Implementing Critical Media Literacy in an EMI Course

With the effort to internationalize higher education in Korea, many universities actively recruit international students, and English as a Medium of Instruction (EMI) courses specifically designed for the international/exchange student body has been created. The data is collected from an elective EMI course in a women’s university located in Seoul, Korea in 2013. The data are 1) class discussion reports, 2) written survey, 3) interviews, and 4) final reports, and the students taking the courses comprised of Korean returnee students, Korean students with high English proficiency, international students, and exchange students. The course, Korean Pop Culture, offers various topics related to critical perspectives through reading materials, films, advertisements, dramas, and songs. The results of data analysis have three folds: 1) perceptions toward medium of instruction, 2) perceptions toward the content of the course, critical media literacy, and 3) perceptions toward classroom management based on critical pedagogy. First, most of the participants with high English proficiency welcomed EMI, but some exchange students with low English proficiency preferred Korean as a medium of instruction. Second, many participants reported that they came to have critical perspective in terms of K-pop or Korean wave. Third, many participants enjoyed an active agent role in light of classroom discussion but did not feel comfortable with active role in grading. The results have brought meaningful educational implications.