English-medium Research Articles

Relationship between education in the Welsh medium and self-esteem for primary Cymreag and English speakers

ABSTRACT Objectives Of relevance to minority ethno-linguistic groups is the association between self-esteem and proficiency in their heritage language. The current study explored whether self-esteem of Cymraeg (Welsh) speaking pupils in Welsh/Bilingual-medium schools was higher than Cymraeg-speaking pupils in English-medium schools. Methods 1,709 pupils from Welsh/Bilingual and English-medium schools in Wales completed the Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale. Scores were analysed as a function of their primary language (language they use most often) and the linguistic medium of their school. Results Relative to primary-English speakers (pupils using English most) attending Welsh/Bilingual-medium schools, primary-Cymraeg speakers (pupils using Cymraeg most) attending Welsh/Bilingual-medium schools recorded higher self-esteem scores. There was no difference in self-esteem between speakers of different languages attending English-medium schools. Primary-English speakers attending English-medium schools recorded higher levels of self-esteem relative to primary-English speakers attending Welsh/Bilingual-medium schools. There was no difference in self-esteem between primary-Cymraeg speakers attending Welsh/Bilingual and English-medium schools. Longitudinal analysis suggests self-esteem increased for primary-Cymraeg speakers attending Welsh/Bilingual medium schools only, but pupils educated in their non-primary language demonstrated a decrease in self-esteem. Conclusion The results suggest care is needed when allocating pupils to schools, as language of the school and the pupil’s primary language interact in determining self-esteem over time.

The Effect of Educandy Game on Social Studies Learning Outcomes of Food Technology Materials in Grade 3 of SD Negeri Cibatok 1

There is minimal use of innovative learning media in schools, especially at the elementary school level, even though in elementary schools students really need help with learning media to understand the material presented by the teacher. Included in class 3 social studies subjects. The aim of this research is to find out student learning outcomes using educational games, so that we can find out students' activities in the learning process in social studies subjects using direct observation methods at school. The subjects of this research were 1 learning media expert and 1 practitioner, namely the teacher. The test subjects were 46 grade 3 students consisting of the experimental class and the control class. Data collection methods are observation, interviews, tests and questionnaires. The data analysis technique used is quantitative descriptive analysis and statistics. The results of the research, namely the results of media validity tests for the Educandy game application, based on assessments from material and media experts supported by teacher and student responses, show that the media validity value is very high and feasible with an average percentage value of 95%. The results of the T-test show that there is a significant difference in student learning outcomes before and after media use. Educandy game learning media in social studies subjects are suitable for use and are effective in improving student learning outcomes.

Applying transnational strategies locally: English as a medium of instruction in Swedish higher education

Analysing student interaction at an international university in Sweden, this article investigates how the transnational strategy of using English as a medium of instruction can be (re)constructed by students in a local context. The analysis focuses on students’ expectations—or norms—for when it is appropriate to use English, and shows that English medium-instruction does not necessarily mean that students speak English all the time. The local language Swedish is used in connection to teaching and students establish local norms for when, how and with whom it is appropriate—or inappropriate—to speak English. A conclusion is that although language choice at the international university is influenced by global factors, it is still firmly a local construction.

Students’ attitudes to lecturers’ English in Englishmedium higher education in Denmark

This study examines the evaluative reactions of university students to their nonnative lecturers’ English skills in English-medium instruction, i.e. when English is used as a lingua franca in an academic context. In particular, we examine the relationship between perceptions of English language proficiency and perceptions of general lecturing competence (defined here as knowledge of subject and teaching skills). Statistical analyses of 1,700 student responses to 31 non-native English-speaking lecturers at a major business school in Denmark revealed that the students’ perceptions of the lecturers’ English language proficiency is a significant predictor of their perceptions of the lecturers’ general lecturing competence and vice versa. We interpret this as a two-way relationship caused by speech stereotypes similar to those which have been demonstrated in socialpsychological experiments. This effect should be addressed when universities use student ratings to evaluate teaching in English-medium content courses.

Hope of the of Parents of Primary School Children on Career in a Rural Community of Raozan Upazila, Chattogram

Background: Parents always think about the career of their children. They try to guide the children in such way so that they can lead an independent life in future. The social status, educational background, family environment, ambition etc. forms the basis of thinking of the parents for their children. This study was conducted to find out the pattern of hope ot the parents of Primary School Children on career in a rural community of Raozan Upazila, Chattogram District of Bangladesh. Materials and methods: This descriptive type of cross sectional study was conducted during the period February to October 2021. 100 respondents were selected by purposive type of non-probability technique. Face to face interviews were performed for information collection after getting consent. A pre tested mixed type of questionnaire was used. Results: 38% of the parents belonged to age group 31 to 35 years. Mean age of the parents was 25 years. Among them, 15% were of low socio- economic status and only 10% were of upper class. 45% of the parents had ambition that their child would be a doctor, 10% desired for teacher, 5% engineer and 7% as Islamic scholar. 93% parents had choosen Bangla medium school for their children. 65% parents had kept private tutor at home as mentor for their children and same percentage of parents expressed financial problems to provide education for their children, Conclusion: Socio-economic and literacy status of the families as well as monthly income were closely associated with future planning and ambition of the children. IAHS Medical Journal Volume 06(2), December, 2023; 9-12

Exploring Development of EMI Teacher Identities and Emotions During a Collaborative Teaching Practice: A Sociocultural Perspective

AbstractThe burgeoning English‐medium instruction (EMI) programs have aroused worldwide scholarly interest in giving language support for EMI subject teachers and their identity‐informed professional development. This study explored how an EMI subject teacher's identities and emotions were intricately interlinked before and after his co‐teaching practice with an English as a foreign language (EFL) teacher at a university in Midwestern China. Ethnographic tools including interviews, observations, and small talks were used over a 10‐month collaborative program. The findings show that the participant teacher's identities and emotions were interdependent with each other and mediated by collaborative teaching practice. Futhermore, emotional attachment to English enhancement and deep engagement in co‐teaching contributed to (re)construction of teacher identities as a content teacher, a competent English user, and an English learning facilitator. The participant's emotional attachment was explicated by his perezhivanie, or the emotional experience of his previous English learning and the emergent EMI teaching contexts. The study highlights the primacy of reconstructing teacher identities and supporting teacher emotional experiences in EMI teacher training and education programs.

The politics of distraction in English-medium higher education across three global settings: a collaborative autoethnography

ABSTRACT English-medium instruction (EMI) is on the rise around the world due to globalization, internationalization and neoliberal ideologies which equate English with social capital, prestige, and success in the labour market. While many EMI policies aim to equip students with English as a ‘lingua academia’, produce ‘neoliberal subjects’ and compete in university ranking systems, such policies often overlook larger sociolinguistic, sociohistorical, and sociopolitical issues at play. This article shares findings from a collaborative autoethnography (CAE) involving the three authors as participants, who are based in three global contexts: Australia, Bangladesh, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Upon analysis of a series of dialogues amongst the authors, ‘policy distractions’ in EMI higher education were identified which resulted in the sidelining of critical issues related to native-speakerism, translingual discrimination and precarious conditions of students’ translingual practice, (lack of) choice around the medium of instruction, and the postcolonial legacy of unequal Englishes. The paper ends with suggestions for ways in which current EMI policies can be unpacked and disrupted to address larger and more pressing issues connected with complexities and intersections of social and linguistic justice.

Teacher effectiveness in English-medium instruction and students’ academic achievement: A value-added model in action

This study aimed to investigate the association between general science teachers’ effectiveness in teaching through English and students’ academic success in Debre Birhan City. In addition, it sought to determine which dimensions of English as a medium of instruction (EMI) accounted for the greatest variability. Furthermore, it examined whether demographic variables such as sex, qualification, and experience co-variated with students’ academic achievement (SAA). A non-experimental correlational design was employed. The study sample included 45 randomly selected teachers and 1575 students in 45 classrooms. A teacher effectiveness questionnaire and an academic achievement test were used as data collection tools implementing the principle of the value-added model. The findings revealed a strong relationship between teachers’ effectiveness in teaching science through English and SAA, with pedagogical knowledge being the highest contributor and experience co-variating with SAA. The unstandardized coefficient output also reveals that SAA increases by a certain percentage as every scale of EMI increases. The study recommends on-the-job training for EMI teachers. Additionally, experienced teachers should work in pairs with younger teachers and share fresh perspectives on teaching methods and effective language use. The introduction of EMI implementation policies is also recommended.

EMI programs in Azerbaijani Higher Education: analysis of macro, meso, and micro level agents’ perceptions of language policy and planning implementation

ABSTRACT Within the last decade, Azerbaijani universities’ upward implementation of English-medium instruction (EMI) policy has spread among most of the country's universities, public and private . Studies show that EMI programs in many universities worldwide are positioned as a language-planning tool to promote students’ mastery of English, which would open up new horizons and facilitate globalization. Considering that language planning and policy is an understudied topic in the Azerbaijani context and that there are practically no or few studies in this vein, it is hard to appraise EMI programs as a language planning tool in terms of this country. The paper reveals the key tendencies of the increasing number of EMI programs in Higher Educational Institutions in Azerbaijan. It examines the nature of EMI-related language policy and investigates how it is enacted in practice. We analyze EMI-related language policies and listen to the voices of the stakeholders at three levels, illustrating how macro (state/national), meso (university), and micro (staff) levels translate into one another. For this, we refer to a qualitative method of data collection that includes (1) a content analysis that studies four state policy documents at the macro level, (2), interviews administered to ten state representatives and policymakers at meso levels, and sixteen university professors at micro levels. The paper is a relevant contribution to understanding the language policy and planning (LPP) tendencies in the country using EMI as a key tool for globalization and internationalization.

Macro-level language policy and planning to promote and maintain English-taught programmes in Turkish higher education: a Process Tracing perspective

ABSTRACT This paper explores how higher education governance and macro-level (governmental) language policy and planning (LPP) impact (a) the growth and (b) sustainability of English-medium instruction (EMI) programmes in the Turkish higher education context, an Expanding Circle country (Kachru, 1985). We examine higher education policy documents and regulations and interview elite participants (N = 20), i.e. higher education administrative and governance staff who play significant roles in the decision-making processes of the universities. We make innovative use of a Process Tracing methodology to provide a broader perspective on the growth of EMI. We also examine the impact of macro-level LPP on the regulation and sustainability of EMI programmes. Regarding the growth of EMI programmes in Turkiye, we identify three significant milestones, namely the foundation of the Council of Higher Education, massification, and privatisation. While sustaining the quality and quantity of EMI programmes, higher education actors also implement some language policies. By employing Process Tracing, this study goes beyond simply identifying the relationship between policies and their impact: it sheds light on the causal mechanisms at play, revealing how adopting a ‘steering at a distance’ approach can have unintended consequences that fuel the growth of EMI programmes.

Self-concept in first grade and academic performance trajectories: roles of gender and dual-language immersion versus English-medium program enrollment

ABSTRACT This longitudinal study examined the latent structure of self-concept and its association with academic performance for elementary-aged students enrolled in dual-language immersion (DLI) and English-medium instruction (EMI) programs. Participants were 30 students in a Spanish-English DLI program and 40 peers in the same school’s EMI classrooms. The present study used confirmatory factor analysis to examine the structure of self-concept and multilevel growth modeling to investigate the effect of self-concept on academic performance tested in English. Results confirmed a three-factor self-concept construct and differences in several factors by program enrollment. Gender moderated the association between different factors of self-concept and academic performance. These findings suggest important educational implications: more attention to students’ early self-concept may be required as it plays a prominent role in students’ on-going academic achievement.

Evaluating English-medium instruction in higher education: EMI-QE

English-medium instruction (EMI) is on the rise in higher education (HE) across the globe. Despite this trend, a gap remains in the evaluation of EMI programs, leaving the question of what constitutes good practices in EMI largely unresolved. Moreover, the intersection between EMI and program evaluation is still elusive, resulting in a dearth of universally accepted guidelines and tools for evaluating EMI. This study introduces the English-Medium Instruction Q Evaluation (EMI-QE), an instrument designed to assess EMI in HE. The EMI-QE was demonstrated in a computer science program and was found to reflect several key strengths (e.g., lecturers’ confidence in using English and language support) and areas for improvement (e.g., lectures’ communication gaps and cultural sensitivity) of the program. In addition to addressing English proficiency and implementing an English certification policy, it was recommended that the program offer professional development on cultural sensitivity and inclusive teaching practices in order to address diversity issues, ensuring that all students, regardless of their backgrounds, are well supported.

Lecturers’ Efforts in Building Rapport in the English-Medium Instruction (EMI) Context: Focus on the Use of Communication Strategies

Lecturers’ Efforts in Building Rapport in the English-Medium Instruction (EMI) Context: Focus on the Use of Communication Strategies

Will Chinese (Putonghua) Replace English as a Global Language in the Next Century?

As China’s economic power continues to grow, its economy, politics, culture, and education continue to influence the world. Previous studies have discussed whether Chinese can replace English as a global language, but not the specific challenges of learning Chinese. This paper will compare whether the Chinese language possesses these qualities by examining how English has evolved into a language of global influence politically, economically, culturally, and educationally. This paper can provide a reference on whether Chinese is the dominant language of instruction or English-medium education. At the same time, the possibility of Chinese as a global language can be assessed by comparing whether Chinese possesses certain characteristics of a global language.

Teaching Media and Information Literacy in the Senior High Schools in Narvacan, Ilocos Sur: A Case Study

Teaching Media and Information Literacy in the Senior High Schools in Narvacan, Ilocos Sur: A Case Study

Exploration of Ferns in Indrokilo Botanical Garden, Boyolali for the Development of Interactive Multimedia for High School Biology Learning

In today's digital era, conventional learning media has begun to be abandoned. Currently, many modern learning media have been developed such as interactive multimedia, video media, and others so that the learning process becomes fun and students are actively involved in the learning process. The purpose of this study is; to explore the diversity of ferns in the Indrokilo Boyolali Botanical Garden and develop interactive biology multimedia materials for high school. The methods used are field exploration, taxonomic identification, and development of interactive multimedia. The research location is at the Indrokilo Boyolali Botanical Garden and the research was conducted for 3 months starting from December 2022 to February 2023. The results of the research and identification at the Indrokilo Botanical Garden found 31 types of ferns from 14 families and 3 classes. The interactive multimedia developed combines text, images, animations, and interactive videos. This multimedia has been evaluated and received positive validation results, so it can be used as interactive media in high school. Interactive media with other plant samples still needs to be developed because the Indrakilo Botanical Garden is a source of plant diversity

Media Cards Line Up to Improve Primary School Students' Understanding of The Concept of Place Value

Research to obtain information regarding increasing understanding of the concept of place value using Cards Line Up media in elementary schools. Using quantitative methods and a quasi-experimental nonequivalent control group design, involving two classes, namely the experimental class at SDN 1 Weru Lor and the control class at SDN 3 Weru Lor with a total of 30 students in each class. Data was collected using concept understanding tests in the form of descriptions, with analysis using gain analysis. The research results showed that there was a significant increase in students' conceptual understanding after being given treatment, as shown in the posttest results which were higher than the pretest results. This is confirmed by the N-Gain statistical test that there is a positive influence of Cards Line Up media on students' understanding with an increase of 0.47 which is classified as a moderate increase. With this, it can be summarized that the Cards Line Up media has proven to be able to increase students' understanding of the concept of place value material in elementary schools.

Loanword Phonology of Spanish Anglicisms: New Insights from Corpus Data

Previous research shows that several factors influence the adaptation of English phonemes in Spanish Anglicisms: speaker age, English proficiency, and geographic distance from the U.S.A, among others.Due to globalization, increased mobility, and the ubiquitous availability of English media, the question arises whether these factors are still relevant in today’s world. For the present study, 70 speakers from Mexico and Spain read a word list containing Anglicisms aloud. A generalized linear mixed effects model was applied to analyze which factors directly influence pronunciation. Results show that the realization of Spanish grapheme-phoneme correspondences plays a major role in the adaptation process. Moreover, the analysis shows that it is exposure to the English language that mainly influences the pronunciation: the more exposure speakers from both countries have to the English language, the more likely they are to imitate the English pronunciation instead of the realization of Spanish grapheme-phoneme correspondences. Finally, the analysis revealed differences not only between the phonemes and the speakers but also between the words included in the study and once more highlighted that every word has a history of its own.

Enhancing EMI learning through L1 use and ESP: A mixed-methods study in a Chinese transnational education context

This paper employs a mixed-methods design to investigate the supportive roles of the translanguaging practice, specifically the use of students' First Language (L1), and English for Specific Purposes (ESP) courses within the context of English Medium Instruction (EMI) in a Transnational Education (TNE) program in China. It involved collecting questionnaire responses from 268 undergraduate Chemical Engineering students and conducting 17 follow-up semi-structured interviews. The hierarchical multiple regression analysis revealed students' academic language-related challenges and ESP course performance were two statistically significant predictors of their EMI academic success; academic linguistic challenges and students' L1 use attitudes emerged as significant indicators of their EMI learning self-efficacy. Qualitative data analysis further uncovered students' positive beliefs regarding the bridging effects of L1 use on facilitating their EMI learning and the foundational role of ESP courses in linguistic preparation. These empirical findings lead to significant pedagogical implications, aiming to scaffold effective EMI learning in the investigated context.

A STUDY OF ACHIEVEMENT IN MATHEMATICS IN RELATION TO MEDIUM OF INSTRUCTION AND MATHEMATICS ANXIETY OF 8TH GRADE STUDENTS OF HIMACHAL PRADESH

This study examines the relationship between Achievement in Mathematics, Medium of Instruction and Mathematics Anxiety among 8th-grade students in District, Hamirpur, Himachal Pradesh. The primary objective is to explore how Mathematics Anxiety and Medium of Instruction, especially English and Hindi, impact Achievement in Mathematics. A sample of 162, 8th-grade students from various schools in Himachal Pradesh was selected. Data were collected using standardized mathematics achievement tests and a validated Mathematics Anxiety questionnaire. Contrary to common expectations, the findings reveal that students with higher levels of Mathematics Anxiety achieved higher scores. Furthermore, students taught in English medium outperformed their Hindi medium counterparts. These results suggest that while Mathematics Anxiety is generally perceived as detrimental, it may also drive certain students to achieve better results. Additionally, the Medium of Instruction plays a crucial role in shaping mathematics achievements, with English medium instruction providing a notable advantage in Achievement in Mathematics. The study concludes that educational strategies should consider both the Medium of Instruction and the complex role of Mathematics Anxiety in learning to enhance student Achievement in Mathematics.