'EMI is like a durian': Chinese students' perspectives on an ideal English-medium instruction classroom in higher education

• Published in: Language and education Vol. 37; no. 4; pp. 529 - 545
• Main Authors: Yuan, Rui, Zhang, Tiefu, Li, Mo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Abingdon Routledge 04.07.2023; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: an ideal perspective; Chinese; Classrooms; College students; Content and Language Integrated Learning; Course Content; Curriculum development; Educational Experience; English (Second Language); English for academic purposes; English-medium instruction; Foreign Countries; Higher education; Instructional Design; Language of Instruction; Language Usage; Learning strategies; Literacy; Qualitative research; Second Language Instruction; Second Language Learning; Student Attitudes; student experiences; Undergraduate Students; China
• ISSN: 0950-0782; 1747-7581
• DOI: 10.1080/09500782.2022.2119862

This paper reports a qualitative study of what constitutes an ideal EMI classroom from the perspective of university students. Data were collected through in-depth interviews with 26 university students from various disciplines at a large public university in China. The analysis reveals three core themes, which were perceived to be integral to an ideal EMI classroom: 1) an integration between content, language, and learning strategies, 2) a process-oriented course design permeated with a translanguaging approach, and 3) moving beyond specific EMI classrooms with a future and community orientation. This paper argues that EMI needs to be approached as a full educational experience with multiple dimensions (i.e. cognitive, social, and affective), through which, students gradually build up their professional knowledge and disciplinary literacy as well as foster their sense of belonging and direction in their situated subject field.