Practical Strategies for Effective English as the Medium of Instruction (EMI)

Anmeldeschluss: 23. November 2026

This workshop creates an opportunity to reflect on your own teaching practice in English and to gradually develop approaches that enhance clarity and interaction. Topics include structuring explanations, supporting student participation, checking for understanding, asking questions, facilitating discussions, and addressing intercultural dynamics in EMI contexts.

Teaching in English as a non-native speaker requires more than subject expertise and language proficiency. It requires clarity, confidence, intercultural awareness, and the ability to create an inclusive learning environment for diverse students.

This interactive workshop supports faculty at universities of applied sciences in strengthening their communicative competence in English-medium instruction (EMI). Participants will develop practical strategies to explain complex content clearly, engage students actively, give effective feedback, and manage challenging classroom situations — all while teaching authentically in their own voice.

The focus is not on perfect English, but on effective communication.

By the end of this workshop, you will be able to …

• Strengthen communicative clarity through clear structuring, signposting, and paraphrasing techniques
• Increase teaching confidence in English by reducing anxiety around linguistic imperfection, developing strategies to handle gaps
• Recognize how teaching dynamics change when instruction is delivered in English and identify potential linguistic and pedagogical challenges in your own classrooms.
• Apply language-sensitive teaching strategies to make disciplinary content accessible in multilingual classrooms.
• Design and facilitate interaction formats that lower linguistic barriers and actively engage your students in English.
• Communicate expectations, tasks, and assessment criteria clearly and transparently in English in ways appropriate to their specific target group.
• Reflect on and adapt your own language use, pacing, and methodological choices in order to support student comprehension and academic participation.

The workshop combines short input phases with guided reflection, interactive exercises, and peer exchange. Participants work with authentic teaching scenarios, practise communication strategies, and receive structured feedback.

This workshop is highly interactive and practice oriented. It combines:

• Short expert input phases
• Guided reflection on participants’ own teaching contexts
• Language and communication toolkits
• Micro-teaching exercises
• Peer feedback and collaborative problem-solving
• Analysis of authentic classroom scenarios
• Ready-to-use phrase banks and structuring techniques

Participants work with their own course material wherever possible, ensuring immediate transfer into practice.

Please note:

• Participants are invited to bring a short example from their own teaching practice.
• Recommended English proficiency level: B2 or higher.
• Please bring a laptop if possible.