“Cross-Departmental Dialogues for Sustainable Success of English-Taught Programs” 
Vanessa Armand, Amanda Tomanek, Brandon Imamura 
Wednesday, March 28, 2018, 11:30 am - 12:15 pm 
E253a (Lakeside) 
 

Abstract 
 
The  growing  presence  of  university  English  Taught  Programs  (ETPs)  is  an  international 
phenomenon.  Utilizing  a  typology  of  challenges  to  implementation,  this  presentation  reports 
on  a  study  of  an  EAP  program  supporting  an  ETP.  It  highlights  importance  of 
interdepartmental  communication  for  effective  ETPs  and  offers  discussion  of  related  contexts 
and issues.  
 
 
Full Session Description 
 
The  rapidly  growing  presence  of  English  Taught  Programs  (ETPs)  in  higher  education  is  an 
international  phenomenon  (Dearden,  2014).  The  rise  of  these programs has been driven by the 
call  for  globalization  and  by  the  allure  of  local  financial  incentives  and  national  economic 
benefits  benefits  at  local  and  national  levels.  However,  the  lightning  growth  of  these  programs 
has  created  several  challenges  for  stakeholders,  as  necessary  contextual  analysis  before 
implementation  may  be  overlooked  (Bradford,  2016).  Furthermore,  these  issues  may  be 
compounded  by  lack  of  communication  across  departments  within  these  programs  (Brown, 
2016).  This  presentation  will  report  on  preliminary  findings  of  an  ongoing  research  study 
investigating challenges of an ETP in a Japanese university.  
 
This  presentation  will  contextualize  the  global  rise of ETPs and explore facets complicating the 
international  conversation  regarding  best  practices  of  ETP  implementation.  Next,  it  will 
expand  on  the  findings  of  recent  studies  in  the  Japanese  context  and  explore  Bradford’s 
typology from the standpoint of classroom educators-cum-curriculum coordinators for an EAP 
program  supporting  an  ETP.  Finally,  it  will  highlight the importance of horizontal and vertical 
communication  in  the  development  of  sustainable  and  effective  ETPs. Participants from other 
programs  experiencing  similar  challenges  are  encouraged  to  attend  and  to  contribute 
context-specific issues for discussion. 
 
 
 
 
  
 
“Cross-Departmental Dialogues for Sustainable Success of English-Taught Programs” 
Vanessa Armand, Amanda Tomanek, Brandon Imamura 
Wednesday, March 28, 2018, 11:30 am - 12:15 pm 
E253a (Lakeside) 
 

Key Terms, Acronyms, and Literature:  ● Key literature: 

  ○ Bradford, A. (2016). Toward a typology of 
● Acronyms:  implementation challenges facing 
○ AL: Academic Literacy  English-medium instruction in higher 
○ ELF: English as a Lingua Franca  education: Evidence from Japan. ​Journal of 
○ EMI: English-Medium Instruction  Studies in International Education, 20​(4), 
○ ETP: English-Taught Program  339-356. 
 

● Stakeholders:  ○ Brown, H. (2016). English-medium instruction 

○ S1: AL teachers of W2 (writing) course  in Japan: Discussing implications for language 
■ S1a: the researchers  teaching. In P. Clements, A. Krause, & H. 
Brown (Eds.),​ Focus on the learner.​ Tokyo: 
○ S2: English Language Program 
JALT. 
administrators 
○ S3: Other AL faculty: W1 (pre-requisite  ○ Brown, H. (2017). Why and why now? 
writing), R (analytical reading), & S  Understanding the rapid rise of 
(public speaking)  English-medium instruction in higher 
○ S4: ETP content faculty  education in Japan.​ Journal of International 
Studies and Regional Development, 8​, 1-16.  
○ S5: University administration 
   
● University Hierarchy  ○ Dearden, J. (2014). ​English as a medium of 
instruction - a growing global phenomenon​. 
London, UK: British Council. Retrieved from: 
https://www.britishcouncil.org/sites/default/fi
les/e484_emi_-_cover_option_3_final_web.pd
f  
  
○ Toh, G. (2013). Where realities confront ideals: 
the personal, professional, philosophical and 
political in the teaching of academic English in 
a Japanese setting. P​ olicy Futures in Education, 
11​(5), 589-605. 
  ○ Toh, G. (2016). Extrapolating from an inquiry 
● Bradford’s (2016) Typology:  into curricular issues concerning the adoption 
of English as medium of instruction in a 
Japanese university situation.​ ​Latin American 
Journal of Content and Language Integrated 
Learning, 9​ ​(1), 210-235. 
doi:10.5294/laclil.2016.9.1.9 
 
Contact info: 
Vanessa Armand: varmand@tiu.ac.jp 
Amanda Tomanek: atomanek@tiu.ac.jp 
  Brandon Imamura: bimamura@tiu.ac.jp