Bridging EAP and EMI: Professional development for EAP teachers in Chinese higher education

The rapid expansion of English Medium Instruction (EMI) in higher education, particularly in non-Anglophone contexts, has led to significant pedagogical changes due to the shift of instructional medium from the local language to English, which requires content teachers to adapt their pedagogical approaches to ensure effective content learning. Also, this (shift) requires English Language Teaching (ELT) practitioners to switch from teaching general English to English for Academic Purposes (EAP) to ensure students' academic success in EMI contexts. Since EAP is more demanding, this switch calls for increased professional development (PD). However, current literature reveals that EAP teachers' PD in EMI contexts is vastly understudied compared to that of content teachers. This study responds to the growing need of exploring EAP teachers' PD and their views on PD opportunities in a surging EMI context – China, where EAP teachers are increasingly indispensable for providing much-needed academic support for students. Document analysis of PD-related documents and interviews with EAP teachers (n = 20) and PD leads (n = 5) across different types of EMI provisions (EMI university, EMI college, and EMI programme) reveal that PD specifically for EAP teachers is currently lacking, possibly owing to lack of awareness and support at the institutional level. The study concludes with practical implications for the refinement of EAP teachers’ PD and advocates for fairer PD investments across teaching cohorts.