Insights into improving English medium instruction programs
Szilagyi, Zsofia (2022)
Szilagyi, Zsofia
2022
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2022060415383
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2022060415383
Tiivistelmä
In non-anglophone countries around the world a fast-growing trend of switching from English being taught as a foreign language, to English being the medium of instruction (EMI) can be observed for various academic subjects taught in all grades (from kindergarten to grade 12) of school, without substantial research support on whether EMI education can deliver quality education and the attainment of skills required in the 21st century. In this thesis a qualitative approach was employed for exploring the challenges teachers face in EMI education and how they believe the quality of education could be improved within the EMI model. Information was collected through semi-structured interviews with educators who currently work in either EMI or bilingual schools, to get insight into their perceptions and opinions.
The findings indicate that the difficulties teachers experience and even the suggestions they have provided for improving EMI education appear to be universal, and not linked to specific location (country or continent). The main issue appears to be the language barrier, more precisely, the difficulty of trying to teach students in a language they are not fully proficient in. As for what teachers thought would improve the quality of EMI education was a unanimous call for allowing mother tongue conversation and the use of mother tongue instructions in these immersion programs by the employment of bi-lingual educators.
This study contributes to the literature critical of EMI education by demonstrating that schooling is not solely the transmission of content, but that it is a complex ecosystem where students also acquire social-emotional skills and learn how to interact with peers and live in a democratic way, among others. This concept is important in understanding the dynamics of EMI education, especially in the K-12 system.
The present study could serve as the basis of future research with a focus on EMI education and on what promotes or hinders true quality education to materialize. Future studies could include a wider representation of countries and examine how policymakers are influenced by research. The sample size could be expanded to include a broad selection of interview participants, such as school headmasters, teachers, parents, and students, for the exploration of a wide range of perspectives on the best ways of learning a language and the best ways of accomplishing quality education.
The findings indicate that the difficulties teachers experience and even the suggestions they have provided for improving EMI education appear to be universal, and not linked to specific location (country or continent). The main issue appears to be the language barrier, more precisely, the difficulty of trying to teach students in a language they are not fully proficient in. As for what teachers thought would improve the quality of EMI education was a unanimous call for allowing mother tongue conversation and the use of mother tongue instructions in these immersion programs by the employment of bi-lingual educators.
This study contributes to the literature critical of EMI education by demonstrating that schooling is not solely the transmission of content, but that it is a complex ecosystem where students also acquire social-emotional skills and learn how to interact with peers and live in a democratic way, among others. This concept is important in understanding the dynamics of EMI education, especially in the K-12 system.
The present study could serve as the basis of future research with a focus on EMI education and on what promotes or hinders true quality education to materialize. Future studies could include a wider representation of countries and examine how policymakers are influenced by research. The sample size could be expanded to include a broad selection of interview participants, such as school headmasters, teachers, parents, and students, for the exploration of a wide range of perspectives on the best ways of learning a language and the best ways of accomplishing quality education.