Addressing the research gap in teacher training for EMI: An evidence-based teacher education proposal in monolingual contexts

Abstract

This article reports on a cross-sectional concurrent triangulation mixed methods study which has been conducted with 153 teachers involved in EMI programs at the University of Jaen, in southern Spain. Four types of triangulation have been employed to determine teachers’ perspectives through questionnaires and semi-structured interviews in 165 subjects, 28 Bachelor’s Degrees, and 8 Master’s Degrees vis-a-vis their training needs on the theoretical underpinnings of EMI, linguistic competence, methodology, materials and resources, evaluation, ongoing professional development, and mobility. Based on those outcomes, a specific teacher education proposal has been articulated to address the chief areas in need of attention and its success has been gauged via a satisfaction survey. The outcomes provide a comprehensive picture of the main teacher training needs in this monolingual setting and point to the desirability of “CLIL-izing” EMI, that is, of including an overt language focus (especially on EAP) in the training provided.