English Medium Instruction as a Medium for Educational Development: Examining Teachers’ Pedagogical Practices in Pakistani Secondary Schools

Abstract

English as a medium of instruction (EMI) in non-native-language settings, such as Pakistan, is often seen as a way to modernize education and achieve economic mobility. This mixed-methods study challenges this assumption by exploring whether EMI generally serves as a true catalyst for educational development or merely a symbolic one. This study employed a non-experimental research design using a structured questionnaire, semi-structured interviews, and classroom observations to gather data from 280 teachers of secondary schools from public and low-fee private schools in Punjab province. The quantitative results indicated that code switching was observed at high frequencies (M = 4.35), rote memorization was observed at high frequencies (M = 4.12), teacher-centered lecturing was observed at high frequencies (M = 4.35), and conversely, interactive discussion was observed at low frequencies (M = 2.45). The problems that teachers reported were students' and teachers' English proficiency, a lack of teachers’ training in EMI, and a lack of alignment between the curriculum and the assessment systems. Academic beliefs that current EMI practices support conceptual understanding and critical thinking, and that they have a positive impact on educational equity, remained below neutral. Qualitative themes showed that translanguaging and simplification are pragmatic survival strategies that are not planned pedagogically but give rise to surface learning and reinforce linguistic hierarchies. Based on Bourdieu’s concept of linguistic capital and the sociocultural approach, the research concludes that the current state of EMI mostly replaces rather than supports system-wide pedagogical reform. Language-in-education policy, bilingual teacher preparation, and equitable bilingual models are discussed.

Keywords: English medium instruction (EMI), teachers’ pedagogical practices, educational development, linguistic capital, code-switching, translanguaging, Pakistan secondary education, language policy, Bourdieu.