Elsya : Journal of English Language Studies 

ISSN (Online) 2684-9224, ISSN (Print): 2684-7620 

Vol. 4, No. 3, October 2022, pp. 197-213 

https://doi.org/10.31849/elsya.v4i2.11031  

  

 

 

 

 
 
How to cite this article: Santoso, W., & Kinasih, P. R. (2022). Understanding University Teachers’ Perspectives of English Medium Instruction in Indonesia. Elsya : 
Journal of English Language Studies, 4(3), 197-213. 

197 

Understanding University Teachers’ Perspectives of English Medium Instruction in 

Indonesia 
 

Wulandari Santoso * & Putri Rindu Kinasih 
Universitas Bunda Mulia, North Jakarta, Indonesia 

*wsantoso@bundamulia.ac.id 

 

 

ARTICLE HISTORY 

Received : 16 August 2022 

Revised : 30 September 2022 

Accepted : 23 October 2022 

 

KEYWORDS 

EMI 

Medium of Instruction 

Internationalisation 

Englishisation 

Lecturers' Perspectives 

 
 
 

ABSTRACT 

Despite the massive growth of universities offering EMI in non-Anglophone countries 
including Indonesia, there is little research regarding the underlying rationales for the 
implementation of EMI and the perceptions of lecturers in relation to the enactment of EMI. 
Several studies have also highlighted the absence of official guidelines for EMI in this 
context, which has contributed to the dissimilar practices of EMI among Indonesian 
universities. This case study aimed to find out the underpinning rationales for the 
implementation of EMI at the Indonesian universities. It also aimed to investigate how 
lecturers at the Indonesian universities perceived the implementation of EMI. Semi-
structured interviews were conducted with nine non-English lecturers from both state and 
private Indonesian universities. The results of this study showed that some factors, including 
promoting university internationalisation, enhancing academic reputations, and taking part 
in international competitions, were found to underpin the implementation of EMI. In 
addition, this study also underlined the issue of internationalisation in relation to 
Englishisation and its impacts on EMI. In this study, the participants’ use of the Indonesian 
language intended to facilitate communication and understanding of content learning could 
also be seen as a way to value multilingual practices. Therefore, this study suggests that the 
Indonesian linguistic ecology where Bahasa Indonesia and English co-exist with the 
hundreds of local languages should be taken into consideration in the educational language 
policy-making. 
 

1. Introduction  

To date, Indonesia is known as the fourth largest 

population in the world which occupies thousands of islands 

across the country (The World Bank, 2022). In addition, 

Indonesia has more than 300 native languages and dialects 

spoken by different ethnic and cultural groups  (BBC News, 

2018). To unify such a diverse country, Bahasa Indonesia is 

utilised throughout the nation as an official language for 

communication. In other words, not only does it serve as a 

lingua franca, but also it functions as a symbolic unifying 

function for the nation (Ridwan, 2018). As the country's 

official language, Bahasa Indonesia serves as a 

representation of national pride, national identity, a unifying 

bridge between citizens, regions, and cultures, as well as a 

medium for uniting tribes, cultures, and languages (Bulan, 

2019).  

Nevertheless, the linguistic landscape of Indonesia has 

been experiencing a dynamic change, such as the penetration 

of foreign languages, particularly in urban society (Prayoga 

& Khatimah, 2019). The state of the world, i.e., 

globalisation, has had a significant impact on how foreign 

languages, like English, are used in Indonesia (Marsudi & 

Zahrok, 2015). On the one hand, globalisation has opened up 

possibilities for extensive international cooperation. For 

example, since the establishment of the ASEAN Economic 

Community (AEC) in 2015, Indonesia has been committed 

to becoming an active player in realising the AEC targets. 

One of these commitments is to prepare university graduates 

to actively participate in the ASEAN market (AEC Council 

Minister Indonesia, 2020). Consequently, it is expected that 

Indonesian university students are proficient in using 

international languages, particularly English, to be able to 

compete at the global level. As a response to this huge 

demand, a number of universities in Indonesia, both public 

and private, have provided specific courses that implement 

English Medium Instruction (EMI) in the teaching and 

learning process for non-English study programs.  

There have been numerous studies that have focused on 

EMI in various contexts. Research results have shown that 

there is some positive motivation regarding the 

implementation of EMI, e.g. improving English competence 

(Chapple, 2015; Costa & Mariotti, 2022), acquiring English 

as a communication tool in the global era (Hamid et al., 

2013), taking part in the internalisation of universities 

(Mckinley & Rose, 2022; Zhang, 2018), modernising 

universities (Khan, 2013; Zhang, 2018), and increasing 

access to job opportunities (Barnawi, 2018, 2021; Bozdoğan 

& Karlıdağ, 2013).  

https://doi.org/10.31849/elsya.v4i2.11031
mailto:wsantoso@bundamulia.ac.id


 
Elsya : Journal of English Language Studies 

ISSN (Online) 2684-9224, ISSN (Print): 2684-7620 

Vol. 4, No. 3, October 2022, pp. 197-213 

https://doi.org/10.31849/elsya.v4i2.11031  

  

 

 

 

 
 
How to cite this article: Santoso, W., & Kinasih, P. R. (2022). Understanding University Teachers’ Perspectives of English Medium Instruction in Indonesia. Elsya : 
Journal of English Language Studies, 4(3), 197-213. 

198 

With regard to the Indonesian educational policy, the 

government does not have a specific guideline which aims to 

regulate the implementation of EMI at the university level 

(Dewi, 2017; Simbolon, 2018, 2021). This suggests that 

these universities are putting EMI into practice on their own. 

Due to limited research in terms of the language policy, the 

rationales underpinning the implementation of EMI in higher 

education in Indonesia are still unknown. In addition, EMI 

lecturers do not have adequate knowledge of how to 

implement EMI in the teaching process (Macaro & Han, 

2020). For example, lecturers are often confused between the 

terms bilingual class and international class. The lack of 

clarity surrounding the terminology may be due to 

insufficient information about EMI and its pedagogical 

practices. Hence, this distinct interpretation of EMI has also 

affected the extent to which English is used as a medium of 

instruction. Click or tap here to enter text.Even when the 

class is conducted fully in English language, the focus has 

mainly been to improve students’ limited English skills and 

not to the subject course (Simbolon et al., 2020).This 

phenomenon may exist due to the problem with students’ 

English proficiency, such as limited English listening and 

writing skills (Khasbani, 2019; Rogier, 2012) as well as poor 

vocabulary knowledge (Macaro et al., 2016). Consequently, 

there has been a concern raised by some scholars to provide 

sustainable teacher development available for EMI teaching 

(Dearden & Macaro, 2021; Macaro, 2019). Given 

Indonesia's active involvement in participating the AEC, it is 

possible to predict that EMI will be implemented in 

Indonesian universities more extensively. Considering that 

no explicit regulations have been formulated to 

accommodate this internationalisation agenda, 

understanding the driving forces behind the implementation 

of EMI in Indonesia is deemed crucial. Moreover, it is also 

important to understand how lecturers respond to the top-

down initiation of EMI since at the micro-policy level, they 

often grapple with the changes in MOI. This study aims to 

address the following research questions: 

1. What are the underpinning rationales for the 

implementation of EMI at the Indonesian universities? 

2.  How do lecturers at the Indonesian universities perceive 

the implementation of EMI? 

It is expected that the results of this study are significant 

to inform stakeholders relevant to the implementation of 

EMI in Indonesia in terms of the policy-making and the 

pedagogical practice of EMI, particularly in the Indonesian 

universities. Despite the urgent need for adopting this global 

phenomenon to the local context, this study outlines the 

importance of understanding EMI in the Indonesian 

multilingual setting with a different lens. The implications 

are further discussed in Section 6. 

 

 

2. Literature Review 

2.1. EMI as an emerging approach 

There has been a significant shift in the aim of language 

education in many educational settings, moving away from 

acquiring the language for communicative purposes to 

learning ‘content’ through the language (Ibrahim, 2001; 

Walkinshaw et al., 2017). This phenomenon is labelled quite 

differently, for example, in North America it is referred to as 

‘immersion’ or ‘content-based learning’ and in Europe, it 

came to be called ‘content and language integrated learning’ 

(CLIL) (Coyle et al., 2010; Macaro, 2018).  The terms are 

usually (but not exclusively) associated with a secondary 

school context (Lasagabaster, 2019; Urmeneta, 2013). The 

purpose of this approach in Canada and European countries 

is similar, that is, to provide a multilingual education for 

linguistically diverse students in order to equip them to meet 

opportunities and challenges in the increasingly 

multicultural world (Barnard, 2014). In this paper, we focus 

on English as a Medium of Instruction (EMI) in higher 

education. EMI is a term that is still inconsistent since its 

meaning keeps evolving  (Airey, 2016; British Council, 

2013). Dearden (2014, p. 4) defines it as: 

“The use of the English language to teach academic 

subjects in countries or jurisdictions where the first 

language (L1) of the majority of the population is not 

English.” 

This definition resonates with Macaro et al. (2018) 

conceptualisation of EMI which differentiates the utilisation 

of English as a medium of instruction to teach content in 

Anglophone countries such as, the UK, the USA, Australia, 

and Canada from countries where English is not the first 

language of the majority of the population. Macaro (2018) 

however, acknowledges that this definition is problematic as 

the term ‘first language’ is not always straightforward, 

especially in multilingual countries where multiple 

languages co-exist in a speech community. Airey (2016) has 

attempted to make a distinction between EMI, CLIL, and 

EAP/ESP. In his model of a language/content continuum, 

EAP emphasises students’ language competence while EMI 

is placed at the other end of the continuum as it focuses on 

content learning. Meanwhile, CLIL is in the middle of the 

continuum as it gives equal weight to both content and 

language. Macaro (2013) argues that this view regards EMI 

as a fixed notion since it attempts to compare EMI to other 

similar practices. Nevertheless, Macaro (2013) has criticised 

this approach to EMI since viewing educational notions as a 

fixed entity could be problematic. He further argues that EMI 

is a fluid concept which always goes through a process of 

evolution. In this sense, the conceptualisation of EMI will 

largely depend on research evidence that informs EMI 

practices, involving relevant stakeholders and end-users of 

EMI. 

 

https://doi.org/10.31849/elsya.v4i2.11031


 
Elsya : Journal of English Language Studies 

ISSN (Online) 2684-9224, ISSN (Print): 2684-7620 

Vol. 4, No. 3, October 2022, pp. 197-213 

https://doi.org/10.31849/elsya.v4i2.11031  

  

 

 

 

 
 
How to cite this article: Santoso, W., & Kinasih, P. R. (2022). Understanding University Teachers’ Perspectives of English Medium Instruction in Indonesia. Elsya : 
Journal of English Language Studies, 4(3), 197-213. 

199 

In this study, we follow Macaro’s (2013) stance that goes 

beyond the dichotomy of EMI. Underpinned by Phillipson’s 

(1992) use fallacies in linguistic imperialism, Knagg (2013, 

p. 24) has proposed some fallacies of what EMI is: one of 

which is “the on-off fallacy” that regards EMI as “an on-off 

switch, a black and white concept”. It is important to note 

that EMI is a dynamic notion which operates at varying 

levels of educational institutions and classrooms. This 

perspective also applies to the extent to which English is used 

in student-teacher interactions inside and outside classroom 

contexts; what kind of ‘E’ in EMI is enacted in the EMI 

policies; and whether multilingual language practices are 

legitimated in such programmes. Since the term ‘EMI’ is still 

ill-defined and its conceptualisation is context-dependent, 

this study seeks to contribute to advancing the notion of EMI 

that is also shaped by lecturers’ attitudes towards and 

understandings of the concept and practice of EMI.  

Despite its nuanced concept and blurred boundaries 

between EMI and other-related educational practices, EMI 

has gained much attention in many Asian educational 

settings, for example in Vietnam ( Nguyen & Nguyen, 2020), 

in Malaysia (Hasim & Barnard, 2018; Rahman et al., 2021), 

in China (Galloway et al., 2017; Yuan et al., 2020), in Korea 

(Kim, 2017), and in Indonesia (Hamied & Lengkanawati, 

2018). Numerous western universities have also established 

bilateral relationships with universities in Asia to administer 

EMI programmes in various academic disciplines (Barnard, 

2014). Even some of these universities have established their 

own campuses in countries such as, Malaysia, Japan, 

Vietnam, and Indonesia, on account of “capitalising on the 

hard currency of higher degrees earned in English in English 

institutions” (van der Walt, 2013, p. 63).  Following this 

trend, some Asian countries like Malaysia, Japan, and Hong 

Kong, have enacted regulations that universities should use 

English as a medium of instruction in a range of programmes 

(see Hasim & Barnard, 2018; Saeed et al., 2018). The impact 

of the rapid growth of EMI can be seen in the increasing 

number of universities that offer EMI programmes across 

Asia (see Macaro et al., 2018) in order to meet the inevitable 

demand for English as well as to keep up with its growth as 

“the dominant lingua franca of academia” (Galloway & 

Rose, 2021, p. 1).  

2.2. EMI in Indonesia 

In the Indonesian educational context, a medium of 

instruction (MOI) is not a new issue since it is as far back as 

1950s that a foreign language, i.e. Dutch, was used to train 

medical assistants in the first tertiary institution, University 

of Indonesia, in Jakarta (Hamied & Lengkanawati, 2018). 

Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) established in 1920 

also particularly stated in the document issued by ITB School 

of Pharmacy that Dutch or English was used to deliver the 

lecture (Hamied & Lengkanawati, 2018). Since then, many 

universities in Indonesia have developed EMI programmes 

to develop bilingual competence (Tamtam et al., 2010). 

Globalisation and the growing need for English as a key 

to global relations, economy, technology, and information 

have triggered the rise of EMI in many contexts, including 

Indonesia (Despitasari, 2021; Dewi, 2017; Khasbani, 2019; 

Simbolon, 2018). Moreover, Indonesia has become one of 

the most populous countries in the world with impressive 

economic growth and geographic advantages (Hamied & 

Lengkanawati, 2018). The important role of Indonesia in 

international trade transactions has made the country 

appealing to its neighbouring regions, reinforcing English to 

become the international language for communication 

(Hamied & Lengkanawati, 2018; Khasbani, 2019). As a 

result, Indonesia has an urgent need to face this challenge 

through its educational system in order to prepare its citizens 

to engage in communication and to compete with people 

coming from different cultural backgrounds in this 

globalised world. 

In 2003, bilingual programmes or RSBI (Pilot 

International Standard Schools) began to bloom at the school 

level where the MOI changed from Bahasa Indonesia to 

English or a mix of both. Nevertheless, this programme was 

cancelled in January 2013 since it attracted many criticisms, 

e.g., providing unequal access to education for all Indonesian 

students (Cahyani et al., 2018). Hence, the government has 

encouraged Indonesian universities to offer EMI 

programmes, aiming to equip their graduates with English 

skills. As stated in the Law of National Education No 20/ 

2003, universities could adopt a foreign language as a 

medium of instruction. Even though there is no explicit 

statement which emphasises English as the language of 

instruction, the significance of English in various domains of 

life seems to be the rationale for administering EMI courses 

(Simbolon, 2018, 2021). In addition, ASEAN Economic 

Community (MEA) with the principle of “Free flow of 

goods, service, investment, capital and skilled labour” being 

one of the four MEA foundations (ASEAN, 2015, p. 4) has 

provided a solid foundation for the implementation of EMI 

in Indonesian universities. In practice, many Indonesian 

universities have offered two models of delivery, i.e. ‘regular 

programmes’ and ‘international programmes’. While the 

former uses Bahasa Indonesia as the MOI, the latter utilises 

English. However, ‘international programmes’ are not 

always attended by international students, whereas ‘regular 

programmes’ are attended by domestic students (Dewi, 

2017). Both programmes could be attended by any students 

depending on their preferences and language competence as 

well as their ability to pay higher tuition fees for the 

international programme (Cahyani et al., 2018; Dewi, 2017; 

Simbolon, 2021). 

Despite its promising trend, the implementation of EMI 

is not without criticism. The issues around students’ English 

proficiency, teachers’ qualifications, and language 

hierarchies have been underlined by some scholars (e.g. 

Hamied & Lengkanawati, 2018; Khasbani, 2019; Ross & 

Coleman, n.d.). The status of English as a foreign language 

https://doi.org/10.31849/elsya.v4i2.11031


 
Elsya : Journal of English Language Studies 

ISSN (Online) 2684-9224, ISSN (Print): 2684-7620 

Vol. 4, No. 3, October 2022, pp. 197-213 

https://doi.org/10.31849/elsya.v4i2.11031  

  

 

 

 

 
 
How to cite this article: Santoso, W., & Kinasih, P. R. (2022). Understanding University Teachers’ Perspectives of English Medium Instruction in Indonesia. Elsya : 
Journal of English Language Studies, 4(3), 197-213. 

200 

in Indonesia has been a challenge in the implementation of 

EMI. As Hamied and Lengkanawati (2018) argue, the 

inclusion of English in the early education stage will likely 

influence EMI implementation's success at the tertiary level. 

Unlike other countries in Asia, English has become an 

optional subject at the primary level (Kirkpatrick, 2011). 

Moreover, many students have limited opportunities to use 

English in daily interactions unless English has become one 

of the main linguistic tools in their language repertoire. Even 

so, they have to deliberately construct these English-

speaking spaces. Another concern is that many EMI 

programmes do not have qualified teachers to teach content 

in English (Khasbani, 2019). Ensuring teachers’ linguistic 

competence is crucial as it contributes to the effective 

transfer of knowledge and classroom communication. 

Therefore, some scholars have proposed some pedagogical 

models that could be applied to EMI classes with the aim to 

support students in co-constructing knowledge by means of 

the collaboration between content and language practitioners 

(see Lin, 2016). Lastly, the multilingual nature of Indonesia 

has placed English in an intricate position where it co-exists 

with the national and local languages (Hamied, 2012; Zein, 

2019, 2020). In this sense, EMI may benefit speakers of 

English and on the other hand, disadvantage speakers of 

other languages (Kirkpatrick, 2014). As a result, the issue of 

unequal power relations between languages is quite apparent 

in this multilingual setting. This concern has been raised by 

scholars who argue that a unique linguistic landscape and 

socio-political context should be taken into consideration in 

designing and implementing educational language policies.  

Even though some research has attempted to examine 

EMI in the Indonesian context (Despitasari, 2021; Dewi, 

2017; Hamied & Lengkanawati, 2018; Khasbani, 2019; 

Simbolon, 2018; Simbolon et al., 2020), research aiming to 

address lecturers’ perceptions towards EMI is still limited. 

The purpose of this research is to investigate the 

implementation of EMI based on the perspectives of 

lecturers. The role of lecturers is crucial as their pedagogical 

and professional competence will contribute to the success 

of EMI teaching (Yuan et al., 2020). They are also expected 

to be able to balance the presentation of content materials 

with the use of English as a means of communication in 

classrooms. Taking this into account, the study aims to 

investigate the underpinning rationales for EMI in the 

universities in Indonesia as well as the perception of lecturers 

regarding the implementation of EMI in non-English majors.  

3. Method 

This research used a case study approach, which aims to 

obtain an in-depth understanding of the phenomenon under 

scrutiny in its real-life setting (Gray, 2014; Yin, 2009). The 

case explored in this study was the lecturers’ perceptions 

towards in the implementation of EMI at the university level. 

The use of case study allowed the researchers to explore 

‘how’ and ‘why’ questions regarding EMI, i.e. how and why 

EMI is implemented in the universities being studied. In 

addition, its flexible design may also uncover the 

relationship between the phenomenon and the context where 

it occurs, thus providing a more comprehensive picture of the 

case being investigated in its specific setting (Gray, 2014; 

Robson & McCartan, 2016). 

This study used semi-structured interviews to facilitate 

unexpected themes to emerge. A set of interview questions 

proposed by Dewi (2017) were adapted to investigate the 

lecturers’ views of the implementation of EMI in the 

Indonesian universities. The interview questions cover the 

role of English in this modern era, the emerging market of 

EMI, the implementation of EMI in higher education, and 

the benefits as well as challenges in teaching EMI.  

The interviews were conducted and recorded via Zoom 

Meeting, and each lasted between thirty to forty minutes. 

Before the data collection process, the participants were 

informed that their responses would not affect their 

professional careers in any way since their identities and 

institutions would not be revealed to protect the 

confidentiality. Thus, this study used pseudonyms and gave 

general information about the teaching subject and the status 

of the universities, e.g. state or private university.  

This research used purposive sampling to recruit 

participants who could facilitate the exploration of the issue 

relevant to this study (Robson & McCartan, 2016). Some 

criteria for selected participants were established, e.g. 

teaching non-English majors using English as a medium of 

instruction and having at least two years of teaching in EMI 

classes. The information about the participants in this study 

can be seen in Table 1 below. 

 

Table 1. Information about the participants 

No Pseudonyms Gender Teaching 

Subject 

Universi-

ty 

1 Charlie Female Finance Private 

University 

2 Romeo Male Computer 

science 

Private 

University 

3 Zulu Male Statistics Private 

University 

4 Deborah Female Economic

s 

Private 

University 

5 Michael Male Computer 

science 

Private 

University 

6 Oliver Male Business 

Managem

ent 

Private 

University 

https://doi.org/10.31849/elsya.v4i2.11031


 
Elsya : Journal of English Language Studies 

ISSN (Online) 2684-9224, ISSN (Print): 2684-7620 

Vol. 4, No. 3, October 2022, pp. 197-213 

https://doi.org/10.31849/elsya.v4i2.11031  

  

 

 

 

 
 
How to cite this article: Santoso, W., & Kinasih, P. R. (2022). Understanding University Teachers’ Perspectives of English Medium Instruction in Indonesia. Elsya : 
Journal of English Language Studies, 4(3), 197-213. 

201 

7 Norah Female Law State 

University 

8 Patrick Male Law State 

University 

9 Delta Male Social 

Politic 

Science 

State 

University 

 

The data obtained from the interviews were analysed 

using the thematic analysis (Terry et al., 2017). The 

procedures of the data analysis followed these procedures: 

a. Getting familiar with the data, including transcribing, 
read, and re-read the interview data. 

b. Constructing codes, drawn from relevant literature and 
the data itself. Both deductive and inductive approaches 

facilitated pre-determined codes and emerging codes to 

be included in the data analysis. 

c. Constructing themes, categorising similar codes to 
potential themes. 

d. Defining and labelling themes, drawn from relevant 
literature. 

e. Writing up the report, including revealing codes and 
themes and selecting relevant quotations from the 

interview transcript to support the discussion of research 

results. 

4. Results 

4.1. The Role of English 

The participants expressed their views on the roles of 

English in the strategic domains of life. All of them also 

emphasised the importance of having some degree of 

English proficiency in order to compete globally, for 

example: 

Deborah: “With the development of technology, … [Being 

proficient in] English has finally become an obligation. In 

fact, maybe in some companies… English is no longer 

considered special… If the candidate could speak Mandarin 

or Japanese; it would be a plus point for them. So, in my 

opinion, it [English] has become a necessity and an 

obligation… If we want to survive in today's world, we have 

to be adaptive, right?” 

Delta: “[Being able to use] English is very important, 

especially in the field of international relations… It has 

become the official language for us to communicate with 

people from other countries… to engage in international 

transactions, build international cooperation with our 

neighbouring countries.” 

Norah: “Without English, I think we cannot show our ability 

to the world… English has become the main language for 

communication across the globe.” 

With reference to the educational sector, some of the 

participants highlighted the added value that students may 

benefit from their ability to use English, for instance: 

Charlie: “It [students’ abilities in speaking English] could 

boost their confidence… It [English] could help them 

interact with their peers, lecturers, and society at large… 

Based on my experience, students who are not excellent in 

their academic achievement but they could deliver their 

thoughts and ideas in international forums or communities, 

for example, in student exchange programmes, are more 

outstanding.” 

Oliver: “Well, it [English] makes them able to understand a 

wider range of sources. When, for example, I give an 

assignment from a journal or a business case that mostly 

uses English, they can understand the existing problems, as 

well as the context, the essence of this problem, and how to 

solve it… the students [who join the regular programme] 

often face difficulties [in understanding materials presented 

in English].” 

Patrick: “I think that students could participate in 

international conferences… understanding global issues 

happening around the globe…” 

Working as a lecturer in a private university in Jakarta, 

Michael who came from a small town in Central Java 

admitted that his English was not good compared to “rich 

people” (his original statement) in Jakarta. Fortunately, his 

capability of using English was getting better since he was 

forced to do presentations and write essays in English. He 

stated: 

Michael: “For me, the use of English has unlocked access to 

knowledge…I am internationally-minded. English makes 

me able to compete internationally.” 

Another participant also pointed out that being able to use 

English provides greater opportunities for students to access 

a wide range of good quality materials. 

Zulu: “We know [that] materials that have excellent 

qualities are presented in English textbooks, journal 

articles…  If we just refer to textbooks in Indonesian… they 

are still very limited.” 

Based on the research results, all of the participants 

regard English as having dominant roles in developing one’s 

ability to enhance their competitiveness. Some of the 

participants have also underlined the need for acquiring 

English skills that could help them communicate with people 

from different countries. It is also interesting to see how 

English proficient students are deemed to have some added 

values which contribute to their self-development. One of the 

participants, for example, regards students who could speak 

English despite their poor academic performances are “more 

outstanding” (Charlie). Oscar has further compared students 

in the EMI and non-EMI programmme, with the former 

being more proficient in comprehending materials in 

English. These findings may demonstrate how the 

participants in this study have acknowledged the superiority 

of English in equipping individuals to participate in global 

competitions and transactions as well as to raise one’s 

academic status.   

https://doi.org/10.31849/elsya.v4i2.11031


 
Elsya : Journal of English Language Studies 

ISSN (Online) 2684-9224, ISSN (Print): 2684-7620 

Vol. 4, No. 3, October 2022, pp. 197-213 

https://doi.org/10.31849/elsya.v4i2.11031  

  

 

 

 

 
 
How to cite this article: Santoso, W., & Kinasih, P. R. (2022). Understanding University Teachers’ Perspectives of English Medium Instruction in Indonesia. Elsya : 
Journal of English Language Studies, 4(3), 197-213. 

202 

In addition, some of the participants have seen English as 

the forefront of linguistic tool which could provide more 

opportunities for students to gain and construct knowledge 

through various educational resources that are primarily 

available in the English language. For these participants, 

English has dominated science and scholarship as never 

before as it has become a lingua franca in the academic 

domain. Zulu, a statistic lecturer, has also said that high-

quality textbooks published in Indonesian are still few, thus, 

being able to understand reading materials in English 

becomes unavoidable to support both teaching and learning 

process. Another participant, Michael, has also mentioned 

that he is “internationally-minded” as he is able to learn 

through English. Before working as a lecturer, he was a 

student in an international programme at the same institution. 

Being immersed in the EMI programme as a student has 

arguably shaped his perspective towards the concept of 

“internationally-minded”, although he does not further 

clarify what it exactly means for him. 

4.2 The Conceptualisation of EMI Enacted in 

Universities 

There is no general consensus with regard to the 

definition of EMI since its meaning is still evolving. The 

varied conceptualisations of EMI are also reflected in the 

findings of this study, for example: 

Charlie: “In the finance Department, we have both regular 

and international programmes. The regular programme has 

also internationally accredited. The School of Accounting 

itself got the accreditation from Taiwan… The Finance 

Department has also affiliated with CFA, so some of the 

[core] courses are required to use English as a medium of 

instruction. In the Finance international programme, we 

have a double degree programme. It means that students will 

earn two degrees recognized by international 

companies…All is administered in English.” 

Charlie also stated that she had some international 

students studying in the international programme and 

inbound and outbound students joining the student exchange 

programme. As the finance department has run a double 

degree programme, the lecturers should follow the 

curriculum assigned by the partner university from Australia. 

This also means that all the assessments, assignments, and 

examinations are prescribed to ensure the standardisation of 

the teaching and learning process. 

This conceptualisation of EMI can also be found in 

Delta’s responses during the interview, for example: 

Delta: “English is used 100% in our [international] 

programme…In the regular programme, some courses also 

use English as a medium of instruction… We have 

established some international cooperation with our partner 

universities abroad…a double-degree programme. In our 

programme, we usually receive five to ten international 

students each year… from Japan, Australia, Korea, Latin 

America, and European countries.” 

He further stated that the international cooperation 

between Indonesia and other countries could also result in 

the increasing number of international students studying in 

the university. This is also in line with Oliver and Deborah’s 

statements regarding how EMI has been implemented in 

their university: 

Oliver: “The international programme is very important 

because students will earn double degrees from our 

university and our partner university…. Students will study 

in our campus for two years and have an opportunity to 

study abroad for two years.” 

Two other lecturers from the same university, Norah and 

Patrick, also expressed similar perspectives towards this 

issue. They stated that the Law faculty offered two types of 

programmes, i.e., regular and international programmes. 

While the former used Bahasa Indonesia as the medium of 

instruction, the latter used English. Patrick also revealed: 

Patrick: “But of course, the international programme 

charges a higher tuition fee compared to the regular 

[programme].” 

This view is also shared by some of the participants in 

this study, stating that students are required to pay more 

expensive fees in the international programmes. 

Zulu and Michael shared a similar response when asked 

about how EMI is operationalised in their universities: 

Zulu: “EMI has been implemented since the establishment 

of this university. However, we used the bilingual approach 

to teach the students at that time since they were not really 

proficient in English.” 

Michael: “Since it [the university] was founded in 2000, it 

has implemented the so-called EMI. Everything is taught in 

English except for MKDU courses…  So indeed, what has 

become the promotional strategy is [the] English.” 

While the other universities being studied have 

differentiated the EMI programme, labelled as the 

international programme, these two universities did not 

apply such a policy since all the programmes used English 

as the medium of instruction. 

In addition, the participants also revealed how languages 

are used in the EMI programme. While most of the 

participants said that English was used as a medium of 

instruction from the establishment of the international 

programme, Zulu mentioned that the bilingual approach was 

initially implemented to assist students with low English 

proficiency. Despite the varied usage of English in the EMI 

programme, none of the participants denied that they used 

Bahasa Indonesia to a certain extent to solve practical 

classroom challenges. Even some of the participants, e.g., 

Romeo, Zulu, and Patrick, allowed their students to use 

Bahasa Indonesia in group discussions in order to create a 

more comfortable classroom atmosphere. 

https://doi.org/10.31849/elsya.v4i2.11031


 
Elsya : Journal of English Language Studies 

ISSN (Online) 2684-9224, ISSN (Print): 2684-7620 

Vol. 4, No. 3, October 2022, pp. 197-213 

https://doi.org/10.31849/elsya.v4i2.11031  

  

 

 

 

 
 
How to cite this article: Santoso, W., & Kinasih, P. R. (2022). Understanding University Teachers’ Perspectives of English Medium Instruction in Indonesia. Elsya : 
Journal of English Language Studies, 4(3), 197-213. 

203 

A special case is also found in one of the participants’ 

institutions which belongs to a foreign university in Australia 

and has established its campus in Indonesia since October 

2021: 

Romeo: “All of them [students] are Indonesian students. We 

have not opened the programmes for international students 

due to administrative issues… But we have lecturers from 

abroad as well, not all is local lecturers.” 

With regard to the administrative requests for the 

lecturers in the EMI programmes, all of the participants 

admitted that there were no specific English language 

requirements from their universities. They were not required 

to submit any TOEFL or IELTS certificates as proof of their 

English language proficiency, although some of them had 

assumed that the interviews with the university officials 

might aim to assess their English competence. The lecturers 

from the state universities also stated that they followed the 

lecturer recruitment held by the Ministry of Education 

without any further selections focusing on their English 

language abilities. Nevertheless, the lecturers from the state 

universities in this study agreed that the lecturers teaching 

the EMI programme were qualified to teach the EMI 

programme. As Delta stated: 

Delta: “All the lecturers in this university are capable of 

teaching through English… The recruitment process is very 

challenging for prospective lectures. So, if they are accepted 

to work here, they must be excellent.” 

The other lecturers assumed that their academic degrees 

obtained from universities abroad had made them eligible for 

teaching the courses in English. Even some of the 

participants said that the partner universities also took part in 

the lecturer recruitment to ensure that the prospective 

candidate was qualified to teach in the respective university. 

Although no specific requirements had been made 

regarding the lecturer’s English ability, all of the participants 

mentioned that prospective students should meet certain 

English proficiency scores. This was to ensure that students 

had necessary English skills, including listening, reading, 

speaking, and writing, so that they could follow the content 

learning delivered through English. 

This study arguably revealed an unexpected finding that 

only two of the participants claimed that there was an internal 

assessment administered by the quality learning department 

of the university that aimed to monitor their teaching 

process. Among several marking criteria, one of them was 

whether or not the lecturer used English in the classroom. 

Charlie, for example, stated that the assessor would observe 

her teaching practice without prior notice as a form of 

internal evaluation, although she also admitted that there was 

no sanction issued by the university if the lecturer did not 

follow the prescribed language policy. Another participant, 

Zulu, mentioned that the teaching process was recorded, 

thus, the recorded pedagogical practice could be used to 

check whether the lecturer adhered to the standard 

educational procedures. Apart from these two participants, 

most of the participants’ performances in teaching 

curriculum subjects using English were not regularly 

evaluated by the universities. 

4.3 The Rationale for the Implementation of EMI 

In this study, all the participants agreed that integrating 

EMI was important to receive international accreditation. 

They also shared how their university's current goal was to 

improve its ranking. 

Charlie: “I think it’s because we need international 

accreditations… Our aim is to internationalise this 

university… We expect to achieve a higher ranking.” 

The implementation of EMI was also carried out to foster 

greater international collaboration with partner universities. 

Zulu, for instance, mentioned how his students at his 

university took a double degree program through a 

collaboration with Arizona State University. In this sense, 

EMI was to support the internationalisation of the university:   

Zulu: “We have had a partnership with Arizona State 

University (double degree). We also have some 

international students in some of our programmes. 

Norah: “This [EMI] programme is to show our ‘existence’ 

to other universities. We have proven that we are able to 

administer this programme to internationalise our 

university. If we want to compete with other universities 

abroad, we have to be able to open an international 

programme for our students.” 

Deborah: “So international class students are required to 

do… whether it's a dual degree, or an exchange, or a short 

course.” 

To put it another way, the implementation of EMI has 

evolved into a tool for demonstrating its viability to other 

universities as the program expands the opportunities 

available to several international partners. Two participants 

provided some intriguing reasons for putting EMI into place. 

As opposed to bringing the university to the outside world, 

the implementation of EMI could bring the international 

world to the local context: 

Michael: “… the aim was to provide international quality 

for Indonesians. So, initially, the establishment of this SGU 

was triggered by the financial crisis [experienced by 

Indonesia in 1999].” 

Romeo: “Since this is an international university, the 

delivery of lesson materials is of course in English… This 

is a new branch in Indonesia.” 

The motive of bringing the universities to achieve the 

highest ranking in this context was to convince parents and 

students that they could experience the international standard 

university in Indonesia. These participants also stated that 

offering distinctive majors such as mechatronics and 

biomedical engineering, and utilising English as a medium 

https://doi.org/10.31849/elsya.v4i2.11031


 
Elsya : Journal of English Language Studies 

ISSN (Online) 2684-9224, ISSN (Print): 2684-7620 

Vol. 4, No. 3, October 2022, pp. 197-213 

https://doi.org/10.31849/elsya.v4i2.11031  

  

 

 

 

 
 
How to cite this article: Santoso, W., & Kinasih, P. R. (2022). Understanding University Teachers’ Perspectives of English Medium Instruction in Indonesia. Elsya : 
Journal of English Language Studies, 4(3), 197-213. 

204 

of instruction had successfully attracted students to enrol on 

these universities. 

All in all, all of the participants agreed that the underlying 

reason for integrating EMI was to achieve a higher ranking 

and receive international accreditation. The participants 

stated, however, that there were no established regulations 

and norms regarding how the EMI should be implemented in 

higher education. It is also interesting to note that no teacher 

training whatsoever was provided for all of the lecturers. 

4.4 Perceptions of Lecturers towards EMI as a 

Form of Englishisation 

The results of this study demonstrated the participants’ 

views towards the implementation of EMI at the university 

level. Despite the caveats entailing EMI, all of the 

participants generally showed a positive perception of the 

enactment of EMI since they agreed that it had offered 

innumerable advantages for the relevant stakeholders 

involved, including students, teachers, and institutions (see 

Section 4.5). 

In addition, the interview results also revealed how the 

participants attempted to make sense of the proliferation of 

EMI in the Indonesian contexts. Many of them perceived 

EMI as having nothing to do with the so-called linguistic 

imperialism. They further stated that the massive exertion of 

EMI did not have any significant impact on their identity, for 

instance: 

Deborah: “… English is not imperialism or domination. 

Yes, the point is that if we want to survive, we have to 

adjust, and adapt.” 

Charlie: “I think it’s too far [to think that EMI is a kind of 

imperialism] … English is a means of communication so 

that we can obtain competitive advantages.” 

Michael also stated that he showed his identity as a 

Javanese by maintaining his local accent when speaking 

English. Having experienced as a student and a lecturer in 

the EMI programme, during the interview Michael did not 

state that he had made any attempt to imitate the so-called 

native speakers: 

Michael: “I'm Javanese, I grew up in Javanese family, so my 

identity is still Javanese… English is the first international 

language in the world. So yes, I forced myself to speak 

English even with the medhok [strong Javanese] accent.” 

These participants viewed EMI as a prerequisite 

condition to compete globally and finally lead this nation to 

become a developed country. They also acknowledged that 

English had become an international language that held a 

crucial role in international relations across countries. As 

Oliver stated: 

Oliver: “We have to realise that we need one language that 

can be used to communicate with other people from 

different countries and cultures. That’s why we need to learn 

the language that are understood by many people.” 

Deborah also pointed out that the fear of English was not 

reasonable as English was required for students to 

“progress” (her original word). Moreover, Michael seemed 

to perceive that English had been “a common thing” (his 

original words) for him, thus, he did not consider it as a form 

of imperialism. In other words, he thought that English had 

been so internalized that it became part of his life. As a result, 

he felt that there was no need to question the strong 

domination of English, particularly in educational settings. 

Some of the participants, however, showed some 

concerns regarding the widespread of English through the 

implementation of EMI: 

Zulu: “But if we do not know how to use English and 

Bahasa appropriately, for example we mix both languages 

just as in anak Jaksel […..], I think it shows that we have an 

identity crisis… We have to be able to use each language 

appropriately… appropriate grammar and vocabulary.” 

Norah: “Sometimes I feel writing in Indonesian is more 

difficult… I wrote many articles in English. I don’t know if 

that also affects my writing skills in Indonesian… Somehow 

I think that much exposure to English could threaten our 

abilities in other languages.” 

Zulu also stated that one’s English abilities could be used 

to label his/her social status: 

Zulu: “Being able to speak English doesn’t mean that we are 

cool... But having adequate proficiency in English could 

make us understand, for example, news in English without 

looking at the subtitle.” 

He argued that one’s intellectuality could not only be 

determined by his/her English ability. His perspective also 

corresponds to Deborah’s statement, although both of them 

had a quite distinct view towards how EMI contributed to 

linguistic imperialism. Raised in Yogyakarta, Deborah stated 

that EMI was regarded as “too prestigious” (her own word) 

in this context. She further clarified that the location where 

EMI was implemented could also affect how society 

perceived this programme. In her opinion, people who lived 

in Jakarta might perceive EMI relatively differently 

compared to those who were in other parts of Indonesia, 

where acquiring English abilities had not been seen as a 

priority.   

4.5 Possibilities and Challenges in EMI 

The participants expressed their views towards the 

advantages of implementing EMI in their universities. Zulu, 

Charlie, and Delta highlighted how EMI could equip both 

students and teachers with adequate English skills: 

Zulu: “For the lecturers, they will be more confident and 

build a good habit in presenting materials in English. For 

the students, English prepares them to upgrade their skills, 

e.g., they may want to pursue their master’s degree. So, they 

have already experienced being in an international 

situation.” 

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Elsya : Journal of English Language Studies 

ISSN (Online) 2684-9224, ISSN (Print): 2684-7620 

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How to cite this article: Santoso, W., & Kinasih, P. R. (2022). Understanding University Teachers’ Perspectives of English Medium Instruction in Indonesia. Elsya : 
Journal of English Language Studies, 4(3), 197-213. 

205 

Charlie: “What we are looking for is competitive 

advantage… That’s why parents want their children to learn 

English. There is something more that we can ‘sell’ with 

English.” 

Delta: “The students are more confident… it is easier for 

them to get a job in the future because they already have 

English skills. For the lecturers… they can upgrade their 

skills… write journal articles in English.” 

These participants believed that EMI could provide 

students with increased access to better employment as they 

had acquired the necessary English skills to engage in 

international communities. In addition, they also highlighted 

that EMI teachers could improve their professional 

development as a teacher and as a researcher. 

In this study, some of the participants identified the 

international competition as the impetus for the 

implementation of EMI: 

Romeo: “Our quality of education should be ‘international’, 

but we have to have impacts on the local context. ... In terms 

of human capital, we have to be able to compete globally.” 

Romeo also stated that EMI was very relevant to his 

university which only offered master’s degree programmes. 

He further explained that his students were mostly corporate 

employees who had been working in international 

companies. Thus, they would benefit from the extensive use 

of English, which was deemed an important tool to increase 

the quality of human capital. 

The other participants shared a similar perspective on this 

matter: 

Patrick: Our university can compete with other universities, 

especially in the South East Asian context… They 

[international students] could see that universities in 

Indonesia could have an international standard of teaching 

and learning process.”  

Norah: “Our students have extra skills that can be beneficial 

for them in the workplace… [The students] can stand out in 

international communities… [the students] can compete 

with other students in western universities.” 

Interestingly, one of the participants revealed that the 

university could receive a higher income since both local and 

international students were required to pay more expensive 

tuition fees to enrol on the EMI programme: 

Delta: “… to become a prestigious and recognised 

university in the world… And we cannot deny that the 

university can gain more profit.” 

These participants emphasised the potential benefit of 

EMI that could increase the standard quality of the university 

so that universities in Indonesia could compete with other 

universities abroad. The notion of ‘competition’ in this sense 

corresponds to the participants’ responses that achieving 

international rankings was of the utmost importance. 

Despite the numerous potentials of EMI, the participants 

also stated some concerns regarding the implementation of 

EMI. Many of them said that explaining complex concepts 

that required teachers’ adequate English proficiency had 

become the greatest challenge: 

Oliver: “They [international students] said, it’s difficult for 

them to follow the lesson because of our accents.” 

Charlie: “It [English] is not my native language. Sometimes, 

I need to think before talking to my students.” 

Deborah: “Uhm, I'm not really good at English… For me, 

the biggest challenge is when I forget the vocabulary. So, 

for example, when I was teaching, I suddenly went blank.” 

Norah: “We [the teachers] need to teach cognitively 

demanding concepts, and how could we explain them to our 

students with simplified sentences in English?” 

For these participants, there was room for Bahasa 

Indonesia in the EMI programme in order to scaffold 

students’ content comprehension. Not only teachers’ English 

competence, but for some of the participants, students’ 

English abilities could also affect the effectiveness of EMI: 

Zulu: “I think one of the most challenges in EMI is students’ 

low proficiency in English. In the statistic course, I use 

general and common terms to understand concepts.” 

Romeo: “The problem is how to deliver technical concepts 

with English, so that it’s easy for my students to understand. 

Students’ English proficiency is varied. Some of them may 

not understand what I explain in English.” 

Although many of the participants considered 

‘internationalisation’ as an advantage of EMI, one of the 

participants regarded it as a challenge: 

Delta: “I think the main challenge is that we have to change 

our way of thinking in order to become ‘internationalised’ 

because internationalisation is not only about the status of a 

university. It is also about how we can think 

‘internationally’.” 

In this case, Delta extended the meaning of 

internationalisation to a broader sense, that is, how teachers 

and students could make sense of the world, going beyond a 

simplistic view of events happening around them. For him, 

this required a critical evaluation of their life experiences as 

individuals and groups that could shape their critical thinking 

skills. 

To sum up, the participants had nuanced perceptions of 

EMI as they seemed to still grasp the conceptualization of 

EMI in their own institutions. While they were aware of the 

enormous potential of EMI, they admitted that its 

implementation was not an easy task. Since they had integral 

roles in EMI, they expected to have sustainable teacher 

training as a form of professional support. 

 

 

https://doi.org/10.31849/elsya.v4i2.11031


 
Elsya : Journal of English Language Studies 

ISSN (Online) 2684-9224, ISSN (Print): 2684-7620 

Vol. 4, No. 3, October 2022, pp. 197-213 

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How to cite this article: Santoso, W., & Kinasih, P. R. (2022). Understanding University Teachers’ Perspectives of English Medium Instruction in Indonesia. Elsya : 
Journal of English Language Studies, 4(3), 197-213. 

206 

5. Discussion 

EMI programmes in higher education have been 

increasingly developing in various contexts and Indonesia is 

no exception. This study sought to unpack the rationale for 

the implementation of EMI in the Indonesian universities 

and to investigate the lecturers’ perspectives with regard to 

both possibilities and challenges of EMI in this context. 

Informed by semi-structured interviews, this study examined 

the underpinning principles that may trigger the spread of 

EMI with reference to the roles of English language and 

Englishisation. In addition, this study shed light on the 

diverse conceptualisations of EMI, reflected in how the 

universities label such a programme, use the language(s) as 

a medium of instruction, set recruitment criteria for lecturers, 

and assess lecturers’ teaching performances. In relation to 

opportunities and challenges faced by Indonesian EMI 

lecturers, this study investigated the possible benefits and 

obstacles of EMI contributing to students, lecturers, and 

educational institutions. 

The findings of this study suggest that the inclusion of 

EMI in the tertiary curriculum offers numerous advantages 

for both students and lecturers. In line with some previous 

studies (e.g. Hamied & Lengkanawati, 2018; Jiang et al., 

2019), several sub-themes, e.g. increasing confidence, 

improving English skills, having better future careers, have 

emerged from the data. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Figure 1. Thematic framework of Teachers’ Perspectives towards English Medium Instruction in Indonesia 

 

With regard to the institutional factor, the rationale for 

the implementation of EMI appears to be supported by the 

need for achieving international academic reputations. This 

corresponds to the results of some studies (e.g. Hamied & 

Lengkanawati, 2018; Lamb et al., 2021; Simbolon, 2018), 

revealing that English is perceived as having an indisputable 

role in the internationally competitive market. The current 

study specifically found that international university 

rankings were to secure reputable positions among 

universities across the globe. This perspective is closely 

related to internationalisation, as stated by some of the 

participants. The growth of EMI due to the 

internationalisation purposes is also reflected in prior 

research (e.g., Yuan, 2020; Zhang, 2018). In a nutshell, the 

notion of internationalisation in higher education refers to 

the incorporation of global or intercultural dimensions into 

the objective or delivery of teaching and learning (Knight, 

2004, 2013). This definition has been extended to include the 

University 
Teachers’ 
Perspectives

of English 
Medium 

Instruction 
in Indonesia

English has dominant roles in 
developing one’s ability to 

enhance their competitiveness.

No general consensus with 
regard to the definition of EMI 

resulted in varied 
conceptualisations of EMI.

The implementation of EMI was 
also carried out to foster greater 
international collaboration with 

partner universities.

EMI offered innumerable 
advantages for the relevant 

stakeholders involved, 
including students, teachers, 

and institutions.

better employment

increase the standard quality 
of the university 

international academic 
reputations

There are enormous potentials 
of EMI, yet the 

implementation is considered 
challenging.

various conceptualisations of
EMI

teachers’ and students' limited 
English proficiency 

narrow sense of 
'internationalisation'

https://doi.org/10.31849/elsya.v4i2.11031


 
Elsya : Journal of English Language Studies 

ISSN (Online) 2684-9224, ISSN (Print): 2684-7620 

Vol. 4, No. 3, October 2022, pp. 197-213 

https://doi.org/10.31849/elsya.v4i2.11031  

  

 

 

 

 
 
How to cite this article: Santoso, W., & Kinasih, P. R. (2022). Understanding University Teachers’ Perspectives of English Medium Instruction in Indonesia. Elsya : 
Journal of English Language Studies, 4(3), 197-213. 

207 

concept of intentionality into the process of integrating 

international aspects into tertiary education and to add 

explicit purposes, i.e., to improve the quality of education 

and to contribute to society at large (de Wit et al., 2015). 

Unlike two of the participants in this study who touched upon 

the importance of improving educational quality and 

impacting local people, the other participants seemed to 

perceive internationalisation as merely a way of competing 

with other universities. This may indicate that the 

implementation of EMI in this context is largely determined 

by “political and ideological grounds rather than educational 

ones” (Kirkpatrick, 2006, p. 71). In this sense, the idea of 

internationalisation aims to make the university more 

prestigious, increase the intake of foreign students, and 

compete among state and private universities (Macaro, 

2018). It could not be denied that these forms of 

internationalisation results in financial benefits for the 

universities, which have become one of the driving forces in 

the implementation of EMI (Simbolon et al., 2020).  

It has become apparent that the results of this study 

demonstrate the significance of English for improving global 

competitiveness. In other words, for the participants, the 

spread of English in this context is unavoidable, therefore, 

acquiring English is a must in order to engage in successful 

international participation, particularly in the educational 

domain (Bowles & Murphy, 2022; Galloway & Rose, 2021). 

The increasing status of English as a global language has 

raised an issue regarding Englishisation (F. Costa & 

Mariotti, 2022), referring to the growing presence of English 

at all levels in the academic setting (Galloway & Mckinley, 

2019). Some scholars (Haines et al., 2022; Phillipson, 2015) 

argue that Englishisation could serve as either a blessing or 

a threat in higher education. In this present study, English 

language requirements were applied to the prospective 

students enrolling on the EMI programme. Although none of 

the participants was required to meet a certain standard of 

English language proficiency, they presumed that their 

qualifications for being graduated from foreign universities 

had contributed to faculty hiring decisions. This 

phenomenon may indicate that Englishisation could 

arguably lead to social injustice, i.e. both students and 

lecturers with limited exposure to English have limited 

opportunities for experiencing ‘the internationalisation’ in 

higher education. 

The fact that Indonesia is a multilingual and multicultural 

country with hundreds of local languages should be taken 

into account in its language policy-making. This 

linguistically diverse country has consequently faced a 

complex issue regarding language policies and practices. 

The national language policy has gone through a long 

journey constituting important moments such as, the Youth 

Pledge in 1928, the First until the Third Language Congress 

in 1950s-1970s, and other subsequent congresses (Hamied, 

2012). These historic events have contributed to the status 

and function of languages in Indonesia. Bahasa Indonesia 

has gained the status of national language, while other 

indigenous languages have the status of regional or local 

languages.  

The country’s linguistic ecology has also expanded due 

to the dominant roles of English in the global level. 

Nevertheless, positioning English within the richness of 

languages in Indonesia is an intricate phenomenon (Zein, 

2019), let alone including it in the Indonesia’s education 

curriculum and offering it as a MOI. Some of the concerns 

include in what level of education English should be 

introduced, how the incorporation of English could affect 

one’s mastery of Bahasa Indonesia and local languages, and 

whether the government have sufficient numbers of qualified 

English teachers, not to mention teachers who can deliver 

content through English.  

The dilemma mentioned previously are also reflected in 

some of the participants’ responses. They showed some 

apprehension concerning how the dominant roles of English 

could negatively affect one’s ability in using the Indonesian 

language for academic purposes. The same unease about 

Englishisation can also be found in Murphy & Mengistu 

(2022) research, revealing that it could pose a risk to the 

multilingual setting of tertiary education. In this current 

study, the participant's use of the Indonesian language 

intended to facilitate communication and understanding of 

content learning could also be seen as a way to legitimate 

multilingual practices. Although the monolingual English 

instruction remained popular, the participants had a more 

flexible stance towards the utilisation of English. None of 

them regarded the use of students’ own language as tainted. 

In contrast, they gave space for other language(s) to support 

students’ content knowledge despite the English-only policy 

imposed on the EMI programme. The result of this study is 

similar to what Kirkpatrick (2019) has argued that EMI 

should not enforce the exclusive use of English as the 

linguistic resources of both teachers and students actually 

play significant roles in comprehending the content 

successfully. To put it another way, the implementation of 

EMI “must be conducted within a framework of 

multilingualism” (Kirkpatrick, 2019, p. 293). The 

implication of this view is that the ‘E’ in EMI should be 

understood to also cover other English varieties instead of 

using a native speaker variety of English as a benchmark.   

In addition, the findings of this study suggest that EMI is 

conceptualised differently within the participants’ 

institutions. These varied characteristics and aims of the 

programme could be shaped by the institutional context 

(Chalmers, 2019). For example, the way universities 

structure their curricula, how they provide professional 

support for EMI teachers and students, and how they use 

languages as a medium of instruction are informed by the 

opportunities and the limitations existing in each educational 

setting. Unfortunately, similar to some research results (e.g., 

Macaro & Han, 2020; Yuan, 2020), all of the participants in 

https://doi.org/10.31849/elsya.v4i2.11031


 
Elsya : Journal of English Language Studies 

ISSN (Online) 2684-9224, ISSN (Print): 2684-7620 

Vol. 4, No. 3, October 2022, pp. 197-213 

https://doi.org/10.31849/elsya.v4i2.11031  

  

 

 

 

 
 
How to cite this article: Santoso, W., & Kinasih, P. R. (2022). Understanding University Teachers’ Perspectives of English Medium Instruction in Indonesia. Elsya : 
Journal of English Language Studies, 4(3), 197-213. 

208 

this study did not receive any training and support to improve 

their teaching strategies and facilitate students’ various 

needs. Obtaining PhD degrees in English-speaking countries 

seemed to be the underlying reason for encouraging the 

lecturers to teach EMI, as if assumed English proficiency is 

the major requirement for teaching the programme (Kuteeva, 

2014; Worthman, 2022). Without sufficient training and 

preparation in EMI teaching, some teachers grapple to make 

meaningful connections between language and content, 

which are deemed important to mediate students’ mental 

processing and co-construct content knowledge (Yuan, 

2020). As for students’ support, the universities in this study 

did not offer language support in the form of academic 

English courses (EAP courses) for both local and 

international students. According to the participants, the 

universities fully relied on the admission requirements, e.g. 

TOEFL or IELTS certificates, assuming that these 

standardised tests could adequately predict students’ abilities 

in following EMI in the long run. Numerous scholars (e.g. 

Hamied & Lengkanawati, 2018; Macaro, 2019) have 

suggested that extra language support for students is required 

to equip them with sufficient language skills. Indeed, the 

awareness of educational institutions regarding students’ 

language needs will largely affect the successful 

implementation of EMI (Bienzobas et al., 2019; Hua, 2019; 

Macaro, 2020). Focusing solely on the teaching of content 

without investing in professional development and in the 

integration of ELT into the EMI programme could be 

considered an unethical responsibility of universities 

(Mckinley & Rose, 2022).  

To sum up, the overall results of this study suggest that 

the implementation of EMI requires deliberate planning 

which should go beyond making English the medium of 

instruction (Worthman, 2022). It seems apparent that the 

universities involved in this study have placed a heavy 

emphasis on the competitive advantages EMI could offer. As 

a result, these universities may not have solid theoretical and 

pedagogical underpinnings for the enactment of EMI, 

particularly in the Indonesian context. As some scholars 

(Khasbani, 2019; Worthman, 2022) argue, EMI requires a 

transformation in the curriculum which should take into 

account the interconnectedness between English language 

teaching and the pedagogical setting. In addition, the 

multilingual nature of Indonesia has contributed to the 

intricacy of EMI. A crucial issue of how the implementation 

of EMI could be grounded in multilingual and multicultural 

resources should become one of the considerations in the 

language planning and policy-making (Chalmers, 2019; P. I. 

de Costa et al., 2020; Hamied & Lengkanawati, 2018). It is 

essential to note that adopting the educational policy that has 

been reported successful in other countries requires thorough 

examinations as to whether and to what extent such a policy 

could fit in with a particular teaching context. 

 

 

6. Conclusion 

The results of this study have demonstrated that the 

implementation of EMI is driven by various factors such as, 

encouraging internationalisation among universities, 

increasing academic reputations, and participating in global 

competitions. The participants in this study have generally 

shown a complex perception toward EMI given both 

potential benefits and challenges that EMI offers. Some 

concerns about EMI have also been underscored, e.g., 

students’ difficulties in understanding content, lecturers’ 

abilities in delivering materials in English, and a lack of 

professional EMI support for teachers and students. 

This research, however, is not without limitations. The 

number of universities participating in this study was limited 

by the access to potential respondents. Since this research 

employed a case study approach, it does not aim to generalise 

the findings to represent the majorities of universities in 

Indonesia. The number of respondents could have been 

expanded if we could balance the number of state and private 

universities involved in this study. Nevertheless, the results 

of this study have some degree of transferability, meaning 

that they could be transferred to other research contexts that 

share similar characteristics to the present study (Korstjens 

& Moser, 2018). It is also important to acknowledge that the 

data in this study relied on the participants’ subjective views 

towards the issues under scrutiny. Data triangulation using 

other data sources, e.g. policy documents and classroom 

observation, would have enriched and improved the rigour 

of this case study. However, restrictions on the access to 

other potential research data has become a challenge as this 

study deals with institutional policies and practices.  

Despite these limitations, this study has offered both 

theoretical and pedagogical implications. In terms of the 

theoretical sphere, this study has deepened the scope of the 

current literature in EMI from the perspectives of university 

lecturers in the Indonesian setting. It has also underlined the 

issue of internalisation in relation to Englishisation and its 

impacts on EMI. Hence, this study has shed light on the 

importance of looking at EMI with a critical eye, so that its 

establishment does not merely adopt what has been carried 

out in other states. As Dewi (2017) argues, irrespective of the 

advantages of EMI, English is not a neutral language as it is 

packed with certain values and ideologies. Therefore, when 

it comes to language planning and policy, the Indonesian 

linguistic ecology where Bahasa Indonesia and English co-

exist with the hundreds of local languages should be taken 

into consideration. This study has thus contributed to 

providing a different lens for reviewing EMI from the 

perspective of multilingualism. With regard to the 

pedagogical sphere, this study has highlighted the need for 

providing sustainable professional development for EMI 

lecturers as well as EAP courses for EMI students. This study 

has also called for balancing language policy-making which 

acknowledges English as a global language and at the same 

https://doi.org/10.31849/elsya.v4i2.11031


 
Elsya : Journal of English Language Studies 

ISSN (Online) 2684-9224, ISSN (Print): 2684-7620 

Vol. 4, No. 3, October 2022, pp. 197-213 

https://doi.org/10.31849/elsya.v4i2.11031  

  

 

 

 

 
 
How to cite this article: Santoso, W., & Kinasih, P. R. (2022). Understanding University Teachers’ Perspectives of English Medium Instruction in Indonesia. Elsya : 
Journal of English Language Studies, 4(3), 197-213. 

209 

time, places equal importance on the maintenance of 

Indonesian and local languages (Zein, 2019, 2020). 

Clearly, given the rapidly expanding EMI programme in 

Indonesia, empirical research in this context is still lacking. 

Further research could investigate EMI from the perspectives 

of other relevant stakeholders, such as students, 

administrators, and government officials in order to obtain a 

more comprehensive understanding of EMI in the 

Indonesian setting. Another possible research area is the 

effectiveness of EMI in enhancing students’ content 

knowledge and English competence to inform best practices 

and provide a strong rationale for its implementation in 

higher education. 

7. Acknowledgement 

This journal article was prepared with funding assistance 

from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and 

Technology of the Republic of Indonesia in 2022. 

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