Promises and realities of foreign language medium instruction in the light of internationalization: A case study on EMI and AMI at an Indonesian Islamic University

The desire to improve institutional profile and students’ linguistic skills leads to the growth of English as a Medium of Instruction (EMI). While studies regarding EMI have been sufficiently documented, little is known about Arabic as a Medium of Instruction (AMI) in the expanding circles. To fill in the gap, our study examines EMI and AMI at IIU University (Indonesian Islamic University) using semi-structured interviews with six alumni of the program. Data were analyzed through Phan’s (2017) conceptualization of adjusted desire and transformative mediocrity. The findings demonstrate that EMI and AMI are strategically employed to symbolically legitimize the “international” profile. In practice, both EMI and AMI likely result in below-mediocre quality education. However, the participants still hold the (limited) power of transformation, as they view their recent teaching position and recognition as having been impacted by their below-mediocre EMI and EMI programs.