English Medium Instruction, Arabic and Identity in Oman’s Higher Education Institutions: Teacher and Student Attitudes

This study explored student and teacher attitudes towards English Medium Instruction (EMI) at the tertiary level in Oman, including its impact on learners’ Arabic use and socio-cultural identities. Data was collected through a 40-item Likert response scale questionnaire administered in English and Arabic to 415 students and 55 instructors at five tertiary-level institutions across the sultanate. Results indicate that participants identified a number of advantages of EMI, including increasing employment opportunities and facilitating communication in education and workforce settings. However, significant challenges, such as limiting student course content understanding and family communication about their studies, were also present. Teacher participants generally did not believe that EMI had any negative effects on learner identity and Arabic language use, although students held neutral attitudes about these issues and maintained that their content understanding would be enhanced through Arabic medium instruction. Despite these areas of divergence, independent samples t tests indicated that teacher and student participants held similar attitudes across most remaining questionnaire categories. Implications of these findings for EMI and L1 use at the tertiary level in Oman and in other similar education settings are discussed.