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Implementing an English medium of instruction policy in Algerian higher education: a study of lecturers’ attitudes, agency and professional identity
Date
2025-09-30
Abstract
Taking asits context the proposed introduction of English Medium Instruction to higher education, this study investigates Algeria’s language-in-education policy (LEP), focusing on the interplay of official and de facto language policies in relation to the roles of Modern Standard Arabic (MSA), French, Algerian Arabic (AA), Berber, and English in the teaching of scientific disciplines. It explores lecturers’ perceptions of English Medium Instruction (EMI), assessing its feasibility, challenges, and potential benefits. Emphasising lecturer agency, the research examines how lecturers’ professional autonomy, identity, and teaching practices shape and are influenced by the potential adoption of EMI. Additionally, it analyses the relationship between policy implementation and professional identity, contributing to discussions on educational reform and lecturer development in EMI contexts. The findings aim to inform support mechanisms and training programmes that facilitate language policy transitions in Algerian higher education. A mixed-methods approach was adopted, combining qualitative and quantitative data collection. Deductive thematic analysis was conducted using the ROADMAPPING framework developed by Dafouz and Smit (2016). The findings reveal a preference for English as an MOI, driven by its perceived advantages in academic mobility, research opportunities, and international collaboration. However, lecturers also express concerns regarding language proficiency barriers, lack of institutional support, and resource limitations. The study identifies a de facto language policy within Algerian universities, where multilingual practices persistdespite official policies favouring monolingual instruction, with these multilingual practices being a key part of lecturers’ professional identities. Translanguaging emerges as a key pedagogical tool, withlecturers actively employing multiple languages to facilitate learning. The study suggests that EMI, even if implemented rigidly, may not replace existing multilingual practices but rather integrate into them. The French language, in particular, emerges as a key professional identity resource for lecturers with the proposed introduction of EMI posing a threat to this, despite overall positive attitudes and openness to the new policy. Lecturers see EMI’s successful implementation as requiring strategic policy planning, institutional support, and in particular, training and professional development programmes, which support existing practices and reinforce rather than undermine professional identity and agency. They also feel that while EMI has the potential to enhance the global competitiveness of Algerian universities, it must align with existing linguistic realities and academic needs and make use of existing multilingual resources. The study’s findings contribute to broader discussions on EMI in complex multilingual contexts globally, emphasising the interplay between policy, practice, and professional identity in higher education.
Supervisor
Description
Publisher
University of Limerick
Citation
Files
Funding code
Funding Information
Sustainable Development Goals
External Link
Type
Thesis
Rights
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/