“Improvisation is not allowed in a second language”: A survey of Italian lecturers’ concerns about teaching their subjects through English

Abstract

AbstractEnglish-medium instruction (EMI) is increasingly being introduced not only in universities in northern Europe but also in central and southern countries, such as Italy. However, the competences and concerns of the lecturers involved are not always considered when such developments are introduced, and support or training may not be offered. This paper reports on a survey on EMI to which 115 lecturers in a public university in northern Italy responded. The survey was carried out by the university’s Language Centre as part of the LEAP (Learning English for Academic Purposes) Project, which was developed to support lecturers in EMI. The survey sought to identify what the lecturers perceived as their strengths and weakness in English, their concerns, and also their evaluations of the experience of teaching through English if they had any. The findings discussed in this paper shed light on the needs of lecturers who are involved in EMI, which relate to methodology as well as language issues. The implications of this for European university language centres intending to support EMI at their universities are discussed in the conclusion.