Exploring teaching engineering in English at a Spanish university: perspectives of students and lecturers on challenges and opportunities

The persistent challenge of English proficiency in Spain, particularly in higher education, has gained critical importance due to global industry demands. Despite over 15 years of English-Medium Instruction (EMI) initiatives under the European Higher Education Area framework, linguistic shortcomings...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Oria Alonso, Carmela|||0000-0003-1014-4414, Pérez Fernández, Lucila María
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2025
País:España
Institución:Universidad de Cantabria (UC)
Repositorio:UCrea Repositorio Abierto de la Universidad de Cantabria
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:repositorio.unican.es:10902/36827
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10902/36827
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Higher education
Engineering education
English as medium of instruction (EMI)
Teacher’s perceptions
Students’ perceptions
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spelling Exploring teaching engineering in English at a Spanish university: perspectives of students and lecturers on challenges and opportunitiesOria Alonso, Carmela|||0000-0003-1014-4414Pérez Fernández, Lucila MaríaHigher educationEngineering educationEnglish as medium of instruction (EMI)Teacher’s perceptionsStudents’ perceptionsThe persistent challenge of English proficiency in Spain, particularly in higher education, has gained critical importance due to global industry demands. Despite over 15 years of English-Medium Instruction (EMI) initiatives under the European Higher Education Area framework, linguistic shortcomings remain prevalent. This study examines the perceptions of engineering students and lecturers at a Spanish public university regarding EMI, focusing on the institution’s role in fostering language competencies, influential factors, and areas for improvement. A survey was conducted with 311 of 2,090 students from various engineering degrees and age groups, including those with and without prior EMI experience, as well as 30 of 45 lecturers with diverse professional backgrounds. Data analysis, performed using Python, reveals that students frequently lack sufficient English skills and emphasise the need for stronger institutional support. Lecturers highlight insufficient pedagogical training and the challenges of linguistic heterogeneity among students. Statistical findings underscore the necessity for specialised lecturer training, interdisciplinary collaboration, and a student-centred approach to EMI. The study concludes that Spanish public universities cannot assume incoming students possess adequate language skills. Effective EMI implementation requires addressing lecturers’ training needs and providing robust linguistic support for students. These insights contribute to enhancing EMI practices in higher education.SpringerUniversidad de Cantabria20252025-12-01journal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501NAhttp://purl.org/coar/version/c_be7fb7dd8ff6fe43info:eu-repo/semantics/articlehttps://hdl.handle.net/10902/36827Discover Education, 2025, 4(1), 243reponame:UCrea Repositorio Abierto de la Universidad de Cantabriainstname:Universidad de Cantabria (UC)Inglésengopen accesshttp://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_abf2Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 Internationalhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessoai:repositorio.unican.es:10902/368272026-06-02T12:39:31Z
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv Exploring teaching engineering in English at a Spanish university: perspectives of students and lecturers on challenges and opportunities
title Exploring teaching engineering in English at a Spanish university: perspectives of students and lecturers on challenges and opportunities
spellingShingle Exploring teaching engineering in English at a Spanish university: perspectives of students and lecturers on challenges and opportunities
Oria Alonso, Carmela|||0000-0003-1014-4414
Higher education
Engineering education
English as medium of instruction (EMI)
Teacher’s perceptions
Students’ perceptions
title_short Exploring teaching engineering in English at a Spanish university: perspectives of students and lecturers on challenges and opportunities
title_full Exploring teaching engineering in English at a Spanish university: perspectives of students and lecturers on challenges and opportunities
title_fullStr Exploring teaching engineering in English at a Spanish university: perspectives of students and lecturers on challenges and opportunities
title_full_unstemmed Exploring teaching engineering in English at a Spanish university: perspectives of students and lecturers on challenges and opportunities
title_sort Exploring teaching engineering in English at a Spanish university: perspectives of students and lecturers on challenges and opportunities
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Oria Alonso, Carmela|||0000-0003-1014-4414
Pérez Fernández, Lucila María
author Oria Alonso, Carmela|||0000-0003-1014-4414
author_facet Oria Alonso, Carmela|||0000-0003-1014-4414
Pérez Fernández, Lucila María
author_role author
author2 Pérez Fernández, Lucila María
author2_role author
dc.contributor.none.fl_str_mv Universidad de Cantabria
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv Higher education
Engineering education
English as medium of instruction (EMI)
Teacher’s perceptions
Students’ perceptions
topic Higher education
Engineering education
English as medium of instruction (EMI)
Teacher’s perceptions
Students’ perceptions
description The persistent challenge of English proficiency in Spain, particularly in higher education, has gained critical importance due to global industry demands. Despite over 15 years of English-Medium Instruction (EMI) initiatives under the European Higher Education Area framework, linguistic shortcomings remain prevalent. This study examines the perceptions of engineering students and lecturers at a Spanish public university regarding EMI, focusing on the institution’s role in fostering language competencies, influential factors, and areas for improvement. A survey was conducted with 311 of 2,090 students from various engineering degrees and age groups, including those with and without prior EMI experience, as well as 30 of 45 lecturers with diverse professional backgrounds. Data analysis, performed using Python, reveals that students frequently lack sufficient English skills and emphasise the need for stronger institutional support. Lecturers highlight insufficient pedagogical training and the challenges of linguistic heterogeneity among students. Statistical findings underscore the necessity for specialised lecturer training, interdisciplinary collaboration, and a student-centred approach to EMI. The study concludes that Spanish public universities cannot assume incoming students possess adequate language skills. Effective EMI implementation requires addressing lecturers’ training needs and providing robust linguistic support for students. These insights contribute to enhancing EMI practices in higher education.
publishDate 2025
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2025
2025-12-01
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv journal article
http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501
NA
http://purl.org/coar/version/c_be7fb7dd8ff6fe43
dc.type.openaire.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/article
format article
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv https://hdl.handle.net/10902/36827
url https://hdl.handle.net/10902/36827
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv Inglés
eng
language_invalid_str_mv Inglés
language eng
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv open access
http://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_abf2
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
dc.rights.openaire.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
rights_invalid_str_mv open access
http://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_abf2
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv Springer
publisher.none.fl_str_mv Springer
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv Discover Education, 2025, 4(1), 243
reponame:UCrea Repositorio Abierto de la Universidad de Cantabria
instname:Universidad de Cantabria (UC)
instname_str Universidad de Cantabria (UC)
reponame_str UCrea Repositorio Abierto de la Universidad de Cantabria
collection UCrea Repositorio Abierto de la Universidad de Cantabria
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