Implementing EMI in Chinese music classes: Students’ perceived benefits and challenges

Frontiers in Psychology 01 frontiersin.org

Implementing EMI in Chinese

music classes: Students’ perceived

beneﬁts and challenges

PengchengSu

and JiayinKong

School of Liberal Arts, Metharath University, Pathum Thani, Thailand,

Faculty of Education,

Pathumthani University, Pathum Thani, Thailand

Recognizing the opportunities and problems of using English as a medium of

instruction (EMI) enables teachers, students, and educational administrators

to capitalize on the opportunities and mitigate the problems. Considering this,

many researchers worldwide have explored the opportunities and problems

of EMI courses. Yet, the advantages and disadvantages of implementing EMI

in Chinese academic contexts have rarely been investigated. To ﬁll this gap,

the present research evaluated the beneﬁts and challenges of implementing

EMI in Chinese music classes. To accomplish this, a researcher-made scale

was distributed among 74 Chinese music students. The thematic analysis of

participants’ responses revealed that using English as a means of teaching and

learning beneﬁted Chinese music students in some ways. However, as the results

of the thematic analysis indicated, Chinese music students experienced some

serious challenges in EMI courses because of their limited English proﬁciency.

Finally, the limitations, pedagogical implications, and future research directions

are thoroughly explained.

KEYWORDS

English as a medium of instruction (EMI), beneﬁts, challenges, English literacy, Chinese

students, music classes

Introduction

In the past 10 years, with the globalization of education, an increasing number of Chinese

students majoring in music have decided to go abroad for their further study (Lin and Lei, 2021).

However, due to their limited English prociency, they commonly experience various linguistic

diculties in non-Chinese educational settings where course content is mostly delivered in

English (Fu and Wang, 2022). To improve Chinese students’ English prociency, several music

institutes in China have started using English as the medium of instruction (EMI). e

penetration of the EMI phenomenon in all educational settings, including music classes, signals

a rapid change from learning English as a foreign or second language to learning dierent

academic subjects through English (Aizawa and Rose, 2020). EMI, as Macaro (2018) mentioned,

has to do with “the use of the English language to teach academic subjects (other than English)

in countries where the rst language of the majority of the population is not English” (p.19).

Accordingly, the main goal of an EMI course is content learning, although language acquisition

may bethe implied purpose (Hu and Li, 2017). In EMI courses, the delivery of academic content,

appraisal of learning outcomes, and group discussions are all conducted in English (Xu, 2017;

Macaro etal., 2018; Macaro, 2019; Derakhshan, 2021).

Using English as the means of teaching and learning in Chinese music institutes is likely to

bring some serious challenges for students since they typically attend EMI courses with limited

OPEN ACCESS

EDITED BY

Yaqiong Cui,

University of Chinese Academy of Sciences,

China

REVIEWED BY

Farzaneh Shakki,

Golestan University,

Iran

Omar Alomoush,

Taﬁla Technical University,

Jordan

Berrington Ntombela,

University of Limpopo,

SouthAfrica

*CORRESPONDENCE

Jiayin Kong

[email protected]

SPECIALTY SECTION

This article was submitted to

Educational Psychology,

a section of the journal

Frontiers in Psychology

RECEIVED 01 November 2022

ACCEPTED 24 February 2023

PUBLISHED 14 March 2023

CITATION

Su P and Kong J (2023) Implementing EMI in

Chinese music classes: Students’ perceived

beneﬁts and challenges.

Front. Psychol. 14:1086392.

doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1086392

article distributed under the terms of the

Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY).

The use, distribution or reproduction in other

forums is permitted, provided the original

author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are

credited and that the original publication in this

journal is cited, in accordance with accepted

academic practice. No use, distribution or

reproduction is permitted which does not

comply with these terms.

TYPE Original Research

PUBLISHED 14 March 2023

DOI 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1086392

Su and Kong 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1086392

Frontiers in Psychology 02 frontiersin.org

English prociency (Yang, 2017; Jiang etal., 2019; Hu and Wu, 2020).

However, the implementation of EMI in these institutes may provide

students with some precious opportunities as well (Zhao and Dixon,

2017; Curle and Derakhshan, 2021). Among them, one can refer to

increased English prociency and enhanced learning motivation as

the most prominent advantages of EMI classrooms (Lei and Hu, 2014;

Rose etal., 2020). As put forward by many educational researchers

(Tong and Tang, 2017; Jiang and Zhang, 2019; Curle etal., 2020),

knowing the benets and challenges of using English as a means of

education is critical in that it helps teachers and administrators

improve the quality and eciency of EMI classes. us, to enhance

the eciency of EMI courses in Chinese music institutes, their

potential challenges and opportunities should beidentied.

Given that understanding the challenges and opportunities of

EMI courses improves their quality (Walkinshaw etal., 2017; Wei

et al., 2017), many academics and researchers worldwide have

investigated the advantages and disadvantages of implementing EMI

in higher educational contexts (e.g., Bradford, 2016; Martínez, 2016;

Cankaya, 2017; Kim, 2017; Kim etal., 2018; Phuong and Nguyen,

2019; Aizawa and McKinley, 2020; Toh, 2020; Diezmas and Barrera,

2021; Kamaşak etal., 2021; Soruç etal., 2021; Ter-Vardanyan, 2021;

Wang and Derakhshan, 2023, to cite a few). Moreover, some scholars

have particularly scrutinized the advantages and disadvantages of

implementing EMI in Chinese academic settings (e.g., Yang etal.,

2019; Pun and omas, 2020; Pun and Jin, 2021; Zhou etal., 2022,

among others). However, to the best of the scholars’ knowledge, no

empirical study has been undertaken to identify the opportunities and

challenges of executing EMI in Chinese art and music classes. Against

this backdrop, the current qualitative study intends to uncover the

opportunities and challenges that Chinese music students typically

experience in EMI courses.

Literature review

English as the medium of instruction is a subset of content and

language integrated learning (CLIL), which pertains to teaching

academic subjects such as art, geography, history, and science through

a foreign language (Dalton, 2011; Harrop, 2012). Simply said, CLIL is

a pedagogical approach through which students learn the course

content and a new language at the same time (Arnó-Macià and

Mancho-Barés, 2015; Morton, 2018). In light of CLIL’s denition,

Macaro (2018) dened EMI as the employment of the English

language to instruct various academic subjects in regions where

English is not the mother tongue (L1) of the majority of the

population. In a similar vein, the “Japanese Ministry of Education,

Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT)” conceptualized

EMI as “courses conducted entirely in English, excluding those whose

primary purpose is language education” (Rose etal., 2020, p.2,150).

As noted by Nguyen et al. (2017), implementing EMI in

educational environments may entail some important challenges

and opportunities for both teachers and students, which need to

bediscovered. In this respect, several researchers have explored

the problems and benefits of implementing EMI in different

academic contexts, notably higher education contexts (e.g.,

Goodman, 2014; Hu, 2019; Phuong and Nguyen, 2019; Yang

etal., 2019; Aizawa and McKinley, 2020; Drljaca and Vodopija-

Krstanovic, 2020; Pun and Thomas, 2020; Toh, 2020; Derakhshan

etal., 2021; Kamaşak etal., 2021; Pun and Jin, 2021; Soruç etal.,

2021; Ter-Vardanyan, 2021; Zare and Derakhshan, 2021; Jones

etal., 2022; Zhou etal., 2022, among others). As to the challenges

of EMI classes, Yang etal. (2019), for instance, examined the

challenges of implementing EMI in medical courses in China.

Using surveys and group discussions, the researchers found that

implementing EMI in Chinese medical courses brings four

important challenges for teachers and students, namely

unsatisfactory instruction, inappropriate instructional materials,

limited classroom interactions, and teachers’ inability to instruct

medical humanities. In a similar vein, Pun and Thomas (2020)

explored the challenges and problems of executing EMI in

different schools in Hong Kong. To do so, 19 teachers instructing

chemistry, biology, and physics through English were interviewed.

The analysis of participants’ answers revealed that executing EMI

in Chinese schools brings various linguistic challenges (e.g.,

inability to teach and illustrate scientific ideas in English,

inability to offer corrective feedback in English, etc.) for teachers.

Later, in a quantitative inquiry, Kamaşak etal. (2021) investigated

the language-related problems that Turkish university students

face in EMI classes. To accomplish this, some online

questionnaires were administered to 498 Turkish undergraduate

students. The results demonstrated that speaking and writing

were the most challenging skills for Turkish students.

Besides, as to the benefits and opportunities of EMI classes,

Phuong and Nguyen (2019) examined Vietnamese students’

perceptions regarding the advantages of implementing EMI in

business and information technology classes. To do this, a

researcher-made questionnaire was distributed among 136

Vietnamese students majoring in business and information

technology. The results showed that teaching course content in

English considerably improves the English literacy of students,

makes them more active and outgoing, and helps them find

learning materials written in English. By the same token,

Derakhshan etal. (2021) studied the advantages and opportunities

of implementing EMI courses in Iran. In doing so, 24 EMI

students and instructors of different nationalities were asked to

complete an open-ended scale. Participants’ responses to the

open-ended scale were analyzed using content analysis (CA). The

analysis of responses resulted in some important themes,

including “more access to specialized sources,” “more chances to

improve English proficiency,” and “higher chance of continuing

education abroad.”

Despite such attempts (e.g., Phuong and Nguyen, 2019; Yang etal.,

2019; Pun and omas, 2020; Derakhshan etal., 2021; Graham and

Eslami, 2021; Kamaşak etal., 2021; Gao etal., 2022; Wang, 2023), the

advantages and disadvantages of executing EMI in Asian countries,

including China, are not widely known. Put dierently, a limited

number of investigations have been undertaken to uncover the

opportunities and challenges that Asian students experience in EMI

courses. Considering this, the present inquiry sought to assess the

benets and challenges of implementing EMI in Chinese music

classes. To do so, the following research questions were formulated:

▪ What are the Chinese music students’ perceptions towards the

opportunities/benets of the EMI courses?

▪ What are the Chinese music students’ perceptions towards the

challenges/problems of the EMI courses?

Su and Kong 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1086392

Frontiers in Psychology 03 frontiersin.org

Methods

Participants

rough the opportunity sampling strategy, also called

convenience sampling, 74 music students were recruited from

dierent classes at a private music institute in China. As noted by

Dörnyei and Csizér (2012), the opportunity sampling strategy is a

subset of non-probability sampling methods through which “members

of the target population are selected only if they meet certain practical

criteria, such as geographical proximity, availability at a certain time,

or easy accessibility” (p.82). In order to enhance the representativeness

of the outcomes (Nassaji, 2020), the participants were selected from

dierent age groups, gender (male and female), and educational levels

(freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior). All students were assured

that their personal data would bekept strictly condential.

Instrument

An open-ended scale (Appendix A) with two separate parts was

used to nd out the benets and challenges of implementing EMI in

Chinese music classes. Given the adequate English prociency of

participants, the questionnaires’ items were written in English. In the

rst part, participants were invited to enter their personal information,

including age, gender, nationality, and level of education. In the second

part, they were asked to respond to ve open-ended questions

regarding the implementation of EMI courses in Chinese music classes.

Open-ended scales are commonly preferred to other data-gathering

instruments as “they are easier to administer (notably when conducted

online), oer more time to participants to ll out the questionnaires,

and do not need to betranscribed” (Friedman, 2012, p.189).

Prior to being distributed among participants, the open-ended

scale was administered to seven non-participants. In light of the

piloting outcomes, all items of the open-ended questionnaire were

revised. e questionnaire items were then rigorously reviewed by ve

specialists who published several papers on EMI classes and their

relevant issues. ey checked the questionnaire items in terms of form

and language. e nal version of the open-ended questionnaire was

produced with their sensible remarks in mind.

Data collection procedure

At the very beginning, the E-version of the consent form was

delivered to participants via WeChat messenger. Having received the

written agreements, the researcher-made questionnaire was sent to

participants. To receive more accurate responses (Rolfe, 2006), the

participants received some brief explanations regarding the

completion of the questionnaire. All surveys were answered in English

and returned within a week.

Data analysis

e responses of Chinese music students to the open-ended scale

were thematically analyzed using the last version of MAXQDA

soware (Version 2022). e rationale of employing MAXQDA

soware in this research was that “using a Computer-Assisted

Qualitative Data Analysis Soware (CAQDAS) can improve the

credibility of the coding process” (Baralt, 2012, p.228). To do so, the

Gao and Zhang (2020) thematic analysis approach, which consists of

ve major phases, was used. To enhance the credibility of the extracted

themes, all phases of this approach were simultaneously implemented

by two analysts (the researcher and one of his colleagues). First, in the

cleaning stage, the analysts looked through the gathered answers to

locate and remove duplicates or irrelevant items. Following that, in the

coding phase, they generated some tentative codes by rereading the

collected answers. en, in the phase of generating themes, the

analysts grouped the tentative codes into some meaningful themes. As

a result, two overarching themes and 12 sub-themes were generated

(see Figures1 and 2). Subsequently, in the categorization stage, the

produced themes and sub-themes were categorized into higher-order

umbrella terms. In the nal stage of thematic analysis, producing the

report, a summary of the whole process was prepared by the analysts.

As pinpointed by Birt etal. (2016), “member checking enhances the

FIGURE1

Beneﬁts of implementing English as a medium of instruction (EMI) in Chinese music classes (the thicker the line, the more recurrent the theme).

Su and Kong 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1086392

Frontiers in Psychology 04 frontiersin.org

trustworthiness of qualitative ndings” (p.1,803). Because of this,

some of the participants were invited to check the relevance and

accuracy of the produced themes and subthemes. Having assessed the

accuracy of the produced themes and subthemes, the agreement

between the two analysts was computed using Krippendor ’s alpha.

e Krippendor’s alpha (α) was measured to be0.97.

Findings

e outcomes of the current study illustrate the major benets and

challenges of implementing EMI in Chinese music classes.

Accordingly, Chinese music students’ perceptions towards EMI

implementation were grouped under two overarching patterns: (І) the

benets of implementing EMI in Chinese music classes and (П) the

challenges of implementing EMI in Chinese music classes.

i. Benets of Implementing EMI in Chinese Music Classes.

e participants were initially asked about the benets of executing

EMI in Chinese music classes. e examination of their answers

resulted in six themes, including improving students’ English literacy,

enhancing students’ academic interest, familiarizing students with other

cultures, expanding students’ English vocabulary, improving students’

knowledge of music, and making students more energetic (Figure1).

As demonstrated in Figure1, the most frequent benet mentioned

by Chinese music students was that EMI courses signicantly improve

their English literacy. In fact, most of the participants believed that

EMI courses help music students improve their English language

skills, including reading, writing, listening, and speaking. For instance,

some of the Chinese music students articulated that,

Participant 3: I can practice speaking English when I answer

questions in the process of learning.

Participant 7: Learning music through English can raise our

English prociency level.

Participant 13: To me, the most important advantage of EMI

courses is that teaching course content through English improves

students’ basic knowledge of English.

Participant 18: I think using English as the means of instruction

can considerably enhance my English abilities.

Participant 21: I can improve my English language abilities while

learning the course content.

Another benet of EMI classes noted by the majority of

participants was that using English in music classes can increase the

academic interest of students. ey mentioned that learning a new

language while mastering the course content can make students more

enthusiastic and passionate about the learning process. To illustrate,

Participant 24: Using English as a medium of instruction makes us

more interested in learning music.

Participant 29: Learning course content through English can

stimulate students’ academic interest.

Participant 31: Using EMI in music classes can cultivate students’

moral sentiments and stimulate their interest in learning.

Participant 43: Learning a new language makes EMI students

more passionate about the learning process.

As for the third benet of EMI courses, participants referred to

the role of EMI in familiarizing students with other cultures. e

following statements clearly represent this advantage of EMI classes:

Participant 4: rough learning music in English, wecan get in

touch with some western cultures and broaden our horizons.

Participant 6: Teaching and learning course content through

English enables us to become familiar with the culture of English-

speaking countries.

Participant 14: EMI classes help students have a better grasp of the

cultural values of other nations.

As to the other benets of implementing EMI in music classes,

participants mentioned the pivotal role of EMI in expanding students’

FIGURE2

Challenges of implementing English as a medium of instruction (EMI) in Chinese music classes (the thicker the line, the more recurrent the theme).

Su and Kong 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1086392

Frontiers in Psychology 05 frontiersin.org

English vocabulary, improving students’ knowledge of music, and

making students more energetic. e following sentences illustrate

these benets, respectively:

Participant 27: Using English in music classes is of great help to

students to increase their knowledge of English vocabulary.

Participant 33: It can also improve my understanding of various

aspects of music knowledge.

Participant 41: Learning music and a new language concurrently

may make students more energetic.

ii. Challenges of Implementing EMI in Chinese Music Classes.

The participants were then questioned about the challenges

and problems of implementing EMI in Chinese music courses.

The evaluation of their responses culminated in six

themes, including more difficulty in comprehending course

content, limited interactions between teachers and students, higher

turnover intention among students, limited interactions among

students, low classroom engagement, and low academic confidence

(Figure2).

e most recurrent theme mentioned by Chinese students as the

challenge of employing English in music classes is students’ diculty

in comprehending course content. Most of the participants maintained

that teaching the academic subjects through English makes it dicult

for students to understand the course content. is challenge is

illustrated by the excerpts below:

Participant 12: A disadvantage of using English in music courses is

that students with poor English prociency cannot fully understand

the learning content.

Participant 15: Students who do not have a good command of

English cannot easily comprehend the course content and keep up

with the pace of the class.

Participant 51: Students can hardly understand the content of

the classroom.

Participant 63: Almost all students struggle to comprehend the

teachers’ instructions.

Many students also mentioned limited classroom interactions as

another serious challenge they typically experience in EMI courses.

ey noted that due to low English literacy, they are unable to

eectively communicate with their teachers. e following excerpts

can help to clarify the issue:

Participant 50: Some students are slow to react and can’t eectively

communicate with their teachers.

Participant 59: Due to limited English prociency, students are

unable to easily interact with their instructors.

Participant 68: It is burdensome for music students to interact with

their teachers in English.

Concerning the third challenge of EMI classes, participants

mentioned the direct impact of these courses on students’ turnover

intention. To illustrate,

Participant 20: Using English as a medium of teaching leads

students to leave the music classes.

Participant 28: Teaching academic subjects through English may

discourage students from continuing the learning process.

Participant 73: Using English to teach music prompts students to

leave the classes.

Other signicant issues raised by music students about EMI

courses include limited student interaction, low classroom

engagement, and low academic condence. ese issues are presented

in the following statements, respectively:

Participant 17: Most of the music students struggle to communicate

with each other through English.

Participant 66: Due to limited English literacy, students are

reluctant to engage in classroom activities.

Participant 74: Poor English prociency gradually decreases

students’ self-condence in academic settings.

Discussion

e current qualitative study was designed to uncover the benets

and challenges of implementing EMI in Chinese music classes. Simply

said, it aimed to illustrate how EMI classes are advantageous and

disadvantageous for Chinese music students. As to the benets or

advantages of EMI courses, the outcomes of the thematic analysis

revealed that the benets of using English in Chinese music classes can

begrouped into six unique themes: improving students’ English literacy,

enhancing students’ academic interest, familiarizing students with other

cultures, expanding students’ English vocabulary, improving students’

knowledge of music, and making students more energetic. As shown in

Figure1, most of the music students asserted that executing EMI in

their classes enables them to improve their English literacy. is

outcome can bereadily explained by the fact that the constant use of a

language will considerably improve the speaking, writing, reading, and

listening abilities. is nding accords with Phuong and Nguyen’s

(2019) outcomes, which indicated that instructing academic subjects

through English results in increased English literacy. Moreover, many

participants perceived increased academic interest to beone of the

undeniable benets of EMI courses. According to them, learning a new

language can dramatically increase students’ interest in academic

settings. is nding contradicts Yang etal.’s (2019) outcomes, which

indicated that EMI students’ academic interests gradually decrease due

to the unsatisfactory instruction. Furthermore, as the third important

benet of EMI classes, several participants referred to the role of EMI

in familiarizing students with other cultures. ey noted that studying

academic subjects in English enables them to become familiar with the

culture of English-speaking countries. It may bejustied by the fact

Su and Kong 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1086392

Frontiers in Psychology 06 frontiersin.org

that cultural norms and values are the inseparable parts of a language

(Kramsch, 2014; Sharian, 2015; Yu, 2020). It implies that “those who

truly learn a new language can enter into the cultural atmosphere in

which that language exists” (Mazari and Derraz, 2015, p. 353).

Additionally, some of the participants highlighted the crucial functions

of EMI in expanding students’ English vocabulary, improving students’

academic knowledge, and activating students. ese outcomes are

consistent with those of some previous investigations (Goodman, 2014;

Phuong and Nguyen, 2019; Drljaca and Vodopija-Krstanovic, 2020).

Likewise, as the ndings of the thematic analysis demonstrated, the

challenges of employing English in Chinese music classes can also

bedivided into six distinct themes: more diculty in comprehending

course content, limited interactions between teachers and students, higher

turnover intention among students, limited interactions among students,

low classroom engagement, and low academic condence. It is worth

noting that all the aforementioned challenges have something to do

with EMI students’ limited English literacy. Regarding the rst

challenge, most students stated that using English as a means of

instruction causes some serious problems for students in understanding

the course content. It may bebecause students commonly attend EMI

classes with limited English literacy. is outcome resonates with Pun

and omas’ (2020) ndings, which showed that EMI students oen

struggle with some serious linguistic challenges due to poor English

language literacy. is nding also seems to beconsistent with that of

Kamaşak etal. (2021), who discovered that EMI students cannot easily

understand classroom instructions as they do not have a good

command of English. Concerning the second challenge, many

participants articulated that using English as a medium of education

reduces classroom interactions between students and teachers. is is

in line with Ter-Vardanyan’s outcomes Ter-Vardanyan (2021), which

revealed that EMI students are less likely to communicate with their

teachers. As to the third challenge, many participants asserted that

using English in music classes can dramatically increase the rate of

turnover among students. is may be due to the unsatisfactory

instruction that students receive in EMI courses. is outcome

corroborates Yang etal.’s (2019) ndings, which elucidated that EMI

courses are commonly challenging for students due to the unsatisfactory

and inappropriate instructions they receive in these courses. Regarding

the rest of the problems of EMI classes, some of the Chinese music

students mentioned that the employment of English in music classes

causes limited interactions among students, low classroom engagement,

and decreased academic condence. It seems encouraging to compare

these challenges with those reported in some previous studies (Aizawa

and McKinley, 2020; Toh, 2020; Pun and Jin, 2021).

It should be mentioned that the outcomes of the current

investigation are subject to three signicant limitations. e most

signicant limitation lies in the fact that the present study’s data was

gathered from a limited number of participants. As the inclusion of

more participants can drastically increase the generalizability of the

ndings, future researchers are advised to perform their investigations

with a large sample of EMI students. Another important limitation is

that a pure qualitative method was adopted to carry out this research.

To achieve more credible and comprehensive outcomes, mixed-method

research is highly recommended. e last limitation of this study is that

teachers’ views on EMI courses were disregarded. Put simply, only

students were questioned about the benets and challenges of EMI

classes. Investigating EMI teachers’ viewpoints would help us to get a

wider picture of the benets and challenges of EMI classes. Future

investigations should therefore concentrate on EMI teachers’ viewpoints.

Conclusion and pedagogical

implications

e current qualitative research was carried out with the aim of

discovering the benets and challenges of implementing EMI in

Chinese music classes. As the outcomes of the thematic analysis

revealed, improving students’ English literacy, enhancing students’

academic interests, and familiarizing students with other cultures were

found to bethe most important benets of EMI courses. Moreover,

diculty in comprehending course content, limited interactions

between teachers and students, and higher turnover intention among

students were identied as the most serious challenges of EMI classes.

With respect to the benets and challenges raised by Chinese music

students, it is possible to infer that EMI classes will beproblematic and

challenging only for those students who do not have a good command

of English. us, the level of students’ English prociency is highly

critical in EMI courses. e outcomes of this inquiry appear to

beenlightening and useful for those who are involved in Chinese EMI

classes, including EMI teachers and students. It is because being aware

of the potential challenges and benets of EMI classes enables EMI

teachers and students to make use of opportunities and minimize

existing problems. Given the pivotal role that students’ English

prociency plays in EMI classes, students are required to read English

books, listen to English podcasts, and attend English language classes in

order to improve their English prociency. In this respect, teachers are

also expected to introduce some useful English resources to their

students. In addition, the ndings of this investigation may

beilluminating for Chinese educational administrators and managers

as well. e present study’s ndings may help them capitalize on the

signicant opportunities of EMI classes and overcome the serious

challenges of implementing EMI in Chinese music institutes.

Data availability statement

e raw data supporting the conclusions of this article will

bemade available by the authors, without undue reservation.

Ethics statement

e studies involving human participants were reviewed and

approved by Shinawatra University Ethics Committee. e patients/

participants provided their written informed consent to participate in

this study.

Author contributions

PS collected and analyzed the data and wrote the rst dra of the

manuscript. PS and JK reviewed and revised the manuscript. All

authors contributed to the article and approved the submitted version.

Conﬂict of interest

e authors declare that the research was conducted in the

absence of any commercial or nancial relationships that could

beconstrued as a potential conict of interest.

Su and Kong 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1086392

Frontiers in Psychology 07 frontiersin.org

Publisher’s note

All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the

authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated

organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the

reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or

claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or

endorsed by the publisher.

References

Aizawa, I., and McKinley, J. (2020). “EMI challenges in Japan’s internationalization of

higher education” in English-Medium Instruction and the Internationalization of

Universities. eds. H. Bowles and A. C. Murphy (Cham: Palgrave Macmillan), 27–48.

Aizawa, I., and Rose, H. (2020). High school to university transitional challenges in

English medium instruction in Japan. System 95:102390. doi: 10.1016/j.

system.2020.102390

Arnó-Macià, E., and Mancho-Barés, G. (2015). e role of content and language in

content and language integrated learning (CLIL) at university: challenges and

implications for ESP. Engl. Specif. Purp. 37, 63–73. doi: 10.1016/j.esp.2014.06.007

Baralt, M. (2012). “Coding qualitative data” in Research Methods in Second Language

Acquisition. eds. A. Mackey and S. M. Gass (Oxford: Blackwell), 222–244.

Birt, L., Scott, S., Cavers, D., Campbell, C., and Walter, F. (2016). Member checking: a

tool to enhance trustworthiness or merely a nod to validation. Qual. Health Res. 26,

1802–1811. doi: 10.1177/1049732316654870

Bradford, A. (2016). Toward a typology of implementation challenges facing English-

medium instruction in higher education: evidence from Japan. J. Stud. Int. Educ. 20,

339–356. doi: 10.1177/1028315316647165

Cankaya, P. (2017). Challenges in English medium of instruction from the teachers

and students' eyes. Online Submission 5, 830–839. doi: 10.18298/ijlet.2096

Curle, S., and Derakhshan, A. (2021). “EMI trends in using questionnaires: suggestions

for future improvements” in Research Methods in English Medium Instruction. eds. J. K.

H. Pun and S. M. Curle (Taylor and Francis Group: Routledge), 32–45.

Curle, S., Yuksel, D., Soruç, A., and Altay, M. (2020). Predictors of English medium

instruction academic success: English prociency versus rst language medium. System

95:102378. doi: 10.1016/j.system.2020.102378

Dalton, P. C. (2011). Content-and-language integrated learning: from practice to

principles? Annu. Rev. Appl. Linguist. 31, 182–204. doi: 10.1017/S0267190511000092

Derakhshan, A. (2021). [Review of the book Internationalizing Learning in higher

Education: e Challenges of English as a Medium of Instruction, by M. L. Carrió-Pastor].

International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism. Vol 25, 2313–2315.

Derakhshan, A., Rakhshanderoo, M., and Curle, S. (2021). “University students and

instructors’ attitudes towards English medium instruction courses: voices from Iran” in

English-Medium Instruction in Higher Education in the Middle East and North Africa:

Policy, Research, And Practice. eds. S. Curle, H. I. Holi Ali, A. Alhassan and S. Saleem

Scatolini (London, UnitedKingdom: Bloomsbury Publishing)

Diezmas, E. N. M., and Barrera, A. F. (2021). Main challenges of EMI at the UCLM:

teachers’ perceptions on language prociency, training and incentives. Alicante J. Eng.

Stud. 34, 39–61. doi: 10.14198/raei.2021.34.02

Dörnyei, Z., and Csizér, K. (2012). “How to design and analyze surveys in second

language acquisition research” in Research Methods in Second Language Acquisition: A

Practical Guide. eds. A. Mackey and S. M. Gass (Oxford: Blackwell), 74–94.

Drljaca, M. B., and Vodopija-Krstanovic, I. (2020). “e benets, challenges and

prospects of EMI in Croatia: An integrated perspective” in Integrating Content and

Language in Multilingual Universities. eds. S. Dimova and J. Kling (Cham: Springer),

75–96.

Friedman, D. A. (2012). “How to collect and analyze qualitative data” in Research

Methods in Second Language Acquisition. eds. A. Mackey and S. M. Gass (Oxford:

Blackwell), 180–200.

Fu, J., and Wang, Y. (2022). Inspecting EFL teachers’ academic literacy development in

multilingual contexts: a global vision. Heliyon 8, 1–6. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e12143

Gao, Y., Zeng, G., Wang, Y., Klan, A., and Wang, X. (2022). Exploring educational

planning, teacher beliefs, and teacher practices during the pandemic: a study of science

and technology-based universities in China. Front. Psychol. 13:903244. doi: 10.3389/

fpsyg.2022.903244

Gao, L. X., and Zhang, L. J. (2020). Teacher learning in dicult times: examining

foreign language teachers’ cognitions about online teaching to tide over COVID-19.

Front. Psychol. 11:2396. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.549653

Goodman, B. A. (2014). Implementing English as a medium of instruction in a

Ukrainian university: challenges, adjustments, and opportunities. Int. J. Pedagogies

Learn. 9, 130–141. doi: 10.1080/18334105.2014.11082026

Graham, K. M., and Eslami, Z. R. (2021). “English-medium instruction” in Research

Questions in Language Education and Applied Linguistics. eds. H. Mohebbi and C.

Coomb (Cham: Springer), 59–62.

Harrop, E. (2012). Content and language integrated learning (CLIL): limitations and

possibilities. Online Submission 21, 57–70.

Hu, G. (2019). English-medium instruction in higher education: lessons from China.

J. Asia TEFL 16, 1–11. doi: 10.18823/asiate.2019.16.1.1.1

Hu, G., and Li, X. (2017). “Asking and answering questions in English-medium

instruction classrooms: what is the cognitive and syntactic complexity level?” in English-

Medium Instruction in Chinese Universities. eds. J. Zhao and L. Q. Dixon (London:

Routledge), 184–203.

Hu, J., and Wu, P. (2020). Understanding English language learning in tertiary

English-medium instruction contexts in China. System 93:102305. doi: 10.1016/j.

system.2020.102305

Jiang, A. L., and Zhang, L. J. (2019). Chinese students’ perceptions of English learning

aordances and their agency in an English-medium instruction classroom context. Lang.

Educ. 33, 322–339. doi: 10.1080/09500782.2019.1578789

Jiang, L., Zhang, L. J., and May, S. (2019). Implementing English-medium instruction

(EMI) in China: teachers’ practices and perceptions, and students’ learning motivation

and needs. Int. J. Biling. Educ. Biling. 22, 107–119. doi: 10.1080/13670050.2016.1231166

Jones, W., McKeown, K., and Littlewood, S. (2022). e challenges of EMI for art and

design students in the UAE. ELT J. 76, 238–249. doi: 10.1093/elt/ccab094

Kamaşak, R., Sahan, K., and Rose, H. (2021). Academic language-related challenges

at an English-medium university. J. Engl. Acad. Purp. 49:100945. doi: 10.1016/j.

jeap.2020.100945

Kim, E. G. (2017). “English medium instruction in Korean higher education: challenges

and future directions” in English Medium Instruction in Higher Education in Asia-Pacic.

eds. B. Fenton-Smith, P. Humphreys and I. Walkinshaw (Cham: Springer), 53–69.

Kim, J., Kim, E. G., and Kweon, S. O. (2018). Challenges in implementing English-

medium instruction: perspectives of humanities and social sciences professors teaching

engineering students. Engl. Specif. Purp. 51, 111–123. doi: 10.1016/j.esp.2018.03.005

Kramsch, C. (2014). Language and culture. AILA Review 27, 30–55. doi: 10.1075/

aila.27.02kra

Lei, J., and Hu, G. (2014). Is English-medium instruction eective in improving

Chinese undergraduate students' English competence? Int. Rev. Appl. Linguistics Lang.

Teach. 52, 99–126. doi: 10.1515/iral-2014-0005

Lin, T., and Lei, J. (2021). English-medium instruction and content learning in higher

education: eects of medium of instruction, English prociency, and academic ability.

SAGE Open 11:215824402110615. doi: 10.1177/21582440211061533

Macaro, E. (2018) (Ed.) English Medium Instruction. (Oxford: Oxford University Press)

Macaro, E. (2019). Exploring the role of language in English medium instruction. Int.

J. Biling. Educ. Biling. 23, 263–276. doi: 10.1080/13670050.2019.1620678

Macaro, E., Curle, S., Pun, J., An, J., and Dearden, J. (2018). A systematic review of

English medium instruction in higher education. Lang. Teach. 51, 36–76. doi: 10.1017/

S0261444817000350

Martínez, R. (2016). “English as a medium of instruction (EMI) in Brazilian higher

education: challenges and opportunities” in English in Brazil: Views, Policies and

Programs. ed. K. R. Finardi ( Eduel International), 191–228.

Mazari, A., and Derraz, N. (2015). Language and culture. Int. J. Humanit. Cult. Stud.

2, 350–359.

Morton, T. (2018). Reconceptualizing and describing teachers’ knowledge of language

for content and language integrated learning (CLIL). Int. J. Biling. Educ. Biling. 21,

275–286. doi: 10.1080/13670050.2017.1383352

Nassaji, H. (2020). Good qualitative research. Lang. Teach. Res. 24, 427–431. doi:

10.1177/1362168820941288

Nguyen, H. T., Walkinshaw, I., and Pham, H. H. (2017). “EMI programs in a

Vietnamese university: language, pedagogy and policy issues” in English Medium

Instruction in Higher Education in Asia-Pacic (Cham: Springer), 37–52.

Phuong, Y. H., and Nguyen, T. T. (2019). Students’ perceptions towards the benets

and drawbacks of EMI classes. Engl. Lang. Teach. 12, 88–100. doi: 10.5539/elt.v12n5p88

Pun, J., and Jin, X. (2021). Student challenges and learning strategies at Hong Kong

EMI universities. PLoS One 16:e0251564. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0251564

Pun, J. K., and omas, N. (2020). English medium instruction: teachers’ challenges

and coping strategies. ELT J. 74, 247–257. doi: 10.1093/elt/ccaa024

Rolfe, G. (2006). Validity, trustworthiness and rigour: quality and the idea of

qualitative research. J. Adv. Nurs. 53, 304–310. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2648.2006.03727.x

Rose, H., Curle, S., Aizawa, I., and ompson, G. (2020). What drives success in

English medium taught courses? e interplay between language prociency, academic

Su and Kong 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1086392

Frontiers in Psychology 08 frontiersin.org

skills, and motivation. Stud. High. Educ. 45, 2149–2161. doi: 10.1080/03075079.

2019.1590690

Rose, H., McKinley, J., Xu, X., and Zhou, S. (2020) (Eds.) Investigating Policy and

Implementation of English Medium Instruction in Higher Education Institutions in China.

London: British Council.

Sharian, F. (Ed.). (2015). e Routledge Handbook of Language and Culture. London:

Routledge.

Soruç, A., Altay, M., Curle, S., and Yuksel, D. (2021). Students’ academic language-

related challenges in English medium instruction: the role of English prociency and

language gain. System 103:102651. doi: 10.1016/j.system.2021.102651

Ter-Vardanyan, Z. (2021). “e challenges of EMI courses in Armenian higher

education institutions (HEIs)” in Teaching Language and Content in Multicultural and

Multilingual Classrooms. eds. M. L. Carrió-Pastor and B. B. Fortuño (Cham: Palgrave

Macmillan), 157–189.

Toh, G. (2020). Challenges in English-medium instruction (EMI) at a Japanese

university. World Englishes 39, 334–347. doi: 10.1111/weng.12434

Tong, F., and Tang, S. (2017). “English-medium instruction in a Chinese university math

classroom: An observation study of classroom discourse” in English-Medium Instruction in

Chinese Universities. eds. J. Zhao and L. Q. Dixon (London: Routledge), 128–144.

Walkinshaw, I., Fenton-Smith, B., and Humphreys, P. (2017). “EMI issues and

challenges in Asia-Pacic higher education: An introduction” in English medium

instruction in higher education in Asia-Pacic. eds. B. Fenton-Smith, P. Humphreys and

I. Walkinshaw (Cham: Springer), 1–18.

Wang, Y. (2023). Probing into the boredom of online instruction among Chinese

English language teachers during the Covid-19 pandemic. Curr. Psychol. 43, 1–15. doi:

10.1007/s12144-022-04223-3

Wang, Y., and Derakhshan, A. (2023). Enhancing Chinese and Iranian EFL students’

willingness to attend classes: the role of teacher conrmation and caring. Porta

Linguarum 39, 165–192. doi: 10.30827/portalin.vi39.23625

Wei, R., Feng, J., and Ma, Q. (2017). “College students’ perspectives on English-

medium instruction and their English learning motivational intensity” in English-

Medium Instruction in Chinese Universities. eds. J. Zhao and L. Q. Dixon (London:

Routledge), 45–58.

Xu, H. (2017). “College students’ attitudes toward English-medium instruction and

the English language” in English-Medium Instruction in Chinese Universities. eds. J. Zhao

and L. Q. Dixon (London: Routledge), 59–75.

Yang, X. (2017). “Balance of content and language in English-medium instruction

classrooms” in English-Medium Instruction in Chinese Universities. eds. J. Zhao and L.

Q. Dixon (London: Routledge), 23–44.

Yang, M., O’Sullivan, P. S., Irby, D. M., Chen, Z., Lin, C., and Lin, C. (2019). Challenges

and adaptations in implementing an English-medium medical program: a case study in

China. BMC Med. Edu. 19, 1–8. doi: 10.1186/s12909-018-1452-3

Yu, R. (2020). Culture in second or foreign language acquisition. J. Lang. Teach. Res.

11, 943–947. doi: 10.17507/jltr.1106.10

Zare, J., and Derakhshan, A. (2021). [Review of the book Understanding EAP

Leliefs About Language Learning From a Socio-Cultural Perspective: A Longitudinal

Study at an EMI Context in Mainland China, by Chili Li]. International Journal of

Applied Linguistics. Vol 32, 338–341.

Zhao, J., and Dixon, L. Q. (Eds.) (2017). English-Medium Instruction in Chinese

Universities: Perspectives, Discourse and Evaluation. London: Routledge

Zhou, S., McKinley, J., Rose, H., and Xu, X. (2022). English medium higher education

in China: challenges and ELT support. ELT J. 76, 261–271. doi: 10.1093/elt/ccab082

Su and Kong 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1086392

Frontiers in Psychology 09 frontiersin.org

Appendix A

Open-ended scale

A Demographic information

Gender:

Male.

Female.

Others (please specify).

Prefer not to specify.

If your answer to the above question is “Others,” it is optional to specify your gender here.

Nationality:

Age:

Level of Education:

B Questions

1. What courses are youcurrently learning through English?

Did youchoose to learn these courses?

If yes, why did youchoose these English Medium courses?

2. What do youthink are the advantages of using English in music classes?

3. What do youthink are the disadvantages of using English in music classes?

4. Do youhave any diculties when youlearn courses in English?

5. Do youhave any further comments on the growing trend of English as a Medium of Instruction in China?