Abstract
The desire to improve institutional profile and students’ linguistic skills leads to the growth of English as a Medium of Instruction (EMI). While studies regarding EMI have been sufficiently documented, little is known about Arabic as a Medium of Instruction (AMI) in the expanding circles. To fill in the gap, our study examines EMI and AMI at IIU University (Indonesian Islamic University) using semi-structured interviews with six alumni of the program. Data were analyzed through Phan’s (2017) conceptualization of adjusted desire and transformative mediocrity. The findings demonstrate that EMI and AMI are strategically employed to symbolically legitimize the “international” profile. In practice, both EMI and AMI likely result in below-mediocre quality education. However, the participants still hold the (limited) power of transformation, as they view their recent teaching position and recognition as having been impacted by their below-mediocre EMI and EMI programs.
Keywords
Indonesian higher education (IHE): A brief overview
The embryo of higher education institutions in Indonesia can be referred to the existing teaching and learning in the so-called (pondok) pesantren before the Dutch colonization (Bukhori and Malik, 2004; Sakhiyya, 2018). The word pondok is derived from the Arabic term funduq, meaning a place or a modest dorm. Pesantren can be understood as an education system developed based on Islamic principles and implemented by an institution to educate people and make education accessible to anyone. Regardless of the various types of pesantren operating in Indonesia today, they all have at least three things in common: the presence of kyai-the intellectual leader of pesantren, the masjid or mosque, the santri(s) or students, and the teaching of Islamic classical books (Bukhori and Malik, 2004). These characteristics are later adopted by Islamic higher education institutions, in which they synergize the pesantren and national education system.
During the Dutch occupation, there were three higher education institutions introduced by the Dutch, namely, a medical school in Jakarta, an engineering school in Bandung, and an agricultural school in Bogor (Sakhiyya, 2018). These schools tended to be designed only for elite communities for the colonizers’ benefits. These include, among others, to produce skilled labor and control the local communities from access to knowledge. Nonetheless, these schools opened spaces for intellectual and nationalist people who then contributed to the independence of Indonesia. Among them was Ki Hajar Dewantara, who was later also called “the Father of Education of Indonesia” for his significant influence to Indonesia and Indonesian education. The rights to get a (quality access to) education is mandated by the Indonesian Constitution of 1945, article 31, which says “each citizen has the right to education.” Education should be made accessible as a public good instead of a commodity. Sakhiyya (2018) argues that this political position contributes to the failure of the privatization project of higher education in Indonesia. According to Rosser (2016), the strong connection of privatization to corporatization and commodification of education, which contradicts the constitution, leads to the failure of the project as well.
However, in the aftermath 1998 reform and as a result of globalization, education providers including higher education institutions struggled to maintain the virtue of education and were forced negotiate with local, national, and global demands to stay competitive. Sakhiyya (2018) marks it as a shift from knowledge transfer to knowledge economy-based education. In this sense, education is hardly accessible to every citizen but is restricted to certain elite groups. The privatization, internationalization, and partnership programs are among the endeavors and transformations of IHE relevant to what scholars have called as neoliberal education (Zajda, 2020). Neoliberal education reorients the objective of education from providing citizenship with knowledge exchange and liberation to making knowledge as a commodity (Sakhiyya and Rata, 2019).
The Indonesian Ministry of Higher Education, Research, and Technology reports that there are 3.276 public universities and 3.154 private universities throughout the country (Menristekdikti, 2016). Only 15 of them gain legal entity status (locally known as PTNBH—Perguruan Tinggi Negeri Berbadan Hukum), through which they are granted legal autonomy. Besides, these universities are expected to be more competitive and to enter the top 500 world university rankings. With such a legal entity status, they could independently manage the funding, program, and resources, and at the same time they were encouraged to improve international reputation and recognition profiles. As a response, these universities accelerate research and publications, attract international students and scholars, and offer English-mediated programs as well as English as a Medium of Instruction (Fitriati and Rata, 2021; Muslim et al., 2022).
IHE: Toward world-class university missions and internationalization ambitions
Under the ambition of attaining international reputation and recognition, English as a Medium of Instruction (EMI) highlights its critical status, currency, and role (Muslim et al., 2022; Sakhiyya and Rata, 2019). To achieve such goals, many of IHEs introduce English-mediated International University Program (EMIUP) (Muslim et al., 2022) or international class program (ICP) to attract international students, compete for global ranking, and prepare domestic students for the globalized world. The former program typically serves both students from local and overseas, whereas the latter is frequently attended by domestic students per se. They both use EMI and charge higher tuition fees than regular classes. Dewi (2017) reports that there is no a deliberate and clear regulation for program admission and selection criteria for EMI teachers in ICP. On the contrary, Hamied and Lengkanawati’s (2018) study in different universities demonstrates that EMI teachers with TOEFL score more than 500 who are “orally fluent” are preferred (p. 61). Muttaqin’s (2020) study on internationalization strategies embraced by Universitas Indonesia, Universitas Brawijaya, Binus University, and President University elucidates that students enrolling in the EMI program should acquire a TOEFL or IELTS score (500–550; 5.5–6.0) and to stay in a dormitory for 1 year with English as a medium of communication (only in President University).
Muslim et al. (2022) also highlight the government’s immense support to the internationalization of higher education and the EMIUP program by offering some scholarships to international students, including short course programs, exchange programs, or undergraduate and postgraduate degree programs. Internationalization of HE and EMI has received critiques because they perpetuate English hegemony and widen inequality and capitalism and neoliberal practices (Pennycook, 2017; Wahyudi, 2018). EMI and internationalization for Global South countries like Indonesia are chosen to stay competitive.
EMI has been the norm for internationalization (Macaro and Han, 2019) and is also evident in the Indonesian context. Although the intersection of English and internationalization has been investigated in many of Asian regions, for example, the UAE, Thailand, and Vietnam (Phan, 2017), Saudi Arabia (Phan and Barnawi, 2015), and Malaysia and Brunei (Barnard and Hasim, 2018), it has received little attention in Indonesia. Previous research has focused on EMI and IHE internationalization separately (Dewi, 2017; Floris, 2014; Hamied and Lengkanawati, 2018; Sakhiyya, 2018; Sakhiyya and Rata, 2019). To date, Muslim et al. (2022) and Muttaqin (2020) are among the few who examined the intersections of Medium of Instruction (MoI) and internationalization imperative at IHEs. However, these studies have extensively investigated the EMI and internationalization in public and state universities. In other words, EMI and Arabic as MoI in Indonesian Islamic Universities are scarcely examined. Located in an Islamic university, our research adds nuances, complexities, and tensions among existing desires to be a word-class university at the one hand, and to maintain distinct characteristics as a reputable Islamic university at the other hand. Islamic universities are mandated to produce graduates who are not only competent in their field but also hold Islamic characters and comprehend Islamic teachings (Wahyudi, 2018). Arabic language teaching and Arabic as a Medium of Instruction (AMI) program are therefore regarded as essential components of internationalization.
Adjusted desire, transformative mediocrity, and internationalization dreams
For IHE institutions, the desire to gain international reputation and recognition and to legitimize the “international” profile is unambiguously aspired through the opening of English-medium programs, accreditation by international bodies, and publication in reputable international journals (Chowdhury and Phan, 2014; Phan, 2017, 2018). Phan (2017) conceptualizes desire as a conscious commitment, practices, and endeavors that are often driven by imaginaries or promises of a (better) future. “Desire, hence, are manifested in aspirations and promises of, dreams and fantasies about, and associations with certain future and quality of life and experiences” (Phan, 2018: p. 783).
Phan proposed theoretical frameworks to re-understand complexities and interrelatedness of desire, (transformative) mediocrity, English, internationalization, and the idea of the West and East–West interactions. Due to a limited space, we will briefly summarize her conceptualizations and explain how these concepts can be used to understand the subject matter investigated in this study. Phan (2017) argues that ambitions for international reputation as embraced institutions can somehow be executed at the expense of democratic values, academic freedom, or academic integrity. The Yale-NUS project in Singapore, as Phan (2017) exemplified, demonstrates how the international reputation of Yale, which represents a true American liberal arts college, is silenced and “surrenders to authoritarian government for most meaningless cause – money” (p. 215). As such, the reputation and academic integrity that Yale holds and is proud of can be questioned. Phan (2017) also contends that desires can be “bought, exchanged, politicized, created, exaggerated, beautified, marketed, and faked” (p. 216).
In that sense, economic capital can control over desires and adjust such desires to legitimize the international higher education profile. However, it is also worth mentioning that desires are not always collectively attached but “disconnected, territorial, contained, and are bordered and far from being collective and infectious” (Phan, 2017: p. 217). Desires for a world class university and international hub of education, for instance, might be only advocated, accommodated, and circulated among small circle or elites or academics. In much broader scope, these desires may not be equally shared by students, teachers, staff members, or mundane citizens.
Such a manifestation of desires can be enabled by or channeled through English and internationalization imperative, and particularly through foreing language as a medium of instruction (FMLI) and ICP in our study. More than often that desire for foreign language competence and global cosmopolitan capital, for instance, is driven by the idea of English and the idea of the West (Phan, 2017, 2018). However, it is worth mentioning that desire can be detached and “do not resemble one’s initial imagination (Phan, 2018: p. 783).
Another important point from Phan’s (2017) conceptualization about desire is the notion of transformative mediocrity. While it is acknowledged and noticeable that desire attached to foreign language competence and internationalization can be exploited and faked, this desire can also generate new narratives and possibilities. In her two most comprehensive works about this concept (Phan, 2017, 2018), she illustrates Silvia narratives as a student from the Philippines to study in an international rural mountain university in Vietnam. Silvia’s narratives demonstrate how she appreciates her English and education in an allegedly “fake” international university and how, through her education in Vietnam, she becomes more empowered.
Phan (2017) also explains how the idea of the West played a significant role in accumulating legitimacy as well as in generating transformations and tensions. The idea of international, associated to the West, tends to be more symbolic than real. This symbolic international quality and partnership with the West however enables identity formation along with the role of space, place, and location. As the result, the term international is often abused and practiced with mediocre quality. Such a mediocrity is perceived normal, acceptable, and justifiable in that actors involved in the practice “do not feel qualified to challenge it or do not have better models” (Phan, 2017: p. 221). Besides, the mediocrity is also associated with “low-cost international education” affordable to students from low economic backgrounds. It results into a “negative” portrayal of students enrolling to the program as mediocre. Nonetheless, this mediocrity, subscribed to English medium program and to the idea of the West, is envisaged as a “safe option compared to any local Asian products” (p. 222). She recapitulates “The grand argument I am sustaining throughout the book is that the interdependent relationships between ‘the West’, ‘the rise of Asia’, the English language, and the commercialization of higher education have generated fertile space for more subtle ‘Western dominance’ and for Asia’s more open desire for affiliating with ‘the West’ under celebrated ‘Asian century’. This desire has been expressed openly, explicitly, and willingly by an Asia with its full agency!” (Phan, 2017: p. 223).
Foreign language medium instruction at IHE: The case study
The ambition for international reputation and recognition has normalized the use of more English than other languages. In that sense, again EMI tends to be the language for the university that is projected to improve international profiles. The university we examine embraces the education system of pesantren and at the same time desires for international reputation and offers an international class program with English and Arabic as the MoI.
The use of foreign language, particularly, English as MoI, has received much attention and been studied in many countries across continents. Lasagabaster’s (2022) brief summary on EMI in Latin America unsurprisingly demonstrates a similar outcome to those studies conducted in other regions. For example, the policy seems to be symbolic in that there is a lack of English proficiency among EMI actors, and inadequate support to help improve language competence. In this regard, EMI does perpetuate inequality. Besides, EMI reproduces “a detrimental effect on higher education institutions’ multilingualism and language ecology” (Lasagabaster, 2022, p. 9; see also Doiz et al., 2012; Kuteeva et al., 2020).
Such a choice of language policy favoring foreign language as MoI or working language has both desirable and undesirable consequences. Given that English as a dominant global lingua franca nowadays, internationalization of higher education with English has boosted and accelerated the access, spread, and growth of international profile. On the other hand, however, the game of internationalization is often required to be played through the medium of English. For instance, to attract international talents, EMI is preferred. To increase the visibility in the world rank, information and publication in English should be boosted. Scholars who may not have adequate English language competence cannot be able to sustain in such a game. The university that has limited resources may not also be able to cope with it. Such a practice therefore can perpetuate the marginalization toward minority groups, linguistic rights, and knowledge produced in the language other than English (Skutnabb-Kangas, 2006).
There have been plethora of studies investigating EMI in the light of internationalization in different contexts, for instance, in Korea (Byun et al., 2011), Japan and Saudi Arabia (Phan, 2013; Phan and Barnawi, 2015), and in Indonesia (Muslim et al., 2022; Simbolon et al., 2020). Drawing from surveys and focus group interview with Korean students at higher education, Byun et al. (2011) conclude that EMI has brought both positive and negative consequences. The former is associated with the improvement of students’ linguistic competence, while in the latter, lack of support system, large-scale EMI classes, and credible EMI teachers have doubled the undesirable outcomes. Phan (2013) study critically examines the intersection of English, internationalization, and national identity building in the case of Japan. English is appropriated and thus justified as a necessary tool to promote unique characters of Japan through the project of internationalization and participation in rankings and publication. The case that Phan and Barnawi (2015) highlight in the context of Saudi Arabia also reveals the similar portrayal in which English is positioned to play a significant role for going global. While Japanese government tends to internationalize from within and introduce values and identities of Japanese through internationalization, Saudi Arabia seems to rely on foreign partnerships and support to materialize the ambition of establishing international higher education. As for Indonesian context, EMI is not officially recognized as the legal MoI in that the government does not produce deliberate and explicit policy regarding internationalization project (Simbolon, 2021). However, Simbolon et al., 2020 and Muslim et al. (2022) argue that in Indonesia EMI is desired as a strategic tool to internationalize higher education, with which some universities offer English medium programs to attract international students and boost international profile.
It is also worth mentioning there is not much known about the role of other languages in the light of internationalization. Another foreign language medium instruction like French or Arabic as in the expanding circles is scarcely investigated. For French-medium instruction, few studies have investigated this topic, for example, Marshall, Moore, and Himeta (2021) in Canada, Ucar and Soruc (2018) in Turkey, and Courcy and Burston (2000) in Australia. To the best of our knowledge, however, studies on Arabic as MoI are not yet sufficiently explored. In Indonesian context, the teaching of Arabic in the schools is administered under the regulation, monitoring, and evaluation of the Ministry of Religious Affairs. In terms of Higher Education, the ministry is also responsible for educational practices of Islamic universities. Having Arabic language proficiency, being competent in the field, and holding nationalism and entrepreneurship skills are of typical and unique profiles of Islamic university graduates (DIKTIS, 2014). In other words, students graduated from the university are expected to have expertise in the field and to hold Arabic language competence as well. These skills are considered necessary to understand Islamic teaching especially from Turats—classical Islamic books.
Our study seeks to understand how the alumni of the program view the use a foreign language as medium of instruction in relation to their (academic) journey during and after their study. We aim to interrogate the desire, promises, realities, and (dis)advantages they may have encountered as a result of their enrollment to the program.
Research method
This case study research (Yin, 2018) focuses on interrogating desire, promises, realities, and (dis)advantages the alumni of ICP program in IIU University (Indonesian Islamic University, pseudonym), one of Islamic universities in East Java, Indonesia. Due to the pandemic, data were collected through semi-structured interviews via Zoom, WhatsApp instant message, and WA voice call, from 28 October to 15 December 2021. The length of the interview via Zoom and WA call ranged from 50 to 60 min. Data collection through WA instant message took several weeks. We agreed to use bahasa Indonesia during the interview to avoid misunderstanding and to help the participants express ideas without any potential language hindrance (see Wahyudi, 2018; Wahyudi and Chusna, 2018). All relevant data from the interview were then transcribed and translated for further analysis using Phan’s (2017) conceptualization of adjusted desire and transformative mediocrity. In doing so, we applied thematic analysis (Braun and Clarke, 2006) focusing on participants' responses related to the themes being investigated in this study.
These participants were recruited through the first author’s connection. As of 2017, he was assigned as one of the ICP teachers (part-time) for the ESP course. He asked for a help from his former students to seek for ICP alumni who graduated within the last 3 years. Nonetheless, we confirmed that we did not have any interest in either support or critique the program, MoI, or internationalization ambition shared by the faculty, students, or colleagues. Six alumni, three from AMI (P2, P4, and P5) and three from EMI (P1, P3, and P4), agreed to get involved in this study. All of them now work at different schools and Pesantren—Islamic boarding schools. They did internships in elementary schools in Thailand and Malaysia except P1. They reported that the MoI in Malaysian schools was Malay and English, and English only for Thailand context. However, the school also emphasized the use of Arabic as a medium of communication. In reality, unfortunately, rarely did students or teachers use English or Arabic language for communication.
Findings and discussion
Foreign language medium instruction: imaginations, burdens, and challenges
The participants in this study demonstrated a similar perception to the importance of foreign language mastery. Their interest to invest in ICP was geared by its promises to use, develop Arabic and English language skills, get internships overseas, and study abroad, and by its fixed distribution of class, courses, and number of students. The latter allowed students to not be worried about not getting the class nor to get busy arranging the class they wanted to enroll in each semester. Because we don’t need to compete and queue for taking the course every semester as non-ICP students should. (P1) I know ICP from senior students and the faculty as they did socialization in the first semester. They say that in ICP, we will use Arabic or English as a medium of instruction and can do internships overseas. I like Arabic and want to go abroad therefore I applied for ICP with AMI. (P2) I want to develop my English and continue to study abroad. (P3).
Aside from technical reasons as to not get burdened with the arrangement of the course, they desired for ICP in both EMI and AMI in that Arabic and English were considered an added value which they wanted to develop. The mastery of Arabic and English, no matter how challenging the EMI and AMI to them, is viewed as a linguistic capital (Bourdieu, 1991; Irham, 2022; Park and Wee, 2012) with which they could aspire to study abroad, be it in Arabic- or English-speaking countries. Valorization of study abroad endorsed by the teachers and alumni further seeds their motivation, commitment, and hope to the program. In other words, their desire to study abroad made use of ICP as the transit point and English or Arabic as a vehicle.
While the imaginary benefits of English language proficiency have been discussed and debated sufficiently comprehensively, lingua-cultural capital gain of Arabic competence is relatively absent. The desire to master Arabic expressed by participants in this study links to the aspiration to work as “Islamic education teacher that uses AMI” (P5) although he was aware that the vacancy was limited to bilingual education institutions. P6 imagined that her Arabic proficiency might enable her to travel or continue her study in Arabic-speaking countries. For P2, she claimed that her ICP has helped her gain TOAFL (Test of Arabic as a Foreign Language) score necessary for her (successful) scholarship application. However, the same awarding scholarship now has demanded TOEFL even for applicants who aim to continue in an Arabic-medium university.
Aligned to the promises of ICP as expressed by P2, P3 further emphasized that she was interested in it for the opportunity to do an internship overseas. This typical opportunity is “only offered to ICP students but there are selection processes” (P5). We then asked about the selection process and their internship experience overseas (see Table 1). They affirmed that the selection was aimed to measure students’ linguistic ability. Among questions asked during the interview was the commitment, if selected, to meet financial need. This is because the faculty or university did not fully cover the expense. Although this opportunity is offered to ICP students, they cannot afford this worthwhile opportunity unless they can secure the financial issue. The imagination of doing an internship abroad is not equal but subject to, among other things, economic capability. Under such a scenario, we argue that their desire has been constrained to not only linguistic competence but also to economic strength (see Phan, 2017). In addition, they also told us that there was a mismatch between the intention and reality as they didn’t use English or Arabic but Indonesian or Malay. I expect that I will use Arabic when I was selected to be one of the students to have an internship in Malaysia because I am from (ICP) Arabic. But, in there, we teach Indonesian students who are born in Malaysia, .. They speak Malay and limited Indonesian. (P5) No we don’t use Arabic in the class. They (students) may not understand it. We use Indonesian and sometimes Malay. But because both Indonesian and Malay languages are not that different, I can still understand. (P6) You know, we are in an Indonesian school whose students are also Indonesian-born. So yeah we don’t speak English. We also use Indonesian to speak with other teachers or staff. Just feel like sort of strange to speak in English among Indonesian (laugh). (P3) I little bit regret that I cannot practice my Arabic. But I think that experience (internship) still has benefits because I study a lot about discipline, punctuality, and creativity. Students are very creative so I have to very well-prepared for the class. (P2) Details of participants.
Their internship stories further elucidate a paradox about the ICP and its imagined “overseas” internship with which students desire to develop not only their skills in the respective field but also their linguistic competence as they imagine for a more established English and Arabic environment that they choose the program. The imagination of “international” and desire to gain overseas experience have been faked (Phan, 2017). It showcases that their linguistic competence in either English or Arabic does not really matter in the success of an internship. Moreover, dominant language in the host country, Malay and Thai, added by students’ limited English/Arabic competence, has forced the participants to adjust and negotiate their desire to practice or elevate their language skills.
Aside from linguistic issues, the students seemed to still gain benefits from their sojourn in that their internship experiences taught them about “discipline, punctuality, and creativity” (P2). These values were highly appreciated not only by P2 but also by other participants because “we can transfer the good things like punctuality and confidence” (P5) to students here (in Indonesia). P3 also told us that she was amazed with the student’s creativity that enabled the class to be very joyful. Informed by paradoxical realities and overwhelming burden related to the language barrier during the internship, participants in this study remain envisioned. They also carried out a positive and transformative vibe (Phan, 2017) as they could take some advantages for self-empowerment and contribute their personal and professional development in the home country. However, we argue that this transformation was limited, more personal and social impact than academic. The imagined international is bordered to internship overseas and the use of English and Arabic as MoI during the program.
Using English in AMI, using Arabic in EMI: tensions and mediocrity
To students, their choice to ICP with either Arabic or English MoI is often motivated by their high interest in both languages or their limited proficiency in one of them. For P5 and P6, for instance, they chose AMI because their English was insufficient and tried to get away from it. However, the classroom realities and policies did not always correspond to the “written” or agreed one. P5 narrated that in one of his classes, the teacher urged students to make use of English references in their papers because “some updated knowledge is often written in English (P5)” and because the teacher thought that ability in English would be very helpful for students. This teacher’s attitude toward English reflects what Alatas (2003) called “academic dependency.” A similar case was also experienced by P6 that she was asked to practice and use both Arabic and English for presentations.
The same happens to EMI students with teachers in Fiqh and History of Islamic civilization. These teachers, according to P1 and P4, required students to use references from classical Arabic books written in Arabic. Even more, on some occasions, the teachers asked students to practice reading those Arabic books in the class.
The classroom context was reported that AMI students were required to maximize their English competence and EMI students were encouraged to develop their Arabic language skills. Teachers might put some privileges to students with sufficient English and academic background. EMI students who happened to acquire Arabic language prior to their ICP could turn the situation into a beneficial moment in which they could exercise the linguistic capital and linguistic privilege (see Park and Wee, 2012). However, AMI students who tried to escape from English might find the situation terribly overwhelming. P5 told us that his English was limited but he didn’t have a choice when his teacher asked him to also use English references for the paper. To satisfy such a demand, he usually only relied on the help of Google “I can use English for speaking in very limited ways. But it is very difficult to write so I always use Google (laugh)” (P5). P5 was relying on the help of Google because the support from the faculty and teachers to elevate student’s linguistic competence was scarcely limited. This situation potentially leads to a mediocre quality (Phan, 2017). P6 who had been in a bilingual pesantren (Arabic and English) prior to the university, on the other hand, found that class very motivating because she could practice her English again.
The desire for the acquisition of foreign languages, Arabic and English, seems to be strong. However, the extent to which Arabic or English was used in the class as the MoI relies on, among others, teachers’ own desire and the linguistic competence of both students and teachers. The tensions among the term international class, English, and Arabic competence appear to be complex and are intertwined with their major, Islamic education. On one hand, they aspire for international reputation and recognition through English language proficiency. On the other hand, Islamic education profiles seem to be less legitimate without the mastery of Arabic language as well. To that end, the practice of using English in AMI or Arabic in EMI nevertheless showcases inequality and often leads into (below) mediocrity and more symbolic than real (Phan, 2017). However, it also seems to echo with Phan’s (2017) argument why such a mediocrity is sustained in that being able to use foreign language as MoI is considered a “safe option” to legitimize ICP.
FLMI at the workplace: benefits in questions
The previous sections have illustrated how ICP is envisaged as a transit point for a bigger dream and how FLMI has contributed to an attainment of linguistic acquisition as well as mediocrities. In this section, we further discuss their recent position and role as teacher educators. Their appointment to teach in those schools varies. P1 and P5 were firstly appointed as a substitute teacher before they finally got a teaching contract. P2, after completing her master degree, came back to teach in her former Pesantren and in an Islamic Junior High School close to her house. Her academic background, the cultural capital, is a privilege for her in that most of her colleagues in the school hold a bachelor degree (Bourdieu, 1991; Park and Wee, 2012). Other participants reported that they applied for the position in the schools. When specifically asked about the role of their English and Arabic to their recent job, they said It is more on our education background. (P2) No, they don’t ask (during the interview) whether we are from ICP or not. (P1) It looks the same whether you are from ICP or not. Our academic certificate also does not say ICP. (P5)
The role of EMI and Arabic in the workplace does not seem to contribute to their current appointment as teachers in the schools. What is concerned more is their academic background and probably their teaching skills and competence in the field. Put differently, their investment in ICP and during their ICP journey is not really helpful for securing a job vacancy. This finding echoes with Kubota’s (2011) study that English language competence does not necessarily correspond to success in the workplace.
Other participants view that their experience in ICP and ability in English and Arabic are appreciated in their current position. After teaching in the school for more than one semester, some of P5’s teacher colleagues knew that his Arabic was above average. He was thus offered to teach Arabic language in the school. It also happened to P3 that, although she rarely used English in the school, she received more trust and acknowledgment for her English language proficiency. She was often invited to train students for English speech together with English teachers. P2 reported that her Arabic competence and moderate English command enabled her to win the scholarship, take Arabic education for master degree, and get her recent teaching role in the school and Pesantren. Although not really sure, P6 also shared that her ICP background was recognized by her institution and that she was offered to supervise students in the dormitory implementing Arabic and English as medium of communication. Their linguistic capital offers them privileges and helps them gain recognition (Irham, et al., 2022; Irham, 2023).
With regard to the English and Arabic use in their workplace, only P2 and P6 reported that they still communicated in Arabic with students and few fellow colleagues. This usage seems to be tied to the institutional policy that embraces bilingual programs or international boarding school models. For the rest of the participants, very rarely do they use English or Arabic in the school, be it with students or fellow teachers. Although P3 is also appointed to train English speech, it does not open spaces to talk in English with them very often. However, she feels ecstatic that she can still practice her English. In other words, all mediocrities and inequalities during and after the ICP appear to serve limited transformative power in their specific time and space (Phan, 2017).
Conclusion
Phan’s (2017) conceptualization of desire and transformative mediocrity has enabled us to think about a space that is often unrecognized and unacknowledged. She points out that more than often, the West, the idea of the West, English, and internationalization of higher education were blamed for “imposing their ideas on Asia’s IHE” (Phan, 2018: p. 801). What is often not recognized is the role and process of exercising and enabling perceptions and desirability of those ideas and discourses played by the institutions or university in non-West, for example, in the case of Mountain University Member (Phan, 2018). The data in our study further illustrate how IIU University (Indonesian Islamic University) exercises the very idea of “international,” English, and Arabic through ICP and FLMI, to respond to the desire for international education. We further argue that students involved in ICP and FLMI can be categorized “below” mediocrity in that a) selection process of prospective students and b) international partnership that the university has collaborated with remain questionable. The desire for international experience is adjusted to the affordable ICP class, with affordable internships overseas. The economic strength or incapability can direct desires. The choice of Thailand and Malaysia as sites for doing internships can be a deliberate example how the term international is adjusted, “created, exaggerated, beautified” (Phan, 2017: p. 216). Although the place of the internship does not nurture or is able to materialize ICP students’ dreams, their experience overseas could be considered to be too good for a low-cost international class. With a limited financial capital, the big ambition for providing international education and experience needs to be readjusted and appropriated. The idea of international, English, the West, or Arabic in this case, does not seem to meet the expected outcome. Unlike in Phan’s (2017) example where institutions keep partnership with the West to legitimize their international profile, the ICP in our case study legitimizes their international program by the use of FMLI and by offering internship in neighboring countries even without deliberate partnership with “the West.” With that in mind, we argue that students’ experiences during their mediocre ICP and internship overseas at the end may give them limited transformative power.
In addition, our study has demonstrated how alumni of ICP with EMI and AMI desire for linguistic competence and internship overseas or study abroad. Promises of the so-called international class and English and Arabic proficiency have been sustained and circulated by the faculty members and senior students. Although the functions of English and Arabic are not fully gained, some alumni find their ICP experiences, challenges, and burdens beneficial and contributive to their recent teaching position. It is with ICP that they desire linguistic accumulation and development and overseas experiences. However, below-mediocrities and inequalities are evident in their classroom practices and in internship selection processes. Their desire is not free but is intertwined with economic capability and linguistic competence. Despite those competing issues, they still hold limited transformative power as they aim to contribute and begin to receive acknowledgment in their respective workplace even with their mediocre linguistic gains from the ICP journey.
The introduction of ICP has in this case helps the university, to some degree, shape the international profile and enabled students to go overseas in their internship programs. The ambition for an international reputation as well as for the maintenance of Islamic scholarship profile makes the use of Arabic and English as a medium of instruction in ICP possible, unique, and promising as a rhetorical marketing strategy.
Footnotes
Declaration of conflicting interests
The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Funding
The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Author biographies
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