Hospitals serve as a public space for medical practice. They also serve as an educational space. Effective, transparent, and timely delivery of health information is important at all times but especially in times of pan/epidemics. A crucial part of the necessary information dissemination is language-in-use for multiple purposes (medical practice,…

This article reports on a study of policymaking at transnational and local universities in China concerning English Medium Instruction (EMI) provision, and the impact this has on stakeholder experiences. It explores policymaking at two transnational universities, which are compared and contrasted with data collected at six other Chinese…

Recently there has been an increase in the number of students learning Mandarin Chinese (in mainland China and internationally). This increase has led to speculation that Mandarin Chinese is becoming a mainstream global language to the point of becoming a "lingua franca." This paper utilizes research findings from different regions and…

This viewpoint article provides a critical reflection on the gatekeeping and academic language practices of Anglophone universities, evaluating these in light of the promotional claims universities make about internationalization and global reach. I then consider the arguments put forward in each of the main articles in this special issue from…

It is increasingly recognised that attention should be paid to investigating the needs of a new test, especially in contexts where specific purpose language needs might be identified. This article describes the stages involved in establishing the need for a new assessment of English for professional purposes in China. We first investigated…

An analysis of China's existing "Vocational Education Law" finds that it does not focus entirely on human development or career advancement, nor does it fully reflect the special requirements of vocational education. It does not align the obligations, rights, and liabilities of vocational education stakeholders. The law does not specify…