Theories In Practice: Understanding English Medium Instruction

This item is an issue of The University Grapevine, a practitioner-focused newsletter for higher education English language teachers. The newsletter disseminates pedagogical insights, professional reflections, and teaching-informed discussion aimed at supporting English-medium and English-for-academic-purposes educators working in diverse international higher education contexts.Issue 31 (January 2026) is a special issue reflecting on contemporary developments in higher education teaching and learning. It includes expert advice pieces and teaching articles that bridge theory and practice, with contributions from experienced educators and researchers. Content is designed to be accessible and practice-oriented rather than peer-reviewed, supporting professional development, reflective teaching, and classroom innovation.This archived version includes the article “Theories in Practice: Understanding English Medium Instruction” by Samantha Curle, which offers practitioner-oriented reflections on English-Medium Instruction (EMI) in higher education. The article situates EMI as a pedagogical, linguistic, and ethical practice, drawing on applied linguistics perspectives to highlight issues of language, power, equity, and academic literacy in EMI settings.The newsletter is preserved here as a citable professional output to support dissemination, visibility, and long-term access to practitioner-facing scholarship and knowledge exchange.