Perceptions Toward Adopting English Medium Instruction in Moroccan Higher Education

This study explores students’ perceptions and attitudes toward the potential adoption of EMI in Moroccan higher education, particularly in science faculties. There have been repeated calls to replace French, which is currently used as the language of instruction, with English. Proponents argue that taking this step would enhance the quality of Moroccan higher education and academic research and would internationalize its higher education since English is the world’s lingua franca and the language of science par excellence. To explore graduate students’ attitudes and perceptions toward the potential of adopting EMI, this paper employed a qualitative research approach. The data were collected primarily from graduate students enrolled in Dhar EL Mahraz science Faculty in Morocco. A semi-structured, open-ended questionnaire was administered online. The findings indicated that most participants have positive attitudes towards adopting EMI in Moroccan higher education and replacing French with English as the language of instruction, particularly in STEM disciplines. The participants stated that adopting EMI could provide students with greater opportunities in the global job market and international exchange programs. Notably, the predominance of English in scientific publications significantly influenced participants’ positive perceptions. Furthermore, the results showed that respondents believe EMI will open the door to more global educational partnerships and research collaborations with international institutions. Accordingly, this could contribute to the internationalization of Moroccan higher education and enhance its quality. Keywords: English medium instruction (EMI), Moroccan higher education, graduate students, perceptions, attitudes