Discipline-specific language learning outcomes in EMI programs in the People’s Republic of China

Abstract

English-Medium Instruction (EMI) practices in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) are still emerging and in need of further empirical investigation, in comparison to European countries. Existing research in the Asian context is mainly based on students’ and teachers’ perceptions and policy-related concerns. There is a remarkable lack of studies assessing students’ language and content learning outcomes through objective tests. This study specifically reports on language learning outcomes data in two EMI programs, namely Film Production and International Trade, taught by non-Chinese international teachers. Pre-post discipline-specific vocabulary and writing tests as well as pre-post grammar proficiency tests were conducted over the course of one semester and after the same number of hours of exposure. Results show that almost no progress was made as regards their general English grammar proficiency, as expected, but gains were found in productive and receptive vocabulary tasks and in the three measures of the writing task. The greatest gains emerged in the International Trade group in the vocabulary tasks and no differences were observed between the groups in the writing task. Results are discussed in relation to classroom teaching practices in the two groups, which were observed three times over the course of the semester.