Navigating the Crossroads: English as a Medium of Instruction and Integrated Learning in Algerian Higher Education

Abstract

The recent top-down mandate for English as a Medium of Instruction (EMI) in Algerian higher education, reflecting a global drive for internationalization, has rapidly created a critical and widening policy-practice gap. This systemic failure, rooted in decades of turbulent language policy history, requires specialized diagnosis beyond logistical challenges. This study employs a critical integrative literature synthesis, utilizing historical policy analysis alongside emerging empirical data, to diagnose the systemic root causes of this crisis and construct a robust conceptual framework. The analysis is guided by three interlocking theoretical lenses: the pedagogical necessity of CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning), the deep resistance stemming from ingrained teacher cognition, and the unrealized potential of translanguaging as a multilingual asset. The study argues that the crisis is a systemic collision resulting from four core failures: the historical repetition of a disruptive "policy shock" approach, echoing the past Arabization campaign; the profound cognitive dissonance where content lecturers’ professional identity clashes with the complex, hybrid demands of CLIL; the pervasive suppression of organic L1 use, creating a deficit subtractive approach that increases student cognitive overload; and critical institutional misalignment within university structures. The study concludes that a sustainable path requires shifting the paradigm from EMI as simple language replacement to a deep, integrated pedagogical reorientation. It recommends comprehensive multi-level reforms, including a strategic pause for carefully monitored pilot programs, massive investment in sustained professional development targeting teacher cognition, and the critical realignment of institutional structures to leverage the nation's rich linguistic repertoire for truly equitable internationalization.