Senior Trainer Simon Dunton outlines how the Oxford EMI English Language Skills for EMI Lecturers course came about and what its aims are.

February 2026 saw the launch of The Oxford EMI Language Skills for EMI Lecturers course. In this post, Senior Trainer Simon Dunton outlines how this online course came about, what its aims are, and how it has been designed to meet these aims.

This blog post compliments the article Dunton, S. (2026). Designing an ESP course. Modern English Teacher, 35(4), 65–67.

Interviewer: Simon, this course was launched at the start of 2026. How did the need for this specific English language course come about?

Simon Dunton: It really grew out of our observations on the ground and discussions with lecturers who have taken our EMI training courses. We work with brilliant lecturers and academics from around the world, including China, France, Turkey, Ukraine, Taiwan, Japan, Uzbekistan and Viet Nam. These are experts in physics, economics, medicine, history and so on who are now faced with the challenge of teaching their courses in English. For many, this challenge relates not only to adjusting the approach and pedagogy required for planning and delivering an EMI course, which we explore on our training courses, but also knowledge of the “functional” English required to manage a more interactive (and international) classroom. 

In response to lecturers asking us what exactly to say in class, we realised that they don’t need a general English grammar course, they need a language toolkit for the specific linguistic “moves” that happen during a class.

Interviewer: What are the main aims of the course? What do you want an EMI lecturer to walk away with?

Simon: Our primary aim is to build confidence through competence. We want to strip away some of the anxiety that comes with teaching in a second language. Specifically, the course aims to help lecturers “signpost” their lectures clearly, manage student interactions effectively, and use visuals to support (rather than distract from) their delivery. It’s about making the English they use a bridge to the subject matter, not a barrier. Ultimately, we want lecturers to feel they have the linguistic knowledge and skills to teach their EMI classes confidently.

Interviewer: The course is structured into four distinct modules. Can you talk us through how these achieve the course aims you’ve just mentioned?

Simon: That’s right. In light of our experience delivering EMI training courses and conducting hours of observations of real EMI classes, we’ve broken the course down into four modules, each with a specific focus.

In Module one, we focus on the language of “signposting” when delivering a lecture. So, how do you introduce a topic, transition between points, or summarise ideas and stages? This language helps students follow the logic of the lecture, even if the content is complex.

In the second module, we look at what is often the most stressful part for EMI lecturers, working with questions. We explore the language for introducing discussion questions, handling student responses and encouraging further discussion. It turns a scary moment into a manageable one.

Module three highlights the language needed when setting up interactive classes. This is important as one of the dual aims of EMI courses is language development, so students need opportunities in every class to talk and work together. We explore the language needed to set up group work, give instructions, and facilitate feedback.

The final module is on using visuals, so how to use language to support and explore quotes, charts, tables, pictures and other visuals that support student understanding.

Interviewer: And how is each module explored over the course?

Simon: The course runs online over four weeks — one module per week. Each week, course participants have one or two short exercises to complete relating to a given video extract of a real university lecture. We then meet for an online 90-minute, live, interactive class to explore the useful, functional language related to the module topic of the module. There’s plenty of opportunity for course participants to use and get feedback on this language. 

After each class, course participants have access to downloadable support materials, as well as links to further useful tools and resources.

Interviewer: And do the course participants interact with each other?

Simon: Absolutely! We practise what we preach, so this is a very practical course with plenty of opportunity to practise and get feedback in each live session. This includes focussing on what we can say, but also how we say it, to ensure our students understand what we are saying, and what we want them to do. 

So, for example, lecturers practise opening a lecture, handling tricky questions from a “student” (another course participant) and introducing visuals they might use in their real lectures. This gives course participants the space and opportunity to practise (and get feedback on their use of) the language in a safe environment.

Interviewer: Finally, what’s the biggest “aha!” moment you have seen from participants so far?

Simon: I think it’s the realisation that there is no such thing as “perfect” English and that there are many varieties of English. So, EMI lecturers don’t need to be “perfect” speakers of English (whatever that means!) to be excellent EMI lecturers. They realise that by using the right functional language, they can be just as effective in English as they are in their own language(s).

Does this sound like the course for you?

This online course runs every month over four weeks. You can find more details on the course content, fees and how to enrol on the Language Skills for EMI Lecturers page of our website.

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Simon Dunton is a Senior Trainer at Oxford EMI with over 20 years of experience in education and teacher training worldwide.