Exploring the Effects of Language of Instruction on Student Academic Performance in Public Universities of Nepal

This study explores the students and faculty’s perceptions and experiences of the effect of language of instruction (LoI) on academic performance in public universities in Nepal. It is an extension of a larger study on academic performance in higher education, conducted using a sequential mixed-methods research design in Nepalese public universities. This part of the study focuses on the LoI and its effect on academic performance. In this regard, qualitative data were collected through in-depth interviews and focus group discussions with students and faculty from the education, humanities and social sciences, management, and science and technology streams of the universities. The analysis of the data reveals three overriding findings: a) the LoI policies and practices in the classrooms are ambivalent; b) students and faculty experienced English-dominant LoI as a matter of tension while relating to the differentiated English Language Proficiency (ELP) and the availability of learning resources; and c) the use of EMI in student assessment is inconsistent. This study also reveals that the LoI is a strong predictor of the students’ academic performance. Therefore, issues concerning the LoI in general and the EMI in particular must be addressed, both at the macro-level of institutional policies and practices, and the micro-level classroom pedagogies, at the universities and their affiliated campuses.