“Returning” English-Medium Instruction Research to Practitioners: A Circular Applied Linguistics Inquiry with Physics Lecturers

Abstract

Aim: This study examines how EMI lecturers interpret, validate, and contest research claims about English-medium instruction (EMI). Framed through circular applied linguistics, it explores what happens when EMI research claims are presented to practitioners for interpretation in relation to their teaching contexts.

Design: Using a collaborative qualitative design, five EMI physics lecturers at a Swedish technical university engaged in asynchronous online discussions structured around EMI research claims concerning language, multilingualism, pedagogy, English proficiency, and student challenges. Discussions were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis.

Results: Rather than confirming or rejecting EMI research claims, participants selectively recontextualized them through the realities of physics teaching. Claims aligned with disciplinary communication and multilingual classroom practices resonated strongly, whereas claims foregrounding pedagogical deficit or language-related difficulty were frequently accepted with caveats or contested outright. Lecturers repeatedly shifted EMI explanations from generalized language framings toward the communicative and epistemic demands of physics practice.

Originality: The study demonstrates how circular applied linguistics can reposition EMI lecturers from research subjects to interpreters and evaluators of EMI scholarship, contributing a dialogic and practitioner-oriented approach to EMI research relevance. Findings suggest that EMI support and research dissemination should emphasize structured dialogue with disciplinary lecturers about the communicative, epistemic, and multilingual realities of their teaching.