Towards deeper learning in EMI lectures
The role of English proficiency and motivation in students’ deep processing of content knowledge
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 11184641 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Sihan Zhou (0000-0002-1815-5938, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, Faculty of Education, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China, corresponding author), Daniel Fung (0000-0001-7005-5697, Faculty of Education, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR, China), Nathan Thomas (0000-0002-3245-8572, UCL’s Faculty of Education and Society) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 46 |
| Issue | 7 |
| Pages | 1749-1764 |
| Publication date | 2025-08-09 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0143-4632 • E-ISSN: 1747-7557 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/01434632.2023.2248078 |
| OpenAlex | W4386136804 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 21 |
| References cited | 70 |
Internationalisation trends in higher education have catalysed the rapid growth of English medium instruction (EMI). A central question in EMI research is whether students can process content knowledge in depth when it is taught through a language that they have limited proficiency in. Previous studies have primarily examined the impact of EMI on content learning products (e.g. academic grades) with few investigations into learning processes. The present study explores the extent to which students report using deep-level strategies (e.g. elaboration, organisation, and critical thinking) for processing content knowledge in EMI lectures, and whether such strategy use is related to students’ English listening proficiency and motivational beliefs. A mixed-methods design was used, collecting questionnaire responses from 316 students and conducting semi-structured interviews with a subsample of 35 students at an EMI university in China. The findings highlight students’ self-efficacy and intrinsic learning goals as stronger predictors of deep processing strategy use than listening proficiency. Low-proficiency students were found to engage in more laborious previewing than their highly proficient peers. Such previewing appeared to help them develop schemata for activating in-class deep processing of content. The study offers implications for programme designers and lecturers on scaffolding meaningful content learning in EMI settings
Active listening · Language proficiency · Mathematics education · Pedagogy · Communication · EFL/ESL Teaching and Learning · Psychology · Second Language Acquisition and Learning · Second Language Learning and Teaching
Bangladeshi University Students’ Motivation and Translanguaging Ideologies Toward English‐Medium Instruction
The effect of intralingual live subtitling on students’ performance and perception in EMI lectures in Flanders
Transforming Self-Identity in EMI
To survive or to thrive? Synthesizing the narrative trajectories of students’ self-regulated listening practice in an EMI transnational higher education context
‘My English is terrible to read’
A longitudinal study on lecture listening difficulties and self-regulated learning strategies across different proficiency levels in EMI higher education
Making sense of English-medium medical education in the expanding circle
English spread’ at the interface of national and institutional EMI policies in China
Understanding secondary school students’ challenges, language learning strategies and future selves at highly selectiveEMI schools in Kazakhstan
Qualitative research on language learning strategies and self-regulation
Learning vocabulary through listening
Listening strategy instruction for EMI learners to understand teacher input in science classrooms
Understanding academic vocabulary learning in higher education
Exploring the interplay between enjoyment, anxiety, ideal self, and willingness to communicate in EMI higher education
Out of the comfort zone, into the learning zone
L2 listening in a digital era
Unpacking the English Medium Instruction (EMI) boom
The evaluation of EMI in preparing medical and dental students for specialty exams
Intended effort and self-related and social experiences during study abroad at a European university
A mixed-methods study of strategy use in academic vocabulary learning among first-year undergraduates in Hong Kong
Orchestrating listening in EMI university lectures
Qualitative Text Analysis
Cognitive Load Theory
Questionnaires in Second Language Research
Three minute thesis presentations as an academic genre
‘Surely they can't do as well’
The relation between goal orientation and students' motivational beliefs and self-regulated learning
Achievement goals in the classroom
A Conceptual Framework for Assessing Motivation and Self-Regulated Learning in College Students
English Medium Instruction
Self-Efficacy
Listening Comprehension Strategies in Second Language Acquisition
Defining language goals in EMI
Students’ beliefs about the role of interaction for science learning and language learning in EMI science classes
The role of graduate students’ learning strategies in reducing their English medium instruction avoidance
Exploring the role of self-efficacy beliefs and learner success in English medium instruction
Success in English Medium Instruction in China
Transitioning from secondary school to an English-medium transnational university in China
The effectiveness of a bilingual education program at a Chinese university
Questioning and responding in the classroom
Exploring the relationship between metacognitive awareness and listening performance with questionnaire data
‘Does everybody understand?’ Teacher questions across disciplines in English-mediated university lectures
A systematic review of English medium instruction in higher education
A Model for Achievement Motives, Goal Orientations, Intrinsic Interest, and Academic Achievement
Korean Science and Engineering Students’ Perceptions of English-Medium Instruction and Korean-Medium Instruction
High school to university transitional challenges in English medium instruction in Japan
Listening strategies in the English Medium Instruction (EMI) classroom
Exploring listening comprehension tactics and their interaction patterns
Exploring the role of English proficiency, self-efficacy, and motivation in listening for learners transitioning to an English-medium transnational university in China
Walking like a toddler
Self-regulated listening of students at transition from high school to an English medium instruction (EMI) transnational university in China
Investigating the impact of linguistic and non-linguistic factors on EMI academic success
Tangible insights on the strategizing of language learners and users
English Medium Instruction
A comparative study of Japanese and English medium instruction
English-medium instruction (EMI) teachers as ‘curriculum makers’ in Chinese higher education
New Contexts, New Challenges for Tesol
A Reevaluation of the Role of Anxiety
What the "Good Language Learner" Can Teach Us
University students' academic performance
On Qualitative Differences in Learning
The role of different types of instrumentality in motivation, study strategies, and performance
Strategy Instruction in Listening for Lower-Intermediate Learners of French
What drives success in English medium taught courses? The interplay between language proficiency, academic skills, and motivation
English-Medium Instruction and Content Learning in Higher Education
Orchestrating Strategy Use
| Unique citing works | 21 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 10,5 |
| Citation span | 2024 - 2026 (3) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 21 |