Students’ Perceptions Towards the Benefits and Drawbacks of EMI Classes

Abstract

Globalization and internationalization have fostered the development of English as a medium of instruction (EMI). EMI is gaining its popularity all over the world. In line with this tendency, various universities in Vietnam introduce EMI to its undergraduate programs in forms of advanced or high-quality training programs. However, little research has been conducted to discover the benefits as well as drawbacks of these EMI programs, especially in context where English is not a second language nor popularly used outside the classroom as in Vietnam. The purpose of this study was therefore conducted to explore the issue in a university in Vietnam. A group of 136 sophomores majoring in International Business and Information Technology participated in this study. A questionnaire was administered to them to obtain quantitative data. Six students were selected randomly to take part in individual interviews to obtain qualitative data. Results indicated that students perceived four clusters of benefits and drawbacks that EMI classrooms provide.

Students’ Perceptions of Content- and Language- Integrated Learning in Vietnam: A Survey Study

“…Furthermore, too large a group of students indicated that they feel their current level of English does not allow them to benefit fully from EMI courses both in terms of content and language teaching, is an unfortunate finding, but this should not surprise us; since it confirms the earlier findings (Phuong & Nguyen, 2019).…”

Impact of EMI on Omani Engineering Students’ Academic Performance

“…Additionally, using English to teach non-English native speakers can impede discussion among students, putting those who struggle with the language in a disadvantageous position. As a result, EMI can lead to lower graduation rates (Byun, Chu, Kim, Park, Kim, & Jung, 2011;Airey & Linders, 2007;Collins, 2010;Al-Issa, 2017;Querol-Julián, & Camiciottoli, 2019;Phuong, & Nguyen, 2019). Two-third of the interviewees who participated in this study had positive views about EMI as they believed that it helped them to improve their English language skills and that it would help them considerably in their future employment and studies.…”

“…Purposive sampling was used as it entails studying information-rich cases and yields insight and in-depth understanding rather than empirical generalisations (Patton, 2002). Purposive sampling aims at capturing and describing the central themes across the case under study (Patton, 2002).…”

Eğitim dilinin İngilizce olmasının mühendislik mezunlarının iş hayatlarına yansımalarının tespiti

“…Undoubtedly, the former has always drawn much of the researchers' attention. Having said that, however, numerous studies have also reported the implementation of the latter around the world so far (Chou, 2018;Malmström, Pecorari & Gustafsson, 2016;Pecorari, Shaw, Irvine & Malmström, 2011;Phuong & Nguyen, 2019;Pun & Macaro, 2019;Rose, Curle, Aizawa & Thompson;Simbolon, 2017;Wu, 2006).…”