This paper explores the interconnectedness of gatekeeper and gateway roles the same English-medium instruction (EMI) policy plays for different student populations at different times. The research site is located in an EMI programme at a Japanese university, where, for international students, EMI opens a gateway to the university, Japanese ability not being required at the entry point, whereas the same policy plays a gatekeeping role for Japanese students, a high English proficiency level based on native English speaker (NES) norms being required. However, for international students with plans to work for Japanese companies after graduation, their low Japanese ability starts playing a gatekeeping role for their future career, contrary to the situation at the outset. In contrast, Japanese students, who initially struggle to get used to EMI, after a few years, become empowered by their ability to use English as a lingua franca (ELF), which becomes a gateway to new career opportunities. Thus, the same EMI policy could play opposing roles for different student populations at different times, a gateway turning gatekeeper for one group, while for another, the initial gatekeeper turning gateway after some time. The exploration is mostly based on our interview data with EMI graduates at both undergraduate and graduate levels. Implications for language policy will also be discussed.

中文翻译：

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我们的网关是您的看门人：EMI 对于日本 ELF 环境中不同参与者的好处和限制


本文探讨了相同的英语教学 (EMI) 政策在不同时间对不同学生群体所扮演的看门人和门户角色的相互关联性。研究地点位于日本大学的EMI项目内，EMI为国际学生打开了进入大学的大门，入口处不要求日语能力，而同样的政策对日本学生起着把关作用，需要基于英语母语者 (NES) 规范的高英语水平。然而，对于毕业后打算进入日本企业工作的留学生来说，与最初的情况相反，日语能力较低，开始对他们未来的职业生涯起到把关作用。相比之下，日本学生最初很难适应 EMI，几年后，他们就能够使用英语作为通用语言 (ELF)，从而成为通向新职业机会的大门。因此，相同的 EMI 政策可能在不同时间对不同的学生群体发挥相反的作用，对于一个群体来说，网关变成了看门人，而对于另一个群体来说，最初的看门人在一段时间后变成了网关。这项探索主要基于我们对 EMI 本科生和研究生级别毕业生的采访数据。还将讨论对语言政策的影响。