Within the English language teaching profession there is now general acceptance of the advantages of integrating language and content teaching. Yet challenges continue over how such integration can be accomplished within individual classrooms. In Asian universities using English as the medium of instruction (EMI), one of the key barriers to integration is the alleged reticence of learners to participate in spoken discourse within the classroom. If the language policy aims of these institutions are to be realized, these constraints need to be acknowledged. This paper uses a multidimensional investment framework to investigate the oral participation of one group of foreign language learners within their English for academic purposes (EAP) classroom at an EMI university in Hong Kong. Drawing on data from interviews, classroom observations, audiovisual recordings of classroom interaction, and documentary analysis, this paper argues that the successful integration of language and content teaching should include an appreciation of the institutional forces that constrain and enable learners' oral investment, how learners deploy a variety of knowledge, skills and understandings in support of this investment, and the degree of freedom learners enjoy in shaping the processes and products of their investments. The implications of this research for classroom practices are explored.
[Copyright © 2008 John Benjamins Publishing Company.]

This article examines language teachers’ attitudes towards use of the first language (L1) in second language (L2) learning and teaching from the perspective of teacher identity. Drawing on a theory of identity as both experiential and relational, in-depth interviews are used to explore the perspectives of six pre-service English language teachers in Hong Kong who had recent experiences of medium of instruction (MOI) policies and their implementation within Hong Kong secondary schools during an eight-week teaching practicum. The results suggest that MOI issues presented significant challenges to the participants as they struggled with multiple identities at the institutional, interpersonal, and intrapersonal levels. Implications for language teacher education, the formation and implementation of policies towards use of the L1 in L2 teaching and learning, and future research are discussed.
[Copyright © 2013 Asian EFL Journal.]