Internationalizing Secondary Education in Poland Through English as a Medium of Instruction

Abstract

Since English as a lingua franca is extending into virtually all domains of public life, non-Anglophone countries move away from the approach of English being taught as a foreign language (EFL) to the practice of English being a medium of instruction for content subjects. The methodology is increasingly implemented at all educational levels from primary to tertiary education. Yet few empirical studies have been undertaken into how the programmes are run. Thus, the article presents the findings of a research project, which attempted to provide a broad picture of this phenomenon in the Polish context. The article explores the two most recognized bilingual programmes in the European Union, Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) and English Medium Instruction (EMI), both being thoroughly investigated in the paper. The article attempts to shed light on the teaching approaches applied in EMI classes. In addition, it discusses the extent to which the English language is used in such classes (partial or exclusive). Further, it focuses on the implications L1 interference has for the L2 learning process taking place in the classroom. Last but not least, the study gives a brief account of students’ and teachers’ perspectives on and attitudes towards EMI. Regarding the methodology, the triangulation of methods was adopted including questionnaires, interviews and observations.