How professors learn to teach across language barriers—and what it reveals about global teamwork
A new study finds that when university educators from different countries collaborate online to improve their English-language teaching, those who interact most frequently actually write more clearly and simply. The discovery suggests that genuine cross-cultural communication—not formal training alone—reshapes how professionals think about language, identity, and working together in an increasingly multilingual workplace.
Originaltitel: ELF is the glue that binds us: Negotiating linguistic and pedagogical practices in an online EMI professional development course
This study explores how university educators engage with English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) in a Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) professional development course for English-Medium Instruction (EMI). The study is guided by the following research questions: how do university educators from diverse disciplines engage with ELF in a COIL EMI professional development course; in what ways do their interactions, reflections, and evolving language ideologies shape their teaching practices, professional identities, and sense of community? It adopts a mixed methods design: quantitative analysis maps interaction patterns among participants in the course forum and measures text complexity of their posts, while qualitative thematic analysis uncovers participants’ reflections on language, pedagogy, and identity. Quantitative analysis showed that some groups had lengthier and deeper exchanges than others. Groups with more interaction tended to feature posts with less complex, more readable text. Thematic analysis identified three overarching themes: language ideology and power dynamics, navigating identity and growth, and implications for teaching and learning. In the forum, ELF served not only as a communicative tool, but also as a catalyst for pedagogical adaptation, emotional expression, and community building. The study highlights the transformative potential of ELF-aware professional development and underscores the value of reflective, dialogic spaces in fostering inclusive, transnational communities of practice. • This study explores online interaction in a COIL project for EMI educators. • It draws on data from the course module on English as a Lingua Franca. • It maps interaction patterns in the forum and analyses educators’ ELF experiences. • Through the forum, participants build an online EMI community of practice. • The paper argues that COIL can be a powerful space for EMI professional development.