English-medium instructions in non-English-speaking countries: insights from a 10-year bibliometric study

Existing studies on English medium instruction (EMI) predominantly focus on policy frameworks in specific regional contexts and bibliometric analysis of global EMI, leaving a gap in bibliometric analyses that map EMI research in non-English-speaking countries. This study addresses this by examining the evolution of EMI research in non-English-speaking countries over the past decade. This study employed a bibliometric analysis of 100 EMI-related research articles published between 2014 and 2024 in the Scopus database. It utilizes VOSviewer and Biblioshiny-R to conduct keyword mapping, the most productive and impactful authors, annual and geographical distributions and sources of publication. The analysis reveals the most frequently discussed themes including higher education, internationalization and translanguaging. The study also identifies emerging themes such as code gloss, academic buoyancy and digital learning environments, and underexplored areas comprising EMI’s role in STEM education, student mental well-being and faculty training programs, offering new insights into evolving themes, publication trends and research gaps. The analysis also unveils that prolific publishing does not always mean high impact, revealing a disconnect between productivity and influence in EMI. Despite its growth, EMI research exhibits regional imbalances, with limited studies from Africa and Latin America.