English-medium instruction (EMI) teachers’ engagement with assessment in higher education: An ethnographic case study

Abstract

While assessment is critical in English-medium instruction (EMI) in higher education, limited research has explored how EMI teachers engage with assessment in practice. Guided by a multidimensional teacher engagement framework encompassing cognitive, behavioral, and socio-emotional dimensions, this ethnographic case study examined how six EMI teachers at a leading Chinese university engaged with assessment cognitively, behaviorally, and socio-emotionally. Drawing upon data from classroom observations, interviews, and teaching artifacts, the study generated four interrelated themes: inheriting and localizing, pushing and pulling, compromising and adjusting, and reflecting and developing, revealing that EMI teachers’ assessment engagement is a dynamic process shaped by ongoing reflection and adaptation. Building on these themes, the study further proposed a four-quadrant conceptual framework, including contextualization, functionality, negotiation, and evolution, to capture the situated, dynamic, and multidimensional nature of EMI teachers’ assessment engagement. The study extends current understanding of EMI assessment by highlighting the value of the engagement framework in capturing the nuanced realities of EMI teachers’ assessment work. Practical implications are provided with recommendations for institutional policy adjustments, EMI teachers’ professional development of assessment, and the promotion of practitioner inquiry to support more inclusive and adaptive EMI assessment practices.