First-year Students’ Attitude Towards English as a Medium of Instruction: A Study on Tishk International University, Erbil, Iraq

Abstract

The educational system encounters a massive shift regarding the medium of instruction, as there is an excellent focus on employing the English language in various disciplines in higher education institutions. Hence, it is crucial to investigate the benefits and challenges that stakeholders, including teachers and students, might encounter. Although researchers conducted many studies investigating EMI, no previous study has been employed to investigate the first-year students’ attitudes toward its’ implementing in private universities in the Kurdistan region of Iraq. This study aimed to investigate first-year students’ attitudes towards English as the medium of instruction and the challenges they encountered. The data collection was via a questionnaire and analyzed through SPSS. The research adopted a convenience sampling method. The research included 87 students in the second semester of the academic year 2023-2024 within two months. The questionnaire indicated different parts focusing on various aspects, such as students’ attitudes towards the English language, the challenges they encounter during the implementation of EMI, the improved skills, and the benefits. The results displayed the courses’ positive impact on students, including improving their skills, content knowledge, and vocabulary. This eventually reflected the optimistic attitude of the first-year students towards these courses. The results have some implications for the Ministry of Higher Education, such as providing intensive language courses for learners to support linguistic ability and high-quality learning