What students have to say about EMI : exploring university students’ perspectives on changing the learning/teaching language to English

This study documents the perceptions and self-expressed experiences of eleven Catalan university students as they shift from learning in their first language(s), Catalan and/or Spanish, to learning in English. The paper presents a qualitative analysis of students’ reflections in relation to: how dis...

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Detalhes bibliográficos
Autor: Moncada-Comas, Balbina
Formato: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2022
País:España
Recursos:Varias* (Consorci de Biblioteques Universitáries de Catalunya, Centre de Serveis Científics i Acadèmics de Catalunya)
Repositorio:Recercat. Dipósit de la Recerca de Catalunya
OAI Identifier:oai:recercat.cat:10459.1/83611
Acesso em linha:https://doi.org/10.18485/esptoday.2022.10.2.4
http://hdl.handle.net/10459.1/83611
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palavra-chave:English-medium instruction (EMI)
EMI students
Classroom experience
Students’ perceptions
Students’ concerns
Descrição
Resumo:This study documents the perceptions and self-expressed experiences of eleven Catalan university students as they shift from learning in their first language(s), Catalan and/or Spanish, to learning in English. The paper presents a qualitative analysis of students’ reflections in relation to: how disciplinary knowledge is transmitted and learned in English-medium instruction (EMI); the multilingual dynamics employed in the EMI class by both lecturers and students; the Englishlanguage teaching and learning events; and perceptions of students’ own and their classmates’ performance. It outlines the main foci identified through thematic data analysis (Airey, 2011; Saldaña, 2013) of students’ responses to a set of questions, considering their personal opinions regarding the implementation of EMI subjects as part of the internationalisation process of the university and offering the students’ general views and concerns about content subjects taught in English. The findings suggest that students have a generally positive perspective on EMI subjects and they assign a pedagogical value to the L1(s). Yet, the paper also reports several students’ concerns in relation to EMI implementation. Overall, these findings may lead to a better and deeper understanding of EMI in the context under study.