Proceedings of The 7th World Conference on Teaching and Education
Year: 2024
DOI:
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Engineering Students’ and Teachers’ Challenges in English Medium Instruction (EMI) Programs in the Thai Context
Sirinthorn Seepho, Thidaporn Jumpakate, Thanatcha Ngamchatturat, Supasinee Nuphong
ABSTRACT:
In the past decades, English Medium Instruction (EMI) has been increasingly implemented in non-English-speaking countries around the world for its perceived advantages of content and language development. Particularly, due to the internationalization policies, educational institutions in Thailand have widely adopted EMI approach across various education levels, known as English or International Programs. Despite its widespread implementation, its effectiveness remains unexplored, especially in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) contexts. This study, therefore, aimed to investigate the perceptions of both teachers and students in an international engineering program when they experienced teaching and learning engineering subjects in English at a Thai university. Their needs and challenges during EMI classes were further explored by using online questionnaires, class observations, and semi-structured interviews. Participants of the study included thirty Thai and foreign students and three Thai teachers who graduated from abroad and their EMI teaching experience ranges from 3-10 years. Descriptive statistics were used for quantitative data analysis and thematic analysis was used for qualitative insights. The data revealed strong agreement among teachers and students concerning the benefits of EMI for enhancing English proficiency alongside engineering learning. Nonetheless, both groups highlighted some needs for overcoming linguistic difficulty and content complexity. Recommendations concerning EMI pedagogy for engineering programs and other support systems are discussed to optimize successful outcomes within the Thai engineering education landscape and in similar educational settings.
keywords: CLIL, EFL, Engineering, English Medium Instruction (EMI), teaching content through English