(Re)inventing and (Re)negotiating Lecturer Identities in EMI: A Case Study from a State University in Sri Lanka

Abstract

The recent proliferation of English-medium degree programs has presented unprecedented challenges to higher education systems across the globe (Marsh, 2006). Considering that lecturers are expected to support learners from various first-language backgrounds in transitioning to English-medium instruction (EMI) upon entry to university, they have been required to (re)invent themselves and (re)negotiate their Concurrent Session Abstracts The 21" AsiaTEFL International Conference August 17-20, 2023 identities as educators (Jacobs, 2006). The aim of this study was to investigate the manner in which a group of academics from diverse disciplinary backgrounds and levels of experience responded to the introduction of an innovative curriculum on academic literacy (AL), which has been designed as a means of supporting EMI, in the faculty of science of a leading state university of Sri Lanka. This study, based on a poststructuralist theoretical framework, examines the views and reflections of all the stakeholders, which have been sought using interviews and personal reflections in journals. The researchers used a poststructuralist lens to analyse the data, as this was felt to be the most productive means of understanding the dynamic and contradictory nature of identity. The findings reveal that the initial identities (either as subject lecturers or language lecturers) remained more prominent and central and had a major impact on how successfully lecturers transitioned to embracing ALP identities. This study emphasizes the need for recognising the dynamic nature of identity (re)structuring and (re)negotiation and highlights that understanding this process can lead to a more productive collaboration between subject lecturers and language lecturers (Jacobs, 2006).