The Relationship Between Teachers' Classroom English Proficiency and Their Teaching Self-Efficacy in an English Medium Instruction Context.

Changmi Wang

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.611743

Abstract

This article examines the relationship between English medium instruction (EMI) teachers' classroom English proficiency and their teaching self-efficacy. The literature review highlights the difference between general language proficiency and classroom language proficiency by focusing on the EMI teachers' language of instruction and their language of interaction. Self-reported data were obtained using two measuring scales from 188 EMI teachers from a Chinese public university. The Pearson correlational analysis indicated that there was a strong positive relationship between the EMI teachers' classroom English proficiency and their teaching self-efficacy. Among the four constructs of the Classroom English Proficiency Scale, both language of instruction and language of interaction have a higher correlation with teaching self-efficacy than grammar or pronunciation. The linear regression analysis suggests that language of instruction has a significant contribution to the variance of teaching self-efficacy. The findings reveal the need to prioritize the strategic training of language of instruction skills to EMI teachers who are not so proficient in English. Arguably, this helps to foster the achievement and maintenance of higher teacher self-efficacy.

Highlights

The use of English as a medium of instruction (EMI) has become increasingly common in non-native English-speaking countries (Costa and Coleman, 2013; Dearden, 2015, 2018; Macaro et al, 2018)
The results of this study show that there is a strong positive correlation between English medium instruction (EMI) teachers’ classroom English proficiency and their teaching self-efficacy
This finding is consistent with the previous research in the field of teaching English as a foreign language (EFL), which found that teachers’ general English proficiency plays an important role in teaching EFL (Chacón, 2005; Eslami and Fatahi, 2008; Yilmaz, 2011)

Summary

Introduction

The use of English as a medium of instruction (EMI) has become increasingly common in non-native English-speaking countries (Costa and Coleman, 2013; Dearden, 2015, 2018; Macaro et al, 2018). English as a medium of instruction is the practice of using English to teach academic subjects in countries where the majority of the population’s first language (L1) is not English. English as a medium of instruction teachers’ limited English level has been reported in different cultural contexts (Doiz et al, 2013; Werther et al, 2014; Bradford, 2016). EMI teachers’ language challenge may result in their lower self-confidence in teaching (Wen et al, 2018; Pun and Thomas, 2020). According to the language classification by Gierlinger (2013), there are four categories

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Conclusion