Preparing university students for multilingual EMI contexts in Türkiye

Abstract

English-medium instruction (EMI) is a growing phenomenon among universities in Türkiye, with higher numbers of local and international students registering for programs offered in English each year. This situation suggests that students should get prepared for multilingual contexts before they start taking faculty courses; however, institutions usually ignore this when offering linguistic support to students. This study explored the potential ways of adopting a more inclusive approach to language education offered to students preparing for EMI. The in-class teaching practices of language instructors and the views of students who attended these lessons were explored through classroom observations and focus-group interviews. The results revealed that the instructors preferred several different methods to modify their teaching in English-as-a-lingua-franca-compatible ways, and students found their instructors’ practices useful from multiple aspects for their future English-medium courses. The findings imply revisions on the nature of the language education offered in English preparatory schools in Türkiye.