EMI programs and formative assessment

Abstract

Abstract Research and discussion on assessment in English Medium Instruction (EMI) programs, specifically on formative on-going assessment theory and practice, is scant. This is despite the shift in education towards assessment for learning paradigms, and the potential contribution of on-going feedback-led assessment for coping with the challenges that the EMI content/language framework presents. This paper attempts to account for the absence of formative assessment from EMI programs by examining EMI as an international construct, situated in higher education institutional organizational and assessment cultures. It emphasizes the need for training in assessment for EMI content lectures, and concludes by identifying four areas relevant to their EMI assessment literacy (EMIAL): contextual and policy literacies; the role of language in facilitating content learning; formative assessment for learning orientations; and awareness and understanding of students’ linguistic and content needs.