexivity in their EMI practice.