Redefining the Role of EAP in the Era of English Medium Instruction and expanding Transnational Education
Professor Nicola Galloway (University of Exeter) and Professor Bee Bond (University of Leeds)
The global growth of English Medium Instruction (EMI), alongside the rapid expansion of Transnational Education (TNE), is transforming higher education systems in non-Anglophone contexts. As universities increase English-taught provision and develop cross-border partnerships—often through programmes split between providers—there has been a clear shift in language education from English for General Purposes (EGP) towards English for Academic Purposes (EAP). This transition reflects not only intensified linguistic demands on students and teachers, but also the growing centrality of academic literacy and disciplinary communication in internationalised higher education.
This plenary explores the opportunities created by these developments to foreground the pedagogical and institutional significance of EAP in supporting successful, high-quality EMI and TNE provision. At the same time, we consider the implications of this shift for the professional status, recognition, and identity of EAP practitioners. Drawing on a case study in China examining professional development opportunities for EAP teachers in rapidly expanding EMI institutions, we highlight both the emerging possibilities and persistent challenges shaping EAP within shifting higher education landscapes.
We argue that systemic change is required to position EAP practitioners not as peripheral service providers, but as central actors in EMI and TNE curriculum design, staff development, and policy implementation. Such change is essential not only for quality assurance, but also for promoting equity across institutions, including more coherent recognition and support for EAP teachers working within English-medium and internationalised programmes.
As TNE and cross-border university alliances expand, we also examine the need for a more globally attuned EAP agenda—one that recognises cultural and pedagogical diversity across contexts, and balances demands for global English competence with local relevance, norms, and academic values. We conclude by outlining directions for future research and calling for more collaborative inquiry with EAP professionals to build a shared vision for sustainable EMI and TNE. Finally, we argue for more critical engagement with prevailing definitions of “internationalisation” in higher education, including deeper examination of partnership structures, the dominance of English, and the extent to which EMI and TNE can foster meaningful global engagement, knowledge exchange, and intercultural understanding. We call for a reimagining of internationalisation, EMI, TNE and EAP through a stronger focus on equitable partnerships and the power and centrality of language(s) to the work this involves.