English-Medium Instruction in Korea: Rethinking the ELT Role

This study examines how the rapid expansion of English-Medium Instruction (EMI) in Korean higher education is reshaping the roles of English Language Teaching (ELT) practitioners. While EMI has been widely adopted as a national strategy for internationalization, its top-down implementation has revealed critical gaps in pedagogical preparedness, academic language support, and institutional coordination. Drawing on policy analysis and recent scholarship, this paper highlights the evolving expectations placed on ELT professionals—not only as providers of general English instruction, but also as key contributors to discipline-specific academic English (ESAP) and as collaborative partners in curriculum development. The study underscores the importance of structured language support systems, the potential of integrative models such as CLIL, and the need to formally recognize the linguistic expertise of ELT practitioners within EMI programs. To bridge the gap between policy and practice, it proposes a 3-Phase ELT Support Model, in which ELT professionals play a central role before, during, and after EMI instruction—via pre-sessional EAP, embedded ESAP modules, and post-course writing support. Ultimately, the study offers pedagogical and policy recommendations to improve the effectiveness and equity of EMI in the Korean context.