Students’ perspectives on English medium instruction: A survey-based study at a Norwegian university

Abstract

Internationalisation of higher education (HE) has led to an extensive implementation of English medium instruction (EMI) in Nordic higher education. This study explores students' attitudes towards EMI in the Norwegian study context. A total of 346 students within the fields of law, philosophy, and natural science responded to a questionnaire and evaluated statements concerning the language use in the educational context. Indexes measuring confidence in English skills and attitudes towards EMI were constructed and analysed using multiple regression. Natural science students and students with high confidence had significantly more positive attitudes towards EMI than students who were less confident in their English skills. Furthermore, confidence correlated positively with students' plans to study abroad, which could suggest that confidence in English is a predominant factor influencing students' choices of whether or not to go abroad as part of their education.

Perceptions and attitudes of Qatar University students regarding the utility of arabic and english in communication and education in Qatar

“…Our findings are in line with those of Bukve (2018) who concluded that students with high proficiency in English had more positive attitudes towards English than those with low proficiency. These results are in the same vein with the results obtained for Pakistan, China and European states, where the students expressed worries that their academic English skills might not meet curricula expectations, which will negatively affect their school performance (Brock-Utne, 2001;Haidar & Fang, 2019;Hultgren et al, 2014;Jensen & Thogersen, 2011;Wilkinson, 2012).…”

“…This finding runs against the findings of Bouhmama and Bouhmama (2015) which indicated that Kuwait University female students had a less favorable attitude towards EMI compared to male students. However, the finding is in agreement with studies in places like Turkey, Norway, and Japan where females were found to have more positive attitudes towards EMI and English use in many domains of interaction (Brown & Sachdev, 2009;Bukve, 2018;Ernesto Macaro & Akincioglu, 2018).…”

Students’ perspectives on English medium instruction within higher education

“…This sum score was normalized to a 1-5 scale. The indexes, which were developed in a previous paper (Bukve, 2018) are composite measures that represent certain theoretical concepts. Variables included in the indexes represent similar but not identical aspects of attitudes towards language skills and language use.…”

Productive Method as the Basis for Soft Skills Development in Engineering Foreign Language Education

“…Scientists from different countries emphasise advantages of using EMI in education, showing that this concept contributes to internationalisation of the society, helps in the implementation of academic mobility, and most importantly provides an opportunity for the development of communication and management skills, creating conditions for active interaction of students. However, EMI is an insufficiently studied phenomenon and has several shortcomings identified by researchers, which are as follows: a low level of foreign language proficiency does not allow students to fully assimilate the material on the taught discipline; the low academic performance of students in the discipline with EMI demotivates them to learn the language; currently a small number of high-quality manuals and courses using EMI are presented [35][36][37]. Nevertheless, this concept is worth further consideration and implementation in the system of engineering personnel training, as it can contribute to the development of soft skills while learning a foreign language.…”