Published on December 4, 2025–Updated on December 4, 2025
Nadia Yassine-Diab, Associate Professor at the University of Toulouse (UT) and actual head of Languages Department at UT, will give an online lecture entitled "Designing an Effective EMI Framework in STEM Training:
the case of the University of Toulouse, France"
As internationalization reshapes higher education across Europe, English as a Medium of Instruction (EMI) is becoming increasingly widespread even in traditionally non-Anglophone contexts such as France. Since the enactment of the Fioraso Law (2013), French universities have expanded their English-taught programmes. Many of these initiatives, however, have emerged as isolated efforts by individual lecturers, often without institutional or pedagogical support to address the dual challenge of teaching disciplinary content while navigating a foreign language.
At the University of Toulouse, a significant shift has been recently initiated to address this gap. Involving science lecturers, English for Specific Purposes (ESP) instructors from the Department of Languages and instructional designers, the project fosters a structured collaboration to support upcoming EMI practice, while offering a shared space for dialogue, training and innovation. Following an exploratory diagnostic survey in late 2024, a modular training program was developed in 2025. It integrates digital tools, reflective teaching EMI strategies, localized pedagogical approaches, and an introduction to intercultural communication which all offer a flexible yet coherent framework tailored to teaching science in English. This presentation explores the transition from isolated individual efforts to a more collaborative, interdisciplinary model. It highlights hybridization practices, faculty perceptions, and the impact on teaching and learning in a foreign language. The case offers insights into how universities could support sustainable EMI through shared expertise and contextualized frameworks—particularly relevant in non-Anglophone contexts.
The event is organized by the AGH University of Krakow, in collaboration with the European Alliance UNIVERSEH.
