This paper outlines the results of multimodal analysis of video recordings of micro-lectures presented by participants in a higher education EMI training programme within a northern Italian university. The aim of the study was to gain insight into higher education EMI practices and competence levels. The training took place within the context of a growing drive towards internationalisation among Italian universities. Although many Italian universities offer some courses entirely in English, until recently there has been little opportunity for lecturers to undergo EMI training or to receive ongoing support. The most recent survey regarding EMI in Italian universities showed that only 10 per cent of universities provided methodological training and 2 per cent provided language training for staff teaching in English (Broggini and Costa, 2017: 253). The survey also demonstrated little change in instructional style over the 2012-2015 period: Italian university teaching still privileges a formal frontal lecturing style rather than a more interactive, student-centred approach (Broggini and Costa, 2017: 257). This suggests that methodological input in the form of training may be necessary as it is recognised that the international teaching context triggers the need to adopt different classroom strategies (Killick, 2015). The micro-lectures were delivered through English by lecturers from a range of disciplines, including law, economics, media studies, psychology, education and science. The multimodal analysis included an examination of spoken language with a particular focus on pronunciation, audio-visual presentations and non-verbal communication, as well as any other didactic material or strategies used by the participants. Multimodal analysis was used because it gives insight into lecturing styles from multiple perspectives (spoken-written-visual) and because such studies are scarce in EMI in higher education. Data from the recordings were considered in relation to feedback from the trainers with the aim of investigating features of EMI teaching strategy and establishing best practice guidelines. Keywords: multimodal analysis, EMI training, Italian universities, internationalisation of higher education, guidelines for ICLHE
