As English-medium instruction (EMI) takes on a more important role in higher education in Japan, there are ongoing concerns that faculty members lack the support they need to effectively teach in what may be their own or their students’ second language. In a replication and localization of Macaro et al.’s 2020 multi-country survey of EMI-related professional development (PD), this study investigated the experience, needs, and preferences of faculty members teaching in English in Japan. Results from 92 respondents indicate that while professors acknowledge teaching in an EMI context requires different competencies than either teaching in a Japanese-medium setting or using English as a professional academic language, fewer than half have participated in PD training. Respondents are open to the idea of EMI-related PD but are only moderately receptive to a potential scheme to certify their competencies. Respondents’ perspectives differed depending on their experience teaching in EMI, as well as their linguistic and disciplinary background.
Brown et al. (2022) studied this question.