A Critical Review of English-Medium Instruction in Thailand: Emergence, Conceptualization, Implementation, and Recommendations

Abstract

Driven by the forces of globalization, internationalization agendas, ASEAN regional integration, and increasing competition within higher education institutions, English-medium instruction (EMI) has expanded rapidly across Thai universities. Despite its growing prominence, EMI implementation in Thailand remains conceptually contested and pedagogically uneven. This article examines the emergence, conceptualization, and implementation of EMI in Thai higher education by synthesizing contemporary research on policy, pedagogy, language, and assessment. It then identifies five persistent conceptual ambiguities that result in EMI development, including the conflation of EMI with English language teaching, the belief that native-like English proficiency is necessary for EMI teaching, the assumption that EMI automatically improves students’ English proficiency, the perception that EMI guarantees educational quality and internationalization, and the belief that effective EMI requires English-only instruction. The review reveals a range of implementation challenges, including uneven English proficiency among students and lecturers, limited pedagogical preparation, assessment and curriculum tensions, institutional resource disparities, and the absence of a coherent national EMI framework. Taken together, these issues reflect a broader policy–practice disconnect in which internationalization goals often exceed local institutional capacity and classroom realities. Drawing on comparative insights from Taiwan’s Bilingual 2030 initiative, the article argues that sustainable EMI development requires moving beyond monolingual and deficit-oriented assumptions toward multilingual, context-sensitive approaches that integrate language support, disciplinary learning, and educational equity. The paper concludes with policy, pedagogical, institutional, and research recommendations for strengthening EMI implementation in Thai higher education.