Territorial borders and the teaching of writing in english: lessons from research at the university of Balamand

Abstract

This chapter reports on a qualitative, multi-phase project undertaken at the University of Balamand (UOB), a private university north of Beirut that uses English as a medium of instruction (EMI). Two UOB researchers sought to discover whether writing skills taught in required English courses were transferring to subsequent EMI courses. Data from a syllabus review, interviews with teachers and students, and corroboration by an external consultant in Writing across the Curriculum reveal that even though UOB was an early adopter of EMI in the MENA region, the university needs to consider much more critically the complex implications of that linguistic decision.