Supporting the Transition from English as a Foreign Language to English-medium Instruction: Recommendations for Language Teaching

The number of universities offering English-medium instruction (EMI) programs is growing steadily in Japan. As of 2015, more than 40% of Japanese universities had some kind of EMI program. While some of these programs are designed for incoming international students, the majority are imple-mented as part of a nationwide internationalization at home strategy, aimed at domestic, Japanese students. Most of these students are drawing on a background of standard high-school English clas-ses, which often leaves them unprepared for the challenges of EMI. English-language teaching spe-cialists attached to these EMI programs can play an important role in preparing these students for academic success as they make the transition from learning English to learning in English. Eng-lish-language teaching specialists have to be aware of and support students’ needs related to their overall language proficiency level, as well as individual specific needs related to volume of reading, necessity for spontaneous speech, gaps in vocabulary knowledge, and academic skills.