The Influence of Apprenticeship of Observation on Business Teacher’s Beliefs and Attitudes Towards English-Medium Instruction: A Case Study

Abstract

English medium instruction (EMI) in higher education is now a widespread practise around the world. Teachers’ beliefs and attitudes concerning EMI can be both barriers and facilitators to implementing EMI in their classroom instruction. However, this important issue has not been studied widely. This study explores a case of an EMI teacher from the business discipline working in a private university in Bangladesh, whose beliefs regarding English and EMI adoption were influenced by the apprenticeship of observation. The site of the reported study is the University of Future (pseudonym), a medium-sized private university based in Dhaka. Avro (a pseudonym) was chosen as the case in this study as he was taught in an English medium university and now teaches business courses at the focal university where medium of instruction (MOI) is English. Two thought-based data collection instruments were used to collect the data: a semistructured interview and a narrative frame. The findings of the study show that the language-related beliefs of Avro are consistent with the rationale for the language policy adopted by his university, and his prior educational experience has played an important role in shaping his attitude towards English and EMI adoption in higher education.