University professors' representations on an online EMI course in Paraná - Brazil.

In Brazilian higher education institutions, English as a Medium of Instruction (EMI) courses and workshops play a key role in helping professors to rethink their methodology and their concepts of language, especially regarding English conceived as a lingua franca. In an attempt to bring a local perspective for EMI, this paper examines university professors' representations on an online EMI course for professors from nine public universities in Paraná. It is grounded on the concept of representation from critical discourse analysis. The results reveal the beliefs and motivations of the participants concerning EMI in Brazil. The motivations for EMI were related to language use/practice; the status of English in the world and in the scientific scenario or field of study; and internationalization reasons. On the other hand, the challenges were associated with language aspects and students' participation. In relation to the online course, results indicated that there were more potentialities than limitations and that the course had an impact on the resignification of concepts, especially related to English as a Lingua Franca as this perspective has the potential to transform professors' views on language conception and use of Portuguese in the classes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]