To further advance English-Medium Instruction (EMI), Tamkang University’s Center for English as a Medium of Instruction has successfully applied for and been approved to host a U.S. scholar under the English Language Fellow Program from August 1, 2025, to July 31, 2026. The program, jointly sponsored and funded by the U.S. Department of State and the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), invites American scholar Jye Smallwood to serve as an in-residence fellow, providing EMI consultations for faculty and students as well as conducting academic exchanges.

This collaboration marks the third year of EMI teacher professional development jointly organized by TKU and AIT. For the first time, the program features in-person instruction by Smallwood, who will deliver high-quality training through three progressive levels—beginner, intermediate, and advanced. Each level includes 12 hours of instruction, offered in two classes per level. Participants who complete the training will receive a certificate of completion issued by AIT.

The initiative was first launched under the guidance of Prof. Hsiao-Chuan Chen, Vice President for International Affairs, in response to the U.S.–Taiwan Education Initiative. Through the English Fellow Program, TKU has been able to host an on-site fellow who not only enhances faculty EMI teaching skills but also offers the Key Cultivation University speaking course for students, provides university-wide English consultation hours, and enriches the campus’s English learning environment.

Smallwood holds a Master’s degree in Applied Linguistics for Language Teaching from the University of Oxford and is currently a doctoral candidate at the University of Cambridge. With over 17 years of teaching experience across more than 10 countries, he brings a wealth of international expertise and an engaging, interactive teaching style. His English-speaking course has already received enthusiastic feedback from students. Over the next 10 months, he is expected to have a profound impact on both teacher training and student learning.

Asst. Prof. Kai-Shu Wu, section chief of the Center for EMI, noted that face-to-face engagement through the fellowship program will significantly enhance learning outcomes. The center will continue to expand international collaboration, bringing a wider range of diverse global learning resources to TKU’s faculty and students. In addition to EMI training, the center is developing comprehensive support measures, including teaching assistants, self-learning software, online tutoring programs, a flipped classroom design, and guest lectures by English-speaking YouTubers and international scholars, to help reduce students’ language barriers in professional learning. Wu emphasized, “Our goal is to promote internationalization while also balancing students’ learning workload and supporting faculty in managing both subject expertise and language demands.”