BUCHAREST UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMIC STUDIES

BUCHAREST UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMIC STUDIES
Faculty of International Business and Economics
Applied Modern Languages
GRADUATION THESIS
Scientific Coordinator :
Professor / Associate Professor / Reader / Lecturer Mirela Bardi, Ph.D
Author :
Iuliana- Andreea Țîrcomnicu
Bucharest, 2016
BUCHAREST UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMIC STUDIES
Faculty of International Business and Economics
Applied Modern Languages
Interactive language teaching in English Medium Instruction- the lecturers’ perspective
Scientific Coordinator :
Professor / Associate Professor / Reader / Lecturer Mirela Bardi , Ph.D
Author :
Iuliana- Andreea Țîrcomnicu
Bucharest, 2016
2
Contents
INTRODUCTION 4
CHAPTER 1 – LITERATURE REVIEW 7
1. Recent development in English Medium Instruction (worldwide) 7
1.1. The case of Italy 9
1.2. The case of the Nordic countries- Denmark 10
1.3. The case of Romania 12
2. Interactive language teaching 14
2.1. The case of Romania 16
3. Challenges of teaching in English Medium Instruction 18
CHAPTER 2 – RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 20
CHAPTER 3- RESEARCH FINDINGS 24
CHAPTER 4 – DISCUSSION, CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS 31
GLOSSARY 34
REFERENCES 37
APPENDIX – INTERVIEW GUIDE 38
3
KEY WORDS
English as a Medium of Instruction (EMI)
language teaching
interactive teaching
challenges
internationalization
INTRODUCTION
Teaching and learning are complex processes that influence each other and depend on each other. The choice of teaching methodology and the principles that underpin teaching have a clear influence on student learning which, in its turn, depends on and influences student motivation among other factors. Principles and practices of interactive, communicative teaching have steadily gained ground and have developed over the past decades. Such practices are used at all levels of teaching and they are particularly useful and relevant in higher education. Language teaching has been one of the main areas where communicative methodologies were adopted and developed, but principles of interactive teaching apply to all subject areas.
Internationalization of higher education and the spread of the English language as a Medium of Instruction (EMI) are phenomena strongly connected with the need for interactive teaching. The presence of international students as a result of increased mobility, calls for a unified methodology which should be similar to that used in the countries of residence of those students. EMI is increasingly being used in universities, secondary schools and even primary schools around the world for academic subjects as diverse as science, mathematics and geography. This has huge implications for education in all the countries concerned.
Taking into account the two phenomena described above – the spread of interactive teaching methodologies and the spread of EMI – this paper aims to explore the use of interactive language teaching practices in the context of higher education programs delivered through the medium of English. The challenges encountered by teachers and the strategies they developed to overcome such challenges will be investigated through in-depth qualitative interviews with lecturers in the Bucharest University of Economic studies. The research study communicated in this paper aims to reveal the extent to which teachers of
4
English adjust their teaching depending on the educational needs and profiles of students. At the moment, three teaching situations co-exist: 1. teaching business English to students of economics who study business and economics in Romanian, 2. teaching business English to students who undertake their economics degree in English and 3. teaching language/applied linguistics to students who study for their applied modern languages degree. While teaching business English to students of economics has been the main objective of language teaching for a long while, the other two situations have arisen in the past 2-3 years. Have teachers developed/changed/their teaching methodology to the needs of these students? To what extent does interactive teaching respond to those needs? These are some of the questions that underpin the current study.
In the Bucharest University of Economic Studies, new programs taught through English as a Medium of Instruction have been approved during the past few years. These programs are both at the bachelor’s and the master’s degree level and have to do with different specializations, like business administration, accounting, informatics, management and so on. There are more master’s degree programs than bachelor’s degree ones, but this situation is changing. Examples of master’s degree programs recently implemented in this university are: Business Accounting;
Economical Informatics; Business administration in trading, tourism, services, science of commodities and quality management; Accounting and Management Information System;
Finance and Banking; Management and Marketing. The bachelor’s degree program that has recently been added to the other programs from the Bucharest University of Economic Studies is Modern Applied Languages in Economics.
The focus of my research was on discovering the way in which the lecturers understand and view their roles in the new context generated by the introduction in educational offer of the university of a Applied Languages program. Also, the research plan was to elicit specific examples of learning activities that make teaching interactive and thus enable students to participate more actively in the classroom.
In order to explore the challenges deriving from new developments such as the ones described above, a qualitative methodology has been adopted because the study aims to capture perceptions and description of practices. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with the help of lecturers in the Department of Modern Languages and Business Communication in the
5
faculty of International Business and Economics (REI). The interviews were supplemented by classroom observation.
The design of the interview schedule (Appendix 1) was the result of the general need to find out opinions and perceptions about teaching in the context of a study program that is new for the Modern Languages Department, which can thus bring with it challenges that have not been met before. The role of the lecturers has changed from teaching Business English to students of Economics to teaching specific subjects through the medium of English and delivering the particular content of the subjects, once the Applied Modern Languages program was adopted.
This paper has been divided into four chapters. The first one contains the literature review of the paper and it’s formed of 3 smaller chapters: Recent development in English Medium Instruction
(worldwide), Interactive Language Teaching and Challenges of teaching in English Medium Instruction. The first one contains information about the reasons why countries have chosen to have EMI programs in their higher education institutions. It also contains three subchapters which present in what measure EMI programs are present in 3 European countries: Italy, Denmark (and a small general view of the Nordic countries) and Romania. In the Interactive language teaching part, there is some theory about what teaching interactively means and also it contains a subchapter called “The case of Romania” in which I have focused on the interactive language teaching in Romania. The last one – Challenges of teaching in English Medium Instruction- is, as its name shows, a part in which I have focused on the main challenges that teachers encounter when teaching in EMI.
The next chapter is the methodological one, in which I will present the methods I have used for collecting and analyzing my data, the respondents; profile and all information necessary to justify my approach and provide credibility to my findings. In the research findings chapter I will present and discuss the results that have arisen from the interview and the data that I have found out from it. The last chapter will be a concluding one, in which I will draw conclusions and final ideas about the subject of this paper. There is also an Appendix at the end of the paper in which you will find the interview questions and the glossary of specific terms that I have used in my paper.
6
CHAPTER 1 – LITERATURE REVIEW
1. Recent development in English Medium Instruction (worldwide)
Globalization has become an omnipresent concept and its presence is also felt by the higher education sector. “At the tertiary level, globalization is closely linked to internationalization, a multifaceted process defined as ‘the policies and practices undertaken by academic systems and institutions – and even – individuals to cope with the global academic environment’1.” (Doiz, Lasagabaster, & Sierra, 2012, p. 17) The most used method of the internationalization of higher education is the introduction of programs that are being taught in foreign languages. Even though the main aim of this process is to promote and support multilingualism and language diversity, reality shows that the language with the highest percentage of use in terms of study programs is English.
English has undoubtedly become the language of international communication in key areas of social and economic life such as business and research. Higher education institutions could not ignore this reality and, due to increased student mobility, the need to offer English medium instruction programs has grown considerably. Definitions of English Medium Instruction (EMI) have been released and discussed for a long time and different, but in the same time similar versions have been approved. One of the most accurate, in my opinion, is the one given by Dearden ( 2014) in her study- article called “ English as a medium of instruction – a growing global phenomenon”, published by the University of Oxford. EMI refers to
“The use of the English language to teach academic subjects in countries or jurisdictions where the first language (L1) of the majority of the population is not English.” 2
Worldwide, EMI was introduced (or not) in different quantities and through different methods. There are many countries which have acknowledged the importance of EMI programs in their higher education institutions. But there are also countries in which this area has not been
Altbach & Knight, 2007, pages 290-291, cited in Airey J., Luardisen K.M., Rasanen A., Salo L. & Schwach V., Higher Education. The international journal of higher education research, 2015, “The expansion of English- medium instruction in the Nordic countries. Can top-down university Language Policies encourage bottom-up disciplinary literacy goals?”: http://brage.bibsys.no/xmlui/bitstream/id/383889/VSchwach-+English+as+a+medium.pdf, page 3, date accessed: 7-11-2016
Julie Dearden, British Council, 2014, “English as a medium of instruction – a growing global phenomenon”: https://www.britishcouncil.org/sites/default/files/e484_emi_-_cover_option_3_final_web.pdf, page 2, date accessed: 7-11-2016
7
improved yet. The reasons for this, as the Dearden’s study shows, are diverse, but all of them starting somehow from the same point: the lack of teachers that are not properly qualified in this field.3 Other reasons are: “ there are no stated expectations of English language proficiency; there appear to be few organizational or pedagogical guidelines which might lead to effective EMI teaching and learning; there is little or no EMI content in initial teacher education (teacher preparation) programs and continuing professional development (in- service) courses”. (Dearden, 2014, pp. 2-4).
The diagram from the above shows in percentages the range of use of the languages of international education, according to Graddol’s book – “English Next”.
4
Chart 1.1. The languages of international education
As the statistics show, more than fifty percent is taken by the English language, which demonstrates us once again the importance of English in the internationalization of higher education.
There are several countries which have started to introduce English Medium Instruction programs by all types (bachelor’s or master’s degree), due to different reasons. This has created what I call the recent development in their institutions.
Julie Dearden, British Council, 2014, “English as a medium of instruction – a growing global phenomenon”: https://www.britishcouncil.org/sites/default/files/e484_emi_-_cover_option_3_final_web.pdf, page 2, date accessed: 7-11-2016
David Graddol, British Council, 2006, “English Next”, page 76
8
To see which are the reasons that lead to the decision of European countries to use EMI in their higher education institutions, I have chosen 3 countries, on which I did some research: Italy, Denmark (and the Nordic countries in general) and of course, Romania.
The decision of researching on these particular three countries came from different reasons. While for Italy the main reason was the fact that I have randomly read some articles a few months ago that were related to the degree in which Italy’s higher education institutions use
English as a teaching language and I have seen the interesting situations that appeared there, for Denmark it was more a personal reason. I have had the chance to see with my own eyes, for one semester, how the situation is there and I thought to value this chance that I had and use it for my thesis. In what concerns Romania, I have chosen it because it was in my area of interest to find out how the situation is in the country as a whole and at the Bucharest University of Economic Studies in particular.
1.1.The case of Italy
The first country is Italy. Italy is at a starting point regarding the use of EMI in the educational system. In 2014, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)5, classified Italy “as a country offering ‘No or nearly no programs in English’, based on data from
2012”. (Helm, 2014, pp. 1-2)
After this classification though, the situation has changed rapidly. According to the same article6, in 2015, fifty-two Italian universities have started to offer English programs, from which 90% are at Master’s level. This represents an increase of 72% compared to the previous year. The situation in the universities stands as follows: 23 programs in English at the “Politecnico di Milano”, 18 programs at the University of Bologna, 15 programs at the University of Trento, 13 programs at the University of Padova and 13 programs at Tor Vergata.
The main issue that the Italian higher education institutions confronted with while trying to implement many EMI programs was linked to a opposition encountered by the Politecnico di
Milano, which, in 2011 decided to have all the Master’s degrees and PhD courses taught in
The OECD provides a forum in which governments can work together to share experiences and seek solutions to common problems. Its mission is to promote policies that will improve the economic and social well-being of people around the world. OECD Better Policies for better lives, About the OECD, “The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)”: http://www.oecd.org/about/, date accessed: 27-11-2015
Francesca Helm, 2014, “EMI in Italy- the current situation”: http://www.education.ox.ac.uk/wordpress/wp- content/uploads/2014/09/HELM_EMI_ITALY.pdf, page 1, date accessed: 27-11-2015
9
English. But this decision was strongly judged by both the Regional Administrative Tribunal
(TAR) and Italy’s language academy, because it involved the possibility of violating an article from the Italian Constitution.
Most of the university teachers and the students agreed with the existence of some programs taught through the English Medium Instruction, but they refused the idea of all programs to be taught in English. They wanted to also have the opportunity to choose whether they prefer to study in English or in their own native language.
Even though there is a major recognition of the importance of EMI programs among Italian people, there are still some obstacles in implementing them, most of which happening due to the administrative parts.
For example, a report by the European Parliament revealed that the internationalization of the higher education in Italy is hard to manage, because, “in terms of academics, 99% of teaching staff at Italian universities are Italian, and of the 1% that are non-Italians, 70% are European, mainly from Germany, UK, Spain and France. A few universities require nowadays lecturers to have certifications of English language proficiency to engage in EMI, nor are lecturers currently required to have any form of professional development as regards teaching”. (Helm, 2014, pp. 1-2)
Although Italy is believed to have had a slower start regarding the internationalization of higher education in comparison with other European countries, the OECD’s report from 2014 also showed that Italy is becoming “a new player on the international education landscape, as Italy currently hosts 2% of the global foreign student population”. (Helm, 2014, pp. 1-2) Italy’s higher education institutions may not necessarily require a language certificate before international students applying for their programs, but it is one of the most important countries concerning the students who choose to come or to go abroad through the ERASMUS program. These students come mostly from the countries close to Italy, but also from countries from other continents, like China.
1.2. The case of the Nordic countries- Denmark
While in Italy, the reason for introducing more EMI programs was the one that they needed to develop on this plan too, in the Nordic countries (Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Norway) the situation is different: the number of speakers of the four languages actively involved in Nordic
10
higher education is low. In other words, there is a small number of first language speakers in the higher education institutions. Given this reason, the Nordic countries felt the need of introducing English as a Medium of Instruction in their education systems.
The Nordic country that I’m going to research more on is Denmark.
Denmark is the first Nordic country to have joined the European Union and owns thirty one institutions of higher education, which want to have as many international students as possible. That is why it offers free tuition for students and exchange students who are part of the European Union. “Denmark has seen a steady rise in the number of EMI programs since the 1990s. At the time when Denmark signed the Bologna Declaration 7in 1999, Danish higher education already had a 3+2 year bachelor/master structure, which probably made it less cumbersome for the universities to fairly quickly develop EMI programs that would attract Danish and international students together.” (Airey, Lauridsen, Rasanen, Salo, & Schwach, 2015, p. 3)
Studies from the same article show that in 2013, 28% of all full-time programs in Denmark’s higher institutions were taught through the English Medium Instruction. From these institutions, the majority of the EMI programs are dominated by the technical and natural sciences universities.
The starting point because of which Denmark chose to offer so many EMI programs was to attract as many international students as possible, students with full-degrees, which helped the internationalization of higher education in Denmark to happen very fast. The numbers are increasing as the time passes by and more and more EMI programs are being developed.
The main reason why the EMI programs are so important for the Danes is the fact that both teachers and students don’t seem to have any problem with switching into English the learning and teaching processes without any problem.
“Most recently, the Danish government (2013) explicitly states that – on average- the Danes have a high level of competence in English, and that focus should be on individual multilingualism and on students maintaining and developing their other foreign language(s) during the higher education program of study.” (Airey, Lauridsen, Rasanen, Salo, & Schwach, 2015, p. 4)
7 The Bologna Declaration is the main guiding document of the Bologna Process and it proposed a European Higher Education Area in which students and graduates could move freely between countries.
11
Even though the EMI programs have been implemented a lot in the Nordic countries during the last years, they have encountered some criticism while doing this. For example, in 1989, Teleman8 predicted that “[…] the universities of the smaller countries will shift towards Anglo-American, in connection with their striving to create education programs that sell within the whole market” and Gunnarsson9, in 2001 said that “the Nordic academic community ran the risk of diglossia – a division of functions between languages- with English as the academic language and the Nordic languages relegated to being used in administration and everyday social interactions”.
1.3.The case of Romania
The last country that I am going to talk about is Romania. Here, the different institutions of higher education have implemented programs taught through English Medium Instruction both at the bachelor’s and master’s degree. The reason for this is the one of attracting as many international students as possible, but also to offer to students a greater perspective of the future.
Some of the most ‘searched’ programs in English are offered by prestigious higher education institutions, such as The Bucharest University of Economic Studies, The University of Bucharest, The University Babes- Bolay, The “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University from Iasi and so on.
Bucharest University of Economic Studies’ main objective is to modernize the learning process.
For this to be possible, one of the principles that this university follows is increasing the international visibility and the compatibility with similar programs that are organized in the foreign higher education institutions with the same profile. Creating new programs offered in English helped the university to develop and create more programs at the current faculties, both in the bachelor’s and master’s degree.
Cited in Airey J., Luardisen K.M., Rasanen A., Salo L. & Schwach V., Higher Education. The international journal of higher education research, 2015, “The expansion of English- medium instruction in the Nordic countries. Can top-down university Language Policies encourage bottom-up disciplinary literacy goals?”: http://brage.bibsys.no/xmlui/bitstream/id/383889/VSchwach-+English+as+a+medium.pdf, page 3, date accessed: 7-11-2016
Also cited in Airey J., Luardisen K.M., Rasanen A., Salo L. & Schwach V., Higher Education. The international journal of higher education research, 2015, “The expansion of English- medium instruction in the Nordic countries. Can top-down university Language Policies encourage bottom-up disciplinary literacy goals?”: http://brage.bibsys.no/xmlui/bitstream/id/383889/VSchwach-+English+as+a+medium.pdf, page 3, date accessed: 7-11-2016
12
For example, in February 201410, a new program of master in English has been accredited: Business Accounting. Another EMI master’s program that has been accredited is Accounting, audit and Management Information System. At the bachelor’s degree level, 6 new programs taught trough EMI were created: Economical Informatics, Business administration in trading, tourism, services, science of commodities and quality management, Accounting and Management Information System, Finance and Banking, Management and Marketing. Modern
Applied Languages in Economics is also an EMI bachelor’s program, which was created in
2013. Here, students can develop their proficiency in English and improve their economic vocabulary.
As we can see, English as a Medium of Instruction has become a big priority for most of the countries all around Europe.
The several reasons why this is happening are the following: the universities want to attract as many international students as possible, which will offer them a stronger international visibility; using English as a Medium of Instruction also widens the perspective of the future students concerning their future jobs and it also strengthens their competitiveness; students get conscious of the importance of cultural awareness and the experience of learning in and from an international environment; also, the contact that the students have with the global lingua franca will help in the process of globalization.
Furthermore, “higher education institutions are assessed by their participation in EMI processes
– EMI ensures that they are placed higher in international rankings and acquire greater prestige.”
(Alastrue & Perez-Llantada, 2015)
Even though most of the universities introduce English taught programs to attract more international students, there are some preferences that students have regarding the countries they are going to study in.
10 Razvan Zaharia, 2014, “Raportul annual al Rectorului Academiei de Studii Economice din Bucuresti privind starea universitatii”: http://ca.ase.ro/Media/Default/Page/Raportul%20anual%20al%20Rectorului%20ASE_2014.pdf, page 30, date accessed: 28-11-2015
13
Chart 1. 2. The top destination countries for international students
These statistics are taken from Graddol’s book – “English Next”. 11
2. Interactive language teaching
Teaching through the medium of English poses new challenges to both students and lecturers. When teaching applied linguistics subjects, lecturers need to help students both understand the concepts and improve their language skills. When teaching a language it is not only important what you teach, but also the way you do it. To maintain students’ attention and interest involves an entire process which at some points may be hard to be followed. For you as a teacher not to be stuck in the trap of teaching in the traditional methods, ways of doing it have been implemented over the past years. One of these is the interactive teaching. What does interactive teaching more exactly involve?
“Interaction is the collaborative exchange of thoughts, feelings or ideas between two or more people, resulting in a reciprocal effect on each other. Theories of communicative competence emphasize the importance of interaction as human beings use language in various contexts to
11 David Graddol, British Council, 2006, “English Next”, page 76
14
“negotiate” meaning, or simply stated, to get an idea out of one person’s head and into the head of another person and vice versa.” (Douglas, 2000, pp. 164-192)
The interactive teaching involves both teachers and students. As students pay attention to what their teachers are saying, teachers also should pay attention to their students’ needs.
An interactive classroom should involve:
Authentic materials which should necessarily include real-life situations, for students to be prepared in case they will meet up with those situations. The focus while teaching from these types of materials should not be on correcting the students’ language, but more on the contribution that they bring to the subject. These types of materials require also a high proficiency in English that the teacher should have.
Students should learn through role-plays, using pictures and objects and through discussions in the classroom. In this way, they can bring a personal contribution to the subject, which will raise their interest and make them more involved.
Group tasks are very important in an interactive classroom. Working together will make them communicate with each other in English and in this way they will practice their language skills, their understanding of what they are being told will be increased, and the use of the language will be more developed while working on the different tasks they are being given.
Watching short movies will help students see how the native speakers use the language. They will also observe the non-verbal language which may be as useful as the verbal one. They will learn, through hearing, how the accents are being put on words and also new words that will help them increase their vocabulary. Students watch films and videotapes of native speakers interacting.
Another idea for improving the pronunciation of the students is reading diverse things, from poetry to parts of some novels, and also by creating or preparing already existing dialogues or plays.
Interacting in a cross- cultural environment is also useful for language teaching, because students will be able to make a difference between the cultures also by hearing the way they speak the language. They can also share their values and points of view.
When practicing the reading part, students and teachers should have a real interaction. Students should be able to express their own interpretations of the text and also draw
15
conclusions after reading that text. Some students may be really inspired after reading a
text and may feel the need of creating their own stories.
Even though the grammatical aspect is very important in an interaction (because it’s mandatory to understand what it’s being talked about), it should not be learned through only reading and listening to same rules all over again. For grammar to be learned properly, students need to hear it and afterwards to use it on their own. Interaction is a way of doing. (Rivers, 1987, pp. 10-13)
Making teaching more interactive is not particularly difficult if the principles underpinning such methodology are properly understood. The basic rules involve having original materials, try to involve the students as much as possible, give students real-life situations that need to be solved, not focus so much on the grammar while you’re interacting and try to be more spontaneous.
The interactive teaching is important to be used because it enlarges the perspective over teaching and learning for both teachers and students. In this way, teachers can get rid of the ‘traditional’ methods of teaching and students can be more motivated to learn a new language, since they will not be forced to learn things that will not help them so much in the future. Also, they will have their attention maintained, because teaching interactively includes asking questions and having conversations.
These rules seem to be very easy to follow, but there are some issues that teachers confront with, especially when teaching in another language.
2.1.The case of Romania
The PROSPER project that unfolded in Romania from 1991 to 2002 was the first coherent attempt to reform the teaching of English in higher education and make it more interactive and student-centered. The implementations that PROSPER project brought to its purpose acted on many levels, regarding: the classroom experience- this one has been improved, since both teachers and students started to be involved more and have a more open relationship; the training- the trainees have become trainers for the ones who didn’t have the opportunity of taking part into this project; the teaching materials- two textbooks written by teams of PROSPER teachers have been released: English for Science and Technology and English for Business Administration; the publications – the newsletter has become a journal; the conferences – the teachers have become skilled in organizing their own conferences, leading to two major ESP
16
international conferences being organized in Bucharest in the recent years; the language centers
– five language centers were opened within the country and offered English courses to the fee-paying public.
“ In addition to the more ‘tangible’ outcomes presented above, PROSPER has created a sense of commitment and an awareness of a common cause among its members, which have led to the emergence of a professional community with its own identity, working towards the achievement of shared goals.” (Bardi, Chefneux, Comanețchi, & Măgureanu, 1999, p. 9)
To find out in what measure and how the teachers felt the changes after the PROSPER project, they have been given a questionnaire. The results were the followings:
Teachers begun to change their attitudes towards both the process of learning and learners, by giving students the opportunity of taking over more responsibility and by assuming roles;
After the project, teachers have begun to see language more as an instrument for communication
Teachers begun to teach their lessons based on new techniques, which had the aim of motivating and making students more involved. They started to focus more on skills training and practicing;
Teachers started to use interactive methods of teaching, by involving real- life situations in their lessons;
Teachers started to use new, authentic materials and even produced their own materials;
Teachers started to use new methods of testing students;
“Due to a continuous process of development, PROSPER teachers are more aware of their strengths as well as of their needs for further improvement. “ (Bardi, Chefneux, Comanețchi, & Măgureanu, 1999, pp. 25-26)
A good interactive classroom is now expected to have the following features:
“focus on the learner and learning;
responsiveness to student feedback and student involvement in classroom decisions;
wider range of learning tasks and materials which focus on communication;
wider range of teaching materials;
focus on teaching skills rather than language structures;
more complex interaction patterns with a lot of pair and group work;
17
diversified error correction techniques;
collaborative classroom atmosphere which encourages students to take initiative;
effective class-room management. “ (Bardi, Chefneux, Comanețchi, & Măgureanu, 1999, p. 47)
The PROSPER Project was really important for the Romanian educational system, since it helped it develop on the most important levels which are represented by the language teaching/ learning and the methods of doing it.
Challenges of teaching in English Medium Instruction
We have already established in the previous subchapters the importance of both teaching in the English Medium Instruction and teaching interactively. Mixing the two of them though may be pretty hard, since only teaching through the EMI requires a lot of confidence in yourself and having a high proficiency in English. Teachers often prefer not to interact with their classrooms especially when they are teaching English or in English, because they don’t feel prepared for the spontaneous issues that may appear.
A good communication is one of the main skills that a teacher should have. A teacher should be aware of the general and academic language and should have literacy skills in order to understand and respond to questions and comments that may appear in an interactive classroom activity.
Five of the most important challenges that a teacher encounters while interactively teaching through EMI deal with:
creating a professional development plan that works for them, which means that you continuously have to improve your teaching knowledge and develop your teaching skills;
finding new ways to motivate your learners, because if the students are enthusiastic and motivated, the process of learning will take place;
finding new ways to identify and correct your learner’s mistakes – making mistakes is an important part of language learning and the way a teacher tells the student that he or she
had made a mistake is an important issue, since it may influence his or her further involving in the activities;
being more confident using digital resources which can help you to make lessons more interactive and learner- centered;
18
Ø growing your confidence using English in class. 12
There are also many other challenges that lecturers encounter while teaching through the medium of English that have to do with other aspects, such as the level of language proficiency of the students. Teaching in English requires a pretty advanced level of language proficiency, otherwise problems in understanding and taking part into the classroom activities may appear.
That’s why one of the lecturer’s challenges that lecturers have to deal with in this case is to find ways to help students improve their language skills, eventually through non-traditional methods.
More details about these aspects are going to be presented in the following chapters.
12 *** Cambridge English, Teacher Development, „5 Teaching Challenges”: http://www.cambridgeenglish.org/teaching-english/teaching-challenges/#challenges, date accessed: 08-12-2015
19
CHAPTER 2 – RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
This chapter will present the research methodology with particular focus on data collection methods and data analysis. The methodology was chosen in terms of providing a complex response to my research questions.
1. Research questions
This study was designed as an attempt to explore the teaching learning processes associated with English medium Instruction and in particular the teaching unfolded by lecturers of modern languages and applied linguistics that have changed recently the main focus of their teaching.
The research questions indicate the research focus and should be precise rather than merely identify a general area of inquiry. Defining research questions at the outset of a research study is very relevant for the whole research work that follows.
The focus of my study has been defined as follows:
What are the main challenges of teaching through the medium of English, as identified by applied linguistics and modern languages lecturers?
Do the lecturers attempt to improve students; linguistic proficiency apart from delivering a specific disciplinary content?
In order to investigate how teachers perceive the challenges posed by delivering a specialized content through the medium of English, the qualitative open-ended interview was the most suitable data collection method. I was interested in capturing the personal experiences of teaching applied linguistics related disciplines and at the same time helping students to expand and improve language proficiency.
2. Respondents profile
The respondents all teach at the Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Faculty of International Business and Economics (REI), Department of Modern Languages and Business Communication. 80% of the lecturers who teach on the Modern Languages BA program accepted to take part in the interviews. The interviews were conducted in the department and lasted for about one hour each. The interview schedule (Appendix 1) was designed so as to elicit the opinions and perceptions about teaching on a study program that is new for the Modern
20
Languages Department and can consequently give rise to challenges that were not experienced before. Most of the lecturers on this program used to teach Business English to students of Economics and focused on developing communication skills.
With the creation of the Applied Modern Languages BA Program, their role has changed as they need to teach specific disciplines through the medium of English and deliver the particular content of those subjects. The way the lecturers view their role in the newly created context was the focus of my research. Equally, the research plan was to elicit specific examples of learning activities that make teaching interactive and thus enable students to participate more actively in the classroom.
The questions that I have designed in order to get the results obtained were related at first with the disciplines that the respondents were teaching, then with the challenges they have encountered, and then the questions became more focused on the students and the lecturers’ involvement in their development. Also, there were questions on the extent to which lecturers try to make the classes more interactive and the ways in which they do it and also on what changes they would do for the future.
Table 2.1. below indicates the disciplines that the participants in the study teach in the Applied Modern Languages program. Some of them also teach similar disciplines in various postgraduate programs manager by the Department of Modern Languages.
Number of respondents|Disciplines||||Levels:|Undergraduate/|
|||||Postgraduate||
||||
Respondent no. 1|Business Communication|in|Undergraduate|
|English||||||
||||
Respondent no. 2|English for|Business and|Undergraduate|
|Economics||||||
|||||
Respondent no. 3|Introduction|to|Applied|Undergraduate|
|Modern Languages|||||
|||||
Respondent no. 4|Current Research|Trends|in|Undergraduate|
|Applied Linguistics||||
|||||
Respondent no. 5|English for Media|||Undergraduate|
||||
Respondent no. 6|English for Advertising||Undergraduate|
|||||||
||21|||||
Respondent no. 7||Culture and Civilization.|Undergraduate|
||Society and the Arts||
||||
Respondent no. 8||Teaching Methodology|Undergraduate|
||||
Respondent no. 9||Qualitative research methods|Undergraduate|
||||
Respondent no. 10||Cultural Studies|Undergraduate|
||||
|Table 2.1. – The profile of the respondents|
3. Data collection methods
Interviewing as a method of data collection is not an easy method to administer and it can be particularly challenging for inexperienced interviewers. Besides the fact that it is more time-consuming than the other methods, it is very hard to get the respondents stick to the subject from the beginning. But I have chosen it because I believe it is the most valuable way of collecting data.
This type of method has offered me the possibility of being adaptable. In this sense, interviews are better than questionnaires for example, since „ a skilful interviewer can follow up ideas, probe responses and investigate motives and feelings”. (Bell, 2010, p. 161) As Bell believes, even if interviews are more time consuming, this method can provide rich material and „can often put flesh on the bones of questionnaire responses”. (Bell, 2010, p. 161)
Research interviews are based on the conversations of everyday life. They are conversations with structure and purpose that are defined and controlled by the researcher. Although the research interview may not lead to objective information, it captures many of the subjects’ views on something. The data consists of meaningful relations to be interpreted. (Kvale, 1996 )
The purpose of the qualitative research interview – in this study of the semi-structured type- is to obtain descriptions with respect to interpretations of the meaning of what is described. The interviewer does not use ready-made categories but is open to new and unexpected phenomena. Descriptions of specific situations and action sequences are elicited, not general opinions. During an interview an interviewee might gain new insights and change his or her descriptions and meanings. Different interviewers can also produce different statements on the same themes.
There are many definitions and comparisons regarding interviews, such as the one of Wiseman and Aron who, in 197213, liken interviewing to a fishing expedition. This analogy was pursued
13 Cited in Bell J., Open University Press, 2010, “Doing your research project”, page 175
22
by Cohen14, four years later, when he added that “like fishing, interviewing is an activity requiring careful preparation, much patience, and considerable practice if the eventual reward is to be a worthwhile catch”.
The main themes of the interview were linked to the challenges that lecturers encounter when teaching through the medium of English and to what extent are they trying to involve students in their lectures.
The interviews were audio recorded and transcribed subsequently. Transcription is a time consuming activity, but it needed to be done in order to capture the accurate meaning of the responses. For each interview, the key issues/ ideas were listed and the sequence of ideas was further completed with each and every interview. The full list was then checked for duplication and repetition and the categories were grouped into wider scenes. The themes will be discussed in the next chapter, where the findings are presented. These findings will be organized under each major theme and significant quotes will also be provided.
The coding process means finding patterns and relationships in the data which are then interpreted in relation to the whole set of data and against the context in which the data were generated. This again involves a continuous dialogue with the initial research questions as well as with the conceptual framework which informs the study.
Silverman (2006:144) gives a similar model of exploring the data which involves the
following stages:
an initial attempt to develop categories which illuminate the data;
an attempt to saturate these categories with many appropriate cases in order to demonstrate their relevance;
developing these categories into more general analytical frameworks with relevance outside the setting.
By applying the recommended methods of analysis a set of findings has been obtained that will be presented in the following chapter.
14 Cited in Bell J., Open University Press, 2010, “Doing your research project”, page 175
23
CHAPTER 3- RESEARCH FINDINGS
The interviews provided a lot of relevant data related to my initial research questions regarding the features of interactive language teaching in English Medium Instruction and the main challenges that lecturers encounter when delivering a specialized content through the medium of English.
The challenges that teachers encounter when teaching specialized content through the medium of English are varied and generated by a whole range of factors, which are to do with student motivation, language proficiency, complexity of the content to be delivered and understood, the teaching methodology used.
1. Student motivation
One major issue highlighted by the data is managing to keep the students’ motivation high for the study of that subject. Students’ motivation is indeed a major factor in successful teaching/learning operations and many lecturers are concerned about motivating their students. Many of my respondents try to show students how interesting and useful a particular subject could be both in itself and for their future careers. One way of doing this is explaining to students the practical skills they will develop by studying a certain discipline and the ways those skills can be used in their professional lives. Nevertheless, such attempts are not always entirely successful because of factors related to students’ perceptions of their priorities. The problem is compounded by having to deal with mixed ability groups, which makes it difficult to get the message across to all the level of proficiency ranging from A2 to C1.
“The fact that student groups are mixed ability groups makes it difficult to get the message across to all the proficiency levels (A2-C1); conceptual and terminological aspects that are conditioned by cultural factors – the fact that not all the learners have the same background knowledge.” (R2)
2. Student language proficiency
Mixed ability groups have been a perennial problem in Romanian higher education and all respondents complain about this reality of the classrooms. Low student proficiency makes it difficult to learn a complex disciplinary content and in particular, conceptual and terminological aspects that are conditioned by cultural factors. Understanding some of these concepts requires a
24
certain level of background knowledge and not all students have that kind of knowledge, apart from having quite low English level proficiency.
Sometimes, it is the case that many major disciplinary concepts do not have an established Romanian counterpart. This makes the whole issue of teaching in a foreign language problematic for both lecturers and students. Moreover, even when there is a counterpart, some students find it too complex. Lack of awareness of the meaning of specialized terminology in Romanian – despite translating the specialized terminology from English into Romanian, does not seem to help/ enlighten learners as they do not master the Romanian specialized terminology in their fields of study.
“The lack of awareness of the meaning of specialized terminology in Romanian- despite translating the specialized terminology from English into Romanian, does not seem to help/ enlighten learners as they do not master the Romanian specialized terminology in their fields of study.” (R7)
3. Teaching resources
Teaching in classrooms without any basic equipment for listening, video etc. makes the educational process quite difficult. Equally, teaching in classrooms where there is too much of this equipment i.e. IT labs, makes it necessary for teachers to re-think the activities so as to make use of the equipment which the students are tempted to use anyway (for example, the Internet).
„To teach in classrooms without any basic equipment for listening, video, etc. activities OR to teach in classrooms where there is too much of this equipment, i.e. IT labs, so that I need to re-think the activities so as to make use of the equipment, otherwise the students are tempted to use it nevertheless (for example, the internet)”. (R1)
As subject-specific books and textbooks in a foreign language can be quite expensive, the lecturers face the challenge of having to select relevant business content and adapting it to students’ interests with minimal costs (i.e. without asking them to buy expensive textbooks).
„To select relevant business content and to adapt it to students’ interests with minimal costs (i.e. without asking them to buy expensive textbooks).” (R4)
25
4. Improving students’ language proficiency
Question number 3 (Do you try to develop students’ language skills apart from developing their subject knowledge? Please give examples of input and activities) aims to find out how lecturers try to help students expand and improve their language proficiency. The answers were diverse but they all indicated that teachers are really involved in helping students develop their language proficiency skills. This should not be surprising because my respondents were language teachers, teaching applied linguistics or cultural studies disciplines. The case might be different with lecturers teaching economics or business related subjects as they may not be necessarily interested in linguistic aspects.
The ways through which lecturers try to develop language proficiency are the following:
Providing a wider range of classroom activities which offer more complex linguistic input, for example:
getting students to listen to authentic materials from sites (such as ted.com);
inviting learners to exchange opinions on a given topic and conducting simulations and class discussion;
asking student to write argumentative essays and complex documents such as: job applications, reports, business correspondence; formal and informal documents, organizing advertising campaigns;
providing synonyms and asking students to do terminology work to expand their vocabulary;
analyzing the discourse and language features of texts belonging to genres that are not familiar to students (e.g. research genres).
“I mainly try to develop students’ language skills, and only secondly their subject knowledge, through different activities such as: for ESP students- listening activities (using authentic materials from sites such as ted.com), speaking activities (inviting learners to exchange opinions on a given topic, writing activities (argumentative essays, job application documents and business correspondence).” (R10)
B. Focusing on professional skills
emphasizing business oral and written skills (presentations, negotiations, meetings etc. );
writing specialized business documents.
26
”I do try to develop students; professional communication skills by emphasizing business oral and written skills (such as presentations, negotiations, meetings, in-company and company-to-company correspondence, etc.) and by using authentic materials as much as possible.” (R3)
C. Providing a wider range of input
analyzing the rhetoric and language of a research article (which means looking at specific register, language functions, collocations);
involving students in analysis of specific discourses and genres.
“I do try to develop their language skills and the seminars have an academic language component where we analyse the rhetoric and language of a research article. We look at specific register, language functions, collocations.” (R6)
The answers are different, but in the same time somehow related, since most of the respondents use the listening, writing and speaking activities in different forms, depending on the subjects they teach. The wide range of activities mentioned by the respondents indicate the vast array of techniques lecturers’ use when teaching interactively and the fact that they are very well aware with the principles and requirements of such methodology.
5. Students’ ability to cope with disciplinary content
Another point of interest was to find out how students cope with the content delivered in English and the answers were encouraging, most of the respondents sustaining that the students manage to understand the content really well and if they don’t, they ask questions whenever some concepts are not clear or they ask other students for help. One respondent said that he usually checks the students’ comprehension by asking them to rephrase more difficult ideas or theories and to illustrate them with examples from their own reading or experience, to make sure that they understood everything properly.
“From the beginning of my lecture I tell my students that they are invited to ask questions whenever some concepts are not clear and I usually check their comprehension by asking them to rephrase more difficult ideas or theories and to illustrate them with examples from their own reading or experience.” (R5)
”I have to say that there are some whose level of English is not what it should be and they struggle: they ask other students for help.” (R8)
27
6. The need for specific language skills
To make things clearer regarding the way students cope with the content delivered in English, a specific question was designed to find out what particular language skills students need in order to learn efficiently in an English Medium Instruction context. Some respondents said that all language and communication skills are essential, while some other respondents were more specific:
o students need to master all the skills – to have at least a B2 level in listening, speaking, writing;
o they need to have a wider vocabulary and knowledge of the language structures;
they also need sociolinguistic abilities, which refer to using the right language in specific communication situations;
they need writing skills, particularly in terms of developing an argument and connecting ideas;
they need to be able to integrate new specialized language in their active language production.
“They need a wider vocabulary and knowledge of language structures. They also need sociolinguistic abilities which refer to using the right language in specific communication situations. They also need to know how to expand their vocabulary and integrate new specialised language in their active language production. And writing skills, particularly in terms of developing an argument and connecting ideas.” (R2)
The rather low level of proficiency that many students have at the beginning of their studies is a real challenge for lecturers and it should be a major challenge for students as well. The effort they need to make during their studies in order to compensate the initial lacks and limitations should be clear to students if they want to make appropriate progress during their studies.
7. The need for professional transversal skills
Besides the language skills, some respondents think that there are other skills that need to be improved in order to learn efficiently in an English Medium Instruction context, such as: non-language skills (documentation and research skills, awareness of how to avoid plagiarism, how to use dictionaries etc.), good listening and questioning skills, skills in being aware of the degrees of formulating as well as being able to interact in dialogues and give feedback based on
28
arguments, skills in academic writing for essays and dissertations, skills in expanding their vocabulary.
“Moreover, I believe they need non-language skills, such as documentation and research skills, awareness of how to avoid plagiarism, how to use dictionaries etc.” (R7)
8. Suggested changes/ improvements
Because one of this interview’s purposes is to shed some light on ways of improving teaching/learning processes so as students feel more support while learning, the respondents were asked to give examples of changes/ improvements that they would personally adopt to their teaching in order for it to be more effective. The answers were again diverse, indicating the need for more interesting and challenging projects, increasing Student Talking Time and giving them more opportunities to discuss issues in class and access to a wider range of resources.
“I would make the topics for the students’ projects more challenging and interesting and I would give more time to feedback and remedial work.” (R9)
”I would like to reduce the Teacher Talking Time and increase the Student Talking Time, both as concerns the review of scientific literature in Applied Modern Languages lectures and seminars, and as concerns the English for Business Seminar activities.” (R3)
”If I had access to more electronic resources, I would make my courses a lot more interactive.”
(R1)
A particularly important issue is student preparation for the sessions. Consulting bibliography in a foreign language requires more time and students seem unwilling to devote time to classroom preparation. The solution is still unclear.
”More pre- lesson reading and individual and pair/ group research, but I don’t quite know how to do that. I try to impose that anyway, but most students don’t read/ prepare and I don’t like the fact that I have to impose it by force (meaning subtracting points off their final grades etc.).”
(R5)
Finally, more time dedicated to specific modules in the syllabus might be to the benefit of the students who would have the chance to practice certain professional skills that are useful in a whole range of industry sectors.
29
”If the course were longer, I would do more writing activities because students generally write very badly.” (R2)
As the findings suggest, the teaching/learning activities are complex and lecturers are concerned about finding the best ways to help their students improve. Interactive teaching which is usually connected to student-centered learning requires the active participation of students in the learning process and therefore students should become more aware of their needs and be prepared to work towards their own improvement.
30
CHAPTER 4 – DISCUSSION, CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS
The research activity presented in this paper was structured in such a way in order to find out
data that would help me answer my initial research questions:
What are the main challenges of teaching through the medium of English, as identified by applied linguistics and modern languages lecturers?
Do the lecturers attempt to improve students; linguistic proficiency apart from delivering a specific disciplinary content?
Firstly, for things to become clearer about what I was going to write about, I had to do some research, more exactly discovering how the situation presents itself in different countries, regarding teaching through the medium of English. This helped me create a general idea on the impact that EMI has in the higher educational institutions worldwide.
The conclusion that I draw from this part is the one that adopting programs taught through
English as a medium of instruction is one of the greatest achievements for a university’s development. English as a medium of instruction should be mandatory for every higher education institution, since it enlarges the perspectives from all points of view: besides being a great opportunity for universities to attract more students from their country and international ones, those students are being offered a lot of opportunities which will help them in the future, by improving their language proficiency skills and also personal skills that they will need in the professional lives (communication, cultural background and so on).
Introducing English medium instruction programs is a major part of universities’ internationalization efforts. Nevertheless, such efforts need to take into account the challenges and difficulties that arise. One such issue that should be taken into consideration before deciding to introduce English taught programs into an institution is the language proficiency of the lecturers and students who are going to participate in such programs. Institutions need to prepare their teachers and make sure that their level of language proficiency is high, because that does not determine only how correctly they are going to teach, but also their spontaneity which would help them be interactive. If they don’t master the language, they will be afraid of interact with students, because these may ask questions that the lecturers are not prepared for.
31
Students should also be evaluated in what concerns their level of proficiency in English, because if they are going to be a part of an English taught program, they may have difficulties in understanding the materials if they don’t have a medium to high level of proficiency. So if universities decide to have more English programs in their structure, they should test their candidates in order to find out this aspect.
For both categories there needs to be appropriate support systems, which should include language support and possibly other types of support as well. One major conclusion that can be drawn from my study is the fact that such programs cannot be introduced based on a simple decision but development of their curriculum should be accompanied by the development of a parallel support program.
The conclusions that I drew from this part were multiple. Lecturers recognize the importance of teaching interactively and they clearly have embraced the principles and methods of this methodology. The lecturers are very knowledgeable about the specifics of interactive teaching and they apply it flexibly so as to respond to their students’ needs. Although try to include it in their daily teaching methods, but they are sometimes limited by administrative aspects, such as lack of technological resources and so on.
Even though there are many challenges encountered by lecturers while teaching language interactively, they are still open to doing it as good as possible and they are interested in the students’ needs. That’s why lecturers involve students as much as possible in the classrooms activities. At the same time, students should participate more actively to their own learning and development.
My research could be therefore continued by investigating the perspective of students on their performance in a program of study delivered through the medium of English. Comparing the perceptions of lecturers and students could be very useful in identifying the right suggestions for improving such programs.
Involving students in classroom activities is really important when teaching. From my personal experience, I can say that communication is the key in an interactive English taught classroom. I have studied in Denmark for one semester and I can say that that was the most interactive semester I have ever come across with. Besides the communication, which was present in each and every situation, there was a freedom of expression that I have seldom met until now. The language in which the subjects were taught was of course English, but the terms used did not
32
require so much extra knowledge, because they were more focused on the practical sides of the different subjects rather than on the theory. And the existing theory was further explained by the lecturer and if there were questions, everybody was free to ask. Their motto was: “There is no such thing as a stupid question. Maybe just a stupid answer.“
Introducing English Medium study programs is a decision that entails complex phenomena. The process is ongoing as most universities expand their educational offer by introducing such programs. The commitment to develop such programs is not enough and many factors need to be addressed in relation to this expansion.
33
GLOSSARY
language teaching methodology = “metodologia de predare a limbii străine”
“is that which links theory and practice. Theory statements would include theories of what language is and how language is learned or, more specifically, theories of second language acquisition (SLA). Such theories are linked to various design features of language instruction. These design features might include stated objectives, syllabus specifications, types of activities, roles of teachers, learners, materials, and so forth. Design features in turn are linked to actual teaching and learning practices as observed in the
environments where language teaching and learning take place.”15
language teaching = ”predatul limbii străine”
“teaching people to speak and understand a foreign language” 16
internationalization = “procesul de internaționalizare”
“is the designing of a product in such a way that it will meet the needs of users in many countries or can be easily adapted to do so.” 17
EMI (English Medium Instruction) = “Limba engleză ca și mijloc de predare”
“The use of the English language to teach academic subjects in countries or jurisdictions where the first language (L1) of the majority of the population is not English.” (Dearden, 2014)
higher education institution = “instituție universitară”
is an institution that it has a university level of education.
“It offers a number of qualifications ranging from Higher
National Diplomas and Foundations Degrees to Honors
Degrees and as further step, Postgraduate programs such as Maters Degrees and Doctorates.” 18
Rodgers, Theodore S., ERIC Clearinghouse on Languages and Linguistics, Washington, DC., 2001, “Language Teaching Methodology. ERIC Issue Paper” : http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED459628.pdf, page 3, date accessed: 05-05-2016
*** The Free Dictionary by Farlex, “language teaching”: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/language+teaching, date accessed: 05-05-2016
INVESTOPEDIA, “Internationalization” :
http://www.investopedia.com/terms/i/internationalization.asp?layout=infini&v=5D&adtest=5D, date accessed: 05-05-2016
18 Higher Education, “What is higher education?”: http://www.wg.aegee.org/ewg/higheredu.htm, date accessed:05-05-2016
34
globalization = “glozablizare”
“The worldwide movement toward economic, financial, trade and communications integration. […] implies the opening of local and nationalistic perspectives to a broader outlook of an interconnected and interdependent world with free transfer of capital, goods and services across national frontiers. However, it does not include unhindered movement of
labor and, as suggested by some economists, may hurt smaller or fragile economies if applied indiscriminately.” 19
multilingualism = “multilingvism”
“is the ability of an individual speaker or a community of speakers to communicate effectively in three or more languages. “ 20
language proficiency = “ competență de limbă”
the quality of having a great competence in language speaking, writing and listening
first language speakers = “vorbitori nativi”
native speakers = “someone who has spoken a particular
language since they were a baby, rather than having learned it as a child or adult” 21
free tuition = “fără taxe”
not having to pay money to a school for the right to study there
cultural awareness = “cunoaștere culturală”
“is the foundation of communication and it involves the ability of
standing back from ourselves and becoming aware of our cultural values, beliefs and perceptions” 22
authentic materials = “materiale autentice”
“are print, video and audio materials students encounter in their
daily lives, such as change-of-address forms, job applications, menus, voice mail messages, radio programs, and videos” 23
non-verbal language = “limbaj non-verbal”
non-verbal communication = “those aspects of communication, such as gestures and facial expressions, that do not involve verbal
communication but which may include nonverbal aspects of speech itself (accent, tone of voice, speed of speaking, etc)” 24
BusinessDictionary.com, “globalization”: http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/globalization.html, date accessed: 05-05-2016
About Education, “Glossary of Grammatical and Rhetorical Terms”:
http://grammar.about.com/od/mo/g/Multilingualism.htm, date accessed: 05-05-2016
Cambridge Dictionaries Online, “Meaning of ‘native speaker’ in the English Dictionary”: http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/native-speaker, date accessed: 05-05-2016
Stephanie Quappe, The Culturosity Group, LLC, “What is Cultural Awareness, anyway? How do I build it?”:
Sally Ianiro, Calpro, 2007, “Professional Development Fact Sheet No. 1 AUTHENTIC MATERIALS”: http://www.calpro-online.org/documents/AuthenticMaterialsFinal.pdf, page 1, date accessed: 05-05-2016
*** Dictionary.com, “nonverbal communication”: http://www.dictionary.com/browse/nonverbal- communication, date accessed: 05-05-2016
35
cross- cultural environment = “mediu multicultural”
is the environment “relating to or involving two or more different cultures or countries” 25
interview schedule = “plan de interviu”
“it is a set of questions along with their answers and filled in by the interviewer in a face to face meeting with interviewee” 26
qualitative research = “cercetare calitativă”
the research where “the emphasis is put on the natural setting and the points of view of the research participants.”27
mixed ability groups = “grupuri mixte”
groups that are “having pupils of different levels of intellectual ability” 28
cultural factors = “factori culturali”
factors influencing different situations that have to do with culture
ESP ( English for Specific Purposes) = “Limba engleză pentru scopuri specifice”
“the technique of teaching English to students
who need it for a particular purpose, such as business dealings” 29
professional transversal skills = “competențe profesionale transversale”
“the skills individuals have which are relevant to jobs and occupations other than the ones they currently have or have recently had. These skills may also have been acquired
through non-work or leisure activities or through participation in education and training” 30
student-centered learning = “învățat centrat pe student”
“refers to a wide variety of educational programs, learning experiences, instructional approaches and academic- support strategies that are intended to address the distinct learning
needs, interests, aspirations or cultural backgrounds of individual students and groups of students” 31
*** Merriam- Webster SINCE 1828, “cross- cultural”: http://www.merriam- webster.com/dictionary/cross%E2%80%93cultural, date accessed: 05-05-2016
Umar Farooq, Study Lecture Notes, 2013, “What is Interview Schedule, Definition & Types”:
http://www.studylecturenotes.com/social-research-methodology/what-is-interview-schedule-definition-types, date accessed: 05-05-2016
*** Atlas.ti QUALITATIVE DATA ANALYSIS, “Qualitative Research”: http://atlasti.com/qualitative-research, date accessed: 05-05-2016
*** Collins, English Dictionary Pioneers in dictionary publishing since 1819, “mixed- ability or mixed ability”: http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/mixed-ability, date accessed: 05-05-2016
*** Dictionary.com, “ESP”: http://www.dictionary.com/browse/esp, date accessed: 05-05-2016
*** “transversal skills”: http://www.elgpn.eu/elgpndb/view/251, date accessed: 05-05-2016
*** The Glossary of Education Reform, “Student- Centered Learning”: http://edglossary.org/student-centered- learning/, date accessed: 05-05-2016
36
REFERENCES
Airey, J., Lauridsen, K., Rasanen, A., Salo, L., & Schwach, V. (2015, October 23). The Expansion of English-medium Instruction in the Nordic Countries. Can Top-down University Language Policies Encourage Bottom-up Disciplinary Literacy Goals? Higher Education. The International Journal of Higher Education Research , 3.
Alastrue, R., & Perez-Llantada, C. (2015). English as a Scientific and Research Language: Debates and Discourses. Berlin/Boston: De Gruyter .
Bardi, M., Chefneux, G., Comanețchi, D., & Măgureanu, T. (1999). Innovation in Teaching English for Specific Purposes in Romania – a Study of Impact- The PROSPER Project. Bucharest: The British Council & Cavallioti Publishing House.
Bell, J. (2010). Doing your research project. Open University Press.
Dearden, J. (2014). English as a medium of instruction- a growing global phenomenon. (B. Council, Ed.) 2-4.
Doiz, A., Lasagabaster, D., & Sierra, J. (2012). English- Medium Instruction at Universities – Global challenges. Multilngual Matters.
Douglas, H. (2000). Teaching by principles- An Interactive Approach to Language Pedagogy (Second ed.). San Francisco: Longman.
Graddol, D. (2006). English Next. British Council .
Helm, F. (2014). EMI in Italy- the current situation. 1-2.
Kvale, S. (1996 ). InterViews: An Introduction to Qualitative Research Interviewing . London : SAGE.
Rivers, W. (1987). Interactive language teaching. Cambridge, United Kingdom : Cambridge University Press.
37
APPENDIX – INTERVIEW GUIDE
These interview- questions have been designed in order to collect data about Interactive Language Teaching in English Medium Instruction. The selected respondents are language lecturers who teach various applied linguistics/ social sciences disciplines through the medium of English and those who teach/ develop language skills of students in EMI programs.
Your participation in the study is very important for the success of my graduation paper. I would be very grateful for your honest responses.
Thank you
Iuliana- Andreea Țîrcomnicu
QUESTIONS:
What disciplines/ subjects do you teach through the medium of English?
What are the main challenges you encounter when you teach your discipline in English?
Do you try to develop students’ language skills apart from developing their subject knowledge? Please give examples of input and activities.
How do your students cope with the content you deliver in English?
What particular language skills do students need in order to learn efficiently in an English Medium Instruction context?
What kind of learning activities do your students engage in? Please give examples.
How would you describe students’ interest and motivation to participate in class activities?
38
What interaction patterns prevail in your classrooms? (Teacher- whole class, pair work, group work etc.)
What changes/ improvements (if any) would you make to your teaching in order to support students’ learning?
39