English-medium University Research Articles

Local residents’ attitudes toward and contact with international students: a perspective from Montreal, Quebec

As migrants holding temporary, foreign-resident status in their host communities, international students often experience prejudice and have little meaningful contact with locals. To date, a comprehensive account of international students’ experience is lacking, and existing conceptualizations exclude linguistic threat as a potential source of increased prejudice and diminished contact. Therefore, our goal in this study (set in Quebec, Canada) was to explore local residents’ attitudes toward and contact with international students in relation to five potential threats experienced by local residents, including cultural differences, competition over resources, intergroup anxiety, stereotypes, with linguistic threat added as a new, previously unexplored variable. We recruited 59 student and non-student local francophone residents as participants and examined their attitudes toward, perceptions of threat from, and the quality and quantity of contact with international students attending English-medium universities. Both student and non-student participants demonstrated positive attitudes toward and low levels of perceived threat from international students, except for linguistic threat. Compared to student participants, non-student participants reported significantly greater linguistic threat from international students and described contact with them that was both less frequent and lower in quality. Regression models accounted for 50–67% of variance in participants’ attitudes, with symbolic threat to social values and belief systems emerging as the common significant predictor of attitudes for both groups. Adding linguistic threat did not improve regression models. Finally, only contact quality showed significant relationships with attitudes and perceived threat, where greater contact quality was associated with more favorable attitudes and reduced threat. We discuss implications of intergroup attitudes and contact for language planning and use in multilingual contexts.

An ‘E’ for ‘elite’ in EMI? Global, local and elite dimensions in the promotion of English-medium university programmes

ABSTRACT The move towards EMI in higher education has been connected to university internationalisation, which reflects neoliberal trends. Research has underscored the need to consider socio-economic factors, materialities and ideologies surrounding EMI. Our study taps into this line of inquiry by focusing on how Swedish universities promote EMI programmes in business and economics in four videos. We take a novel approach to examine discursively constructed ideologies surrounding EMI by conducting a critical multimodal analysis of the videos. The analysis reveals how the use and representations of English – combined with different symbols, artefacts and concepts – are used to position these EMI programmes as both global and local. References to international rankings and multinational business partnerships position them on the global education market. At the same time, the programmes are locally situated in the academic tradition and entrepreneurial context of Sweden. Images of nature, the fika, or Scandinavian design present them in a way similar to tourist destinations. Tokens of economic and cultural eliteness create an extra layer of distinction, contributing to the added ‘elite’ value of EMI, where English is both taken for granted and serves a gate-keeping function. Findings provide insight into how EMI is promoted to international students.

Only a cog in a machine?: Reappraising institutionalized EAP teacher identities in a transnational context

Language teacher identity (LTI) research, critical approaches to language education, and English for Academic Purposes (EAP), have each grown into considerable areas of scholarship. However, not many studies have addressed topics at the intersection of these triple areas. Therefore, adopting a critical perspective on LTI construction within predominant language ideologies, this study aimed to investigate EAP teachers' professional identity formation in response to institutional policies in a Sino-British university in China. As part of a larger project, data bodies were collected through a narrative survey completed by 77 faculty members and semi-structured interviews with 36 of them at this transnational English-medium university. The analysis of narratives and interview transcripts through qualitative coding procedures revealed three major aspects of the participants' institutionalized identities: ‘The EAP teacher’ (comprising three roles: a cog in a machine, a British acculturation agent, and a mock monolingual role model); ‘The safe researcher’ of trendy topics; and ‘The service provider’ seeking promotion. The findings contribute insights into EAP LTI from a critical perspective by documenting how EAP teachers (are obliged to) construct institutionalized identities in relation to language ideologies and educational policies in a transnational higher education context.

An Examination of the Degree of Complexity of Teacher Questions in English-Medium University Courses

Research has demonstrated that questions are essential when teachers endeavor to foster students’ comprehension and learning of the subject taught. However, there is a scarcity of studies on questioning practices in English-medium instruction (EMI) settings. In this study, we aim to fill this gap by focusing on the linguistic complexity of the questions put forward by EMI lecturers by paying particular heed to whether the disciplinary culture exerts any influence on the complexity of lecturers’ questioning practices. The study was conducted at four public Spanish universities in which the classes delivered by nine EMI lecturers from three different disciplines (history, economics, and engineering) were recorded and analyzed. The statistical analyses performed found no significant differences in the lexical and syntactic complexity of the questions posed in the three disciplines, while language at the C level of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) was conspicuous by its absence. These results lead us to conclude that if students are not widely exposed to language at the C level of the CEFR, oral language development and improvement may not be promoted in EMI courses. Therefore, EMI teacher training should be given more attention.

Exploring EAP English text readability and reader ability of Chinese university students through Lexile measures and metaphorical conceptualizations

This study aimed to ascertain and then close gaps between the readability demanded by degree-level textbooks in English and the reading abilities of Chinese students in a foundation programme of an English-medium university in China. A quasi-experimental research design shows Lexile-based reading interventions conducted both outside and inside class over one year within an English for Academic Purposes (EAP) class which might close the reading gap. Participants' English reading experiences were explored through Metaphor Analysis of their constructed metaphors regarding reading, academic reading and EAP reading strategies. The quantitative results show a significant reading ability growth in the experimental group after engaging in Lexile-based reading activities. This suggests that the Lexile-based reading intervention tends to raise students' reading ability towards a desired standard. Students completing inside-class reading journals made greater reading improvements than those joining outside-class reading tutorials. The metaphor analysis showed conceptualisations within five broad functions of reading evident in the participants’ metaphors: cognitive, affective, socio-cultural, moral-spiritual, and aesthetic. The cognitive and emotional aspects emerge saliently in both positive and negative student comments in metaphors on reading. Pedagogic implications and applications are suggested.

TEFL Students' Perceptions of Native and Non-Native EFL School Teachers and University Lecturers: A Case Study

The idea that non-native English-speaking educators are less competent than their native English-speaking counterparts when teaching language is propagated by the language ideology known as native-speakerism. The dichotomy between these two teacher groups has been addressed in various parts of the world but not in the Armenian context. This study investigates graduate students' perceptions of native/non-native EFL school teachers and faculty at an English medium university in Armenia. Collected Data shows that native and non-native educators were both viewed as meeting students' needs and providing helpful instruction. While preferences for natives were mainly in pronunciation and vocabulary, non-native lecturers, specifically local Armenians, were favored in affective areas. However, a novel finding in this investigation was the confusion over the native speaker term. The study concludes by recommending some academic implementations to offer these in- and pre-service teachers a more nuanced knowledge of the constructs involved.

The Academic Achievement of Undergraduate Students with Different English Language Proficiency Profiles

ABSTRACT Many English-medium universities employ a compensatory model to establish cutscores on English language proficiency tests for student admissions. In this model, students can have different scores on different sections of the test provided their overall score meets the admission cutscore. This practice raises questions regarding potential variation in academic achievement among students with diverse score profiles. To address these questions, this study compared the demographic characteristics and academic achievement of 3,694 undergraduate students who met the required cutscore on the IELTS-Academic for admission to a Canadian English-medium university but have different scores on different sections of the test. The findings indicated that, generally, students with medium reading scores combined with low or medium writing scores exhibited lower academic achievement compared to those with high scores on all the IELTS sections or high reading scores combined with medium or high writing scores. The profile groups demonstrated significant differences in certain demographic characteristics, potentially explaining why they have different proficiency levels in different language skills. The implications of the findings are discussed, including whether to maintain the compensatory model or switch to a mixed one, and the implications for providing English language support to students with diverse proficiency profiles.

Let’s Talk About Writing Support for Plurilingual Graduate Students

Academic writing is an inseparable aspect of graduate school (Holmes et al., 2018) as students’ academic writing is the primary basis for assessment (Turner, 2011). The high-stakes nature of academic writing is magnified for plurilingual students, whose attendance at English medium universities is growing exponentially (Fenton-Smith & Humphreys, 2017). However, there is a scarcity of research that addresses how faculty support writing as an essential practice for plurilingual graduate students, particularly in English-medium universities where English is implicated in structures of power and privilege. Employing a critical analytic collaborative autoethnography (Anderson, 2006; Kempny, 2022) this research uses polyvocal conversations among seven researcher/practitioners to consider the question of how faculty members perceive and respond to the academic writing needs of plurilingual graduate students. Informed by intersectionality (Crenshaw, 2017; Hankivsky, 2014), these conversations illuminate the ways both educator identities and epistemological turns in education theory impact approaches to writing support for plurilingual graduate writers. Importantly, these discussions are implicated in the socio-political contexts of Canadian and Australian universities where systems of inequality act to marginalise plurilingual writers. These contextualised conversations then aim to problematise and revise existent, dominant deficit discourses and pedagogies of writing support for plurilingual students. Findings illuminate the capacity of educators, who are cognisant of their power and place, to generate alternative practices to support plurilingual graduate writers in service of more asset-orientated and inclusive spaces that take advantage of students’ plurilingual repertoires in English-dominant universities.

Connecting Academia with the Professional World: Exploring Written Assignments in a Postgraduate Professional Development Program

Master-level postgraduate professional development (PPD) programs have grown rapidly in many parts of the world. Being able to complete written assignments successfully is a significant concern for students pursuing PPD studies. Yet the nature of written assignments in such programs has been under-researched. This paper reports a study conducted in the context of a Master of Education (MEd) program in an English-medium university in Hong Kong. The study addressed the research question How do MEd written assignments prompt students to engage with academia and the professional world? Analyses of the documentary data, comprising a collection of written assignment prompts featuring 132 tasks, revealed three categories of assignments: oriented to the professional world, oriented to academia, and connecting academia and the professional world, with the last category being the largest share (75%). The paper illustrates these categories of assignments and considers implications of the study for pedagogy and future research.

AI Meeting Assistants in English-Medium University Lectures in Hong Kong, China: A Double-Edged Sword for Student Perception

This study investigates the effectiveness of Artificial Intelligence Meeting Assistants (AIMAs) in enhancing student engagement and satisfaction in English-medium university lectures in Hong Kong, China. Otter.ai, known for its real-time transcription capabilities, was implemented in two mandatory English course sessions for first-year students. Student feedback was collected through post-lecture surveys. Preliminary analyses reveal an encouraging impact on the anticipated performance of students using the AIMA, with those in the AIMA group reporting statistically higher expected grades compared to the non-AIMA group. However, perceived instructor enthusiasm and communication skills and clarity of presentation are noted to be lower for the AIMA group. This research underscores both the potential benefits and challenges linked with AIMA usage in an academic context. By illuminating these aspects and identifying areas for improvement in AIMA implementation, this study contributes to bridging the gap between AI technology and its practical application in education.

Translanguaging pedagogy in EAP writing: A multilingual Qazaq instructor’s perspective

English for Academic Purposes (EAP) instructors may struggle to capitalize on students’ multilingual practices in teaching and demystifying academic writing, considering the expectation to use standard English. My teaching report is situated in Qazaqstan, where I worked as an EAP instructor with first-year undergraduate students for whom Qazaq and Russian are the dominant languages, English is a foreign language, and translanguaging is a commonplace practice. The paper shares how I built on my shared linguistic and cultural background with my students to implement translanguaging pedagogy for teaching EAP writing in a hybrid course at an English-medium university. A major takeaway from my teaching experience is to establish a translanguaging space, in which students with different translanguaging beliefs can explore pedagogical translanguaging. The pedagogical translanguaging instructions used in writing one academic essay were focused on developing an outline, citations, and rough drafts. Throughout the essay completion in person and online, students and I discussed translanguaging writing examples, drew on our metalinguistic awareness, and critical discussions of linguistic choices. Overall, this paper illuminates on how an EAP instructor with a similar linguistic background to their students can disrupt monolingual norms, and use translanguaging pedagogy for linguistically just academic writing instruction

Content-Based Instruction in The Preparatory Program of an English-Medium University: Reflections & Practices

In English preparatory programs of English medium instruction (EMI) universities, it is significant to give content-based instruction to students related to their majors. By doing so, students can both improve in English and increase their knowledge and experience in their field of study and become more prepared for their future studies. On the other hand, it is not so common in the tertiary-level English preparatory programs in Türkiye to arrange curricula related to students’ majors. This study aims to integrate translation-related training and practices into the preparatory program of Translation and Interpreting major students studying at an English-medium university through a project-based framework and test the perceived effectiveness of these applications through students’ reflection papers and translation outcomes. The data analyzed by qualitative content analysis show that integrating meaningful and purposeful content related to the students’ majors into English preparatory programs may lead to a productive process serving students’ needs.
 Keywords: Content-based instruction, English preparatory programs, English-medium instruction (EMI), Tertiary-level education, Translation in English language teaching

Assessment of Academic ESL Writing in an Online Tutorial for Graduate Students

English-as-a-second language (L2) graduate students often face challenges in developing academic writing skills, which can be exacerbated by a lack of timely support at institutional level. To help address this concern, an original set of online academic writing tutorials with a focus on the genre of Literature Review was designed by the authors to assist international graduate students enrolled in graduate programs in Canada. This paper introduces and compares multiple assessment tools employed in the online tutorial set for international English L2 graduate students. Our project pursues two major goals: First, to address the above-identified gap in Academic Writing support to English L2 graduate students with minimal costs and faculty involvement through designing the online tutorial set; second, to contribute to the research on e-learning of Academic English as a second language (ESL) writing in terms of developing integrated tools for online tutorial building, analysis of texts produced by learners, and assessment of learners’ writing progress. The research questions are: 1. What resources can be combined to develop an online tutorial set for graduate students at minimal costs? 2. How can the learners’ progress in academic ESL writing be assessed with different assessment tools? First, the paper describes the tools employed in the tutorial construction: MoodleCloud platform, H5P interactive e-book designed by the authors, surveys, and assessment tools. Second, we present and compare assessment tools employed to evaluate learners’ writing progress: Expert assessment with an analytic rubric, self-assessments of progress by the participants, and automated text analysis with corpus-based tools as reported in Li, Makarova, and Wang (2023). A comparison of the scores across the three assessment tools shows some discrepancies, which seems to suggest that combined tools yield a more comprehensive picture. The expert assessments and self-assessments demonstrate improvement in the writing quality over the course of the tutorial series, which are partially supported with the findings from corpus-based analysis of participants’ texts. The findings are of relevance to e-learning scholars, faculty, and administrators of English-medium universities with substantial intakes of international graduate students in Social Sciences and Education whose native languages are other than English.

Language Mixing in an English-Medium University Context: Language Ideologies of Cross-border Mainland Chinese Students in Hong Kong

This paper reports on a study of cross-border mainland Chinese students’ ideologies with respect to language mixing in an English-medium university context in multilingual Hong Kong. The findings revealed that most participants held multiple and sometimes contradictory ideologies about language mixing in the university context, often wavering between different ideologies. While their monolingual ideologies privileged linguistic purism and characterized language mixing in deficit terms, their multilingual ideologies conceptualized language mixing as a relatively unmarked language practice, leading to positive evaluations of language mixing. The study also found that some participants moved beyond the dichotomy between monolingual and multilingual ideologies and espoused the ideology of sociolinguistic competence. With an emphasis on one’s ability to use language appropriately in context, the ideology of sociolinguistic competence prompted some participants to evaluate language mixing in terms of its social appropriateness in particular cultural contexts (Hong Kong versus mainland China) and/or particular communicative situations (in-class versus out-of-class situations). Overall, the findings suggest that the complex language ideologies held by the participants not only reflect their mixed attitudes towards multilingual language practices in the English-medium university context, but also reveal their concerns over academic studies, second language acquisition, cultural preservation, and communicative effectiveness.

Development, Validity, and Reliability of a Theme-based CBI Vocabulary Module for ESL Post-secondary Tourism Management Students at an English-medium University

Inadequate English vocabulary knowledge hampers English-medium university students’ comprehension of lecture and reference materials. Thus, the researchers aimed to specifically develop an intervention for vocabulary knowledge enhancement, which is a theme-based content-based instruction vocabulary module for first-semester Diploma in Tourism Management students using the ASSURE model. The rationale behind the vocabulary module development is that students tend to acquire vocabulary faster when they learn it through a familiar and meaningful context. Upon completion of the module’s development, it was examined for validity and reliability. Content validation of the module was evaluated by four experts using the Content Validity Index and Percentage Calculation Method. Meanwhile, the module’s reliability was tested in a pilot study using Cronbach’s alpha test on reliability questionnaire results and paired sample t-test comparison of pre and post-test scores of students’ vocabulary knowledge. The pilot study involved 20 students with varied English language proficiency levels at an English-medium university in Malaysia. Findings of content validation by four experts and module validation by the pilot study indicate that not only does the module have high validity and good reliability, but also succeeds in increasing the students’ post-test vocabulary knowledge scores compared to their pre-test scores. Overall, this study contributes empirical evidence for English as a Second Language (ESL) vocabulary module development. It also proves that a valid and reliable module must be developed by referring to an instructional design model, reviewed by subject matter experts, and tested with the target audience through a pilot study.

Language ideology, development of English proficiency, and performance in professional communication: voices of STEM + business graduates of English medium university

The current study aims at unpacking the language ideologies of the STEM + Business graduates in relation to English medium instruction (EMI) and how they perceive the contribution of EMI towards English proficiency development. It also intended to unfold the extent to which EMI education may have contributed to their employability and fulfillment of workplace communication needs. Inspired by inadequate evidence on the effect of EMI on English Language Proficiency (ELP) and employability, the researchers engaged with the participants who could draw on their EMI experiences in developing ELP, attaining employability, and fulfilling workplace communication needs in English. Theoretical aspects of language ideologies, ELP, and employability set the conceptual ground of the study. Adopting the interpretive phenomenological approach and harnessing semi-structured interview questions, the study collected data from eight participants. The study found that the language ideologies of the graduates were shaped by the perceived role and importance of English to serve academic and economic purposes through the availability of curriculum corresponding to global standards, access to knowledge, English-oriented atmosphere and ELP development, and EMI policy adoption and implementation in higher education institutions was seen as a panacea to avail the facilities described above. The participants also confirmed that EMI education benefitted their ELP, enabling them to obtain jobs and perform workplace communication in English.

Activation of Content-Schemata for Scaffolding L2 Writing: Voices from a Turkish Context

It has been observed that Turkish university students suffer in L2 writing when they lack background knowledge about the writing topic. Triggered by this observation, this study intended to explore effectiveness of content-schemata activation for scaffolding Turkish students in their challenging L2 writing practices. Study participants, students studying at an English-medium university in Turkey, were asked to write an essay on a specific topic at the beginning of the week before participating in any activities and then they were asked to write a second essay on the same topic after being engaged in various skills activities designed to activate their content-schemata. The same procedure was repeated for seven weeks with a different topic each week. To gather data, students’ first and second essays were compared and students’ and teachers’ perceptions regarding their experiences in English writing classes were elicited through questionnaires. As study findings reveal that content-schemata activation leads to the production of better essays in terms of content and that both students and teachers are positive about the use of skills activities for idea generation prior to essay writing, integration of activities that would activate students’ content-schemata into the language curriculum in other ESL/EFL educational contexts is highly recommended.

Empowering Subject Matter Awareness through Exploratory Practice: Embracing Practitioner Research in the AI Era

A noteworthy challenge encountered among university EFL (English as a Foreign Language) learners lies in their deficiency pertaining to subject matter awareness, a crucial dimension of self-directed learning. This deficiency mainly hampers their ability to effectively deploy critical thinking strategies. This issue has been further exacerbated by the prevalent trend of students heavily relying on Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools for various educational tasks. To address this multifaceted challenge, this experimental research was conducted within a Lebanese English medium university. The core objective of the study was to cultivate students' subject matter awareness by integrating the Exploratory Practice [EP] instructional approach into their writing classes. The research encompassed two distinct groups: an experimental group and a control group. In-depth exploration was pursued using a mixed-methods approach. The outcomes of the study highlighted a significant transformation within the experimental group's subject matter awareness. In conclusion, this study underscores the imperative of nurturing students' subject matter awareness. Through skillful incorporation of EP into writing classes, educators can cultivate a revitalized sense of self-directedness and cultivate critical engagement within learners. This strategic integration not only equips them with essential skills but also empowers them to navigate the complex educational landscape infused with AI.

A Corpus-Based Lexical Evaluation of L1 Arabic Learners’ English Literary Essays

Evaluating learners’ writing quality has been quite challenging. One important indicator of writing quality is the use of lexis in texts. However, more efficient evaluative guidelines should be explored. Although corpus-based lexical studies have provided analyses of various text genres for word frequencies and keywords indicative of lexical density, and thus writing quality for teaching/learning purposes, learner literary texts remain under researched. This study explores the word frequencies in a corpus of N=206 L1 Arabic learners’ literary essays written in English in one literature course at an English medium university in Lebanon. Lextutor platform was used to analyze the word frequency profiles which indicate the lexical density level and Voyant Tools platform to analyze the content keyword profiles, which preview thematic representations and character features. Main findings indicated a dichotomy between literary knowledge and language proficiency. The content keywords previewed themes and character features adequately which showed the learners’ knowledge of the literary text. The word frequency profiles, however, indicated a low lexical density and, thus, a low language proficiency level. Implications for pedagogy and recommendations are made for further researching this “controversial dichotomy” in learners’ literary essays in developing the literary edge for well-rounded learners versus improving their language proficiency level.

Understanding challenges, investment, and strategic language use of postgraduate students in an English-medium university in Kazakhstan

ABSTRACT This qualitative study documents six postgraduate Kazakh students’ challenges, language learning strategies (LLSs), and future vision while studying at a highly selective English medium instruction (EMI) university in Kazakhstan. It also aims to capture the influence of the participants’ past English learning experiences and contextual factors on their LLS deployment. The study found that all participants exhibited greater agency, using a host of appropriate LLSs to complete their master’s programmes successfully. However, the two participants who studied in schools for the gifted encountered fewer challenges than the other participants from mainstream schools after joining the EMI university. The former exercising their agency and their positive previous English language learning experiences enabled them to use diverse voluntary strategies to accomplish both personal and national goals. This study reveals how educational policy and distribution of enabling language learning resources in similar contexts can affect individuals’ LLS choices and use, and their identity improvement.