Agnes Lam University of Hong Kong China email: agneslam@hkucc.hku.hk English-medium Instruction in Higher Education in China: Two Case Studies (a joint paper with Zhongshe Lu and Yi'an Wu)

This paper reviews the models and policy and pedagogical issues pertaining to English-medium instruction in higher education in China. There are five sections in the paper. Section 1 introduces the languages and language policies in China. Section 2 reviews the models of language education as articulated in the English curriculum in China throughout the educational system and focuses in particular on the distinction between English majors and non-English majors at university level. Sections 3 and 4 present two case studies: one on Tsinghua University, which is rapidly changing from an institution famous for its science and technology curricula into a comprehensive university, and another case study on Beijing Foreign Studies University, specializing in foreign languages and cultural studies. In the light of the two case studies, Section 5 revisits the issues and models of English-medium instruction emerging in China and makes recommendations about further development in China.


Agnes Lam is an Associate Professor at the English Centre of the University of Hong Kong. Zhongshe Lu is a Professor at the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures, Tsinghua University. Yi'an Wu is a Professor at the School of English and International Studies and a Research Fellow at the National Research Centre for Foreign Language Education at Beijing Foreign Studies University.