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Lecturers’ Efforts in Building Rapport in the English-Medium Instruction (EMI) Context: Focus on the Use of Communication Strategies

  • Shiyan Yu

    Shiyan YU is a PhD candidate at the Faculty of Languages and Linguistics, University of Malaya, Malaysia. She studies the use of communication strategies in English as lingua franca interactions in English as a medium of instruction settings.

    and Jagdish Kaur

    Jagdish Kaur is a senior lecturer at the Department of English Language, Faculty of Languages and Linguistics, University of Malaya, Malaysia. She conducts research in areas of English as a lingua franca, intercultural pragmatics and English-medium instruction with a focus on how speakers in multicultural contexts co-construct understanding.

Published/Copyright: September 18, 2024
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Abstract

Past studies reveal the prevalence of anxiety, coupled with low motivation and disengagement among students in English-medium instruction (EMI) programs. Given the detrimental impact these negative emotions can have on learning outcomes, it is imperative that teachers establish positive emotional rapport with their students. This study explores how experienced and highly rated EMI lecturers at a Chinese university’s overseas campus use communication strategies to build rapport with their students during interactive academic activities. It identifies the strategies used by these lecturers and examines how the strategies facilitate the teaching-learning process. The data, consisting of 10 hours of tutorials and 10 hours of supervisor-student supervision meetings, is analyzed using an adapted Conversation Analysis (CA) approach. The analysis reveals three types of communication strategies (CSs) frequently used by lecturers: back-channeling, code-switching, and co-creation of messages. By employing these strategies, the lecturers established a strong rapport with the students, which created an encouraging and supportive learning environment. Consequently, this positive atmosphere facilitated students’ learning of content knowledge through English. The findings of this study have implications for the training of lecturers who encounter difficulties in establishing rapport with multilingual students in the EMI setting.

About the authors

Shiyan Yu

Shiyan YU is a PhD candidate at the Faculty of Languages and Linguistics, University of Malaya, Malaysia. She studies the use of communication strategies in English as lingua franca interactions in English as a medium of instruction settings.

Jagdish Kaur

Jagdish Kaur is a senior lecturer at the Department of English Language, Faculty of Languages and Linguistics, University of Malaya, Malaysia. She conducts research in areas of English as a lingua franca, intercultural pragmatics and English-medium instruction with a focus on how speakers in multicultural contexts co-construct understanding.

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Appendix

Transcription Symbols

Symbols Meaning
: stretched sound; the more colons the greater the extent of the stretching
((sigh)) non-verbal activity or the transcriber’s comments on contextual or other features
. falling intonation
? rising intonation
, continuing intonation
! emphatic tone
(.) pause of less than 1 second
(1.3) pause of 1 second and above, with the length of pause indicated in the bracket
= latching (the next turn is not produced after one beat of silence - which is what speakers usually do - but starts precisely after the speaker has stopped talking)
bold segment of talk containing the use of a rapport-building strategy
italics original segment of talk

Published Online: 2024-09-18
Published in Print: 2024-09-25

© 2024 BFSU, FLTRP, Walter de Gruyter, Cultural and Education Section British Embassy

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