Seeking effective EMI methods for Korean science and engineering students

Abstract

It has been almost a decade that Korean science and engineering universities adopted EMI. Most of the universities adopted an EMI policy abruptly and have implemented it without due investigations on its effects on their students and professors. This study attempts to examine the current states of EMI in Korean science and engineering universities and make suggestions for the future directions that they should take in their implementation of EMI. Three major Korean science and engineering universities were chosen for the study. Documents such as official university documents, school webpages, and newspaper and journal articles on EMI were collected and analyzed. In addition, questionnaire surveys were conducted among students and professors in order to find out about their perceptions of EMI classes and policies. The survey results show that both the professors and students felt less satisfied by EMI than by Korean-medium instruction and many of them felt that their English abilities were not sufficient for EMI. Nevertheless, the majority of them believed that their universities should maintain EMI but with more effective EMI methods in place. For instance, feedback on students’ English work could be provided with the help of English language experts; Korean should be used more effectively in EMI classes. The study concludes with an emphasis on the universities’ needs for moving from EMI to ILCHE (Integrated Language and Content in Higher Education). ILCHE refers to programs that have “explicit and integrated content and language learning aims,” whereas EMI focuses on content learning only (Unterberger & Wilhelmer 2011:95). The study attempts to suggest ILCHE for Korean science and engineering students.