Improving Effectiveness of English Medium Instruction Economics Classes: Students' Perceptions in China

Abstract

English Medium Instruction (EMI) is widely implemented in Business English (BE) programs in higher education in China to help students improve English proficiency and master subject matter. Positive impact of EMI on language and content learning has been reported, but using English as the Medium of Instruction (MOI) has also given rise to a number of concerns, such as the loss of subject content and inadequate integration of content and language. To address these concerns, the present study explores the impact of EMI on students’ learning by investigating their perceptions and learning experience of Economics, an EMI core course in the BE program. A questionnaire survey was conducted among 180 BE students to evaluate the pedagogy and teaching quality of the course, revealing improvement areas pertaining to instructional practices and teaching methodology. Based on the findings, the study yields pedagogical implications to improve the quality of EMI and students’ capacity to learn disciplinary content in another language.