Preparing university students for multilingual EMI contexts in Türkiye

Yavuz Kurt; Yasemin Bayyurt

doi:10.1515/jelf-2023-2015

Article

Preparing university students for multilingual EMI contexts in Türkiye

Yavuz Kurt and Yasemin Bayyurt

Published/Copyright: January 12, 2024

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From the journal Journal of English as a Lingua Franca Volume 12 Issue 2

Abstract

English-medium instruction (EMI) is a growing phenomenon among universities in Türkiye, with higher numbers of local and international students registering for programs offered in English each year. This situation suggests that students should get prepared for multilingual contexts before they start taking faculty courses; however, institutions usually ignore this when offering linguistic support to students. This study explored the potential ways of adopting a more inclusive approach to language education offered to students preparing for EMI. The in-class teaching practices of language instructors and the views of students who attended these lessons were explored through classroom observations and focus-group interviews. The results revealed that the instructors preferred several different methods to modify their teaching in English-as-a-lingua-franca-compatible ways, and students found their instructors’ practices useful from multiple aspects for their future English-medium courses. The findings imply revisions on the nature of the language education offered in English preparatory schools in Türkiye.

Özet

Her yıl daha fazla sayıda yerel ve uluslararası öğrencinin İngilizce aracılığıyla öğretilen programlara kaydolmasıyla, Türkiye'deki üniversiteler arasında Eğitim dili olarak İngilizce (EDİ) büyüyen bir olgu haline gelmiştir. Bu durum, fakülte derslerine başlamadan önce öğrencilerin çok dilli bağlamlara hazırlanmaları gerektiğini göstermektedir; ancak kurumlar, öğrencilere dil desteği sunarken genellikle bu durumu göz ardı etmektedirler. Bu çalışma, EDİ’ye hazırlanan öğrencilere sunulan dil eğitiminde daha kapsayıcı bir yaklaşımı benimsemenin potansiyel yollarını araştırmıştır. Dil eğitmenlerinin sınıf içi öğretim uygulamaları ve bu uygulamalara katılan öğrencilerin görüşleri, sınıf gözlemleri ve odak grup görüşmeleri yoluyla incelenmiştir. Sonuçlar eğitmenlerin uygulamalarını ortak dil olarak İngilizceye uygun biçimde değiştirmek için bir dizi farklı yöntemi tercih ettiklerini göstermiştir. Öte yandan öğrenciler, eğitmenlerinin uygulamalarını İngilizce aracılığıyla gelecekte alacakları dersler için birçok açıdan yararlı bulmuştur. Bulgular, Türkiye’de üniversitelerin İngilizce hazırlık okullarında verilen dil eğitiminin gözden geçirilmesi gerektiğine işaret etmektedir.

Keywords: English as a lingua franca; English-medium instruction; higher education

Anahtar kelimeler: Eğitim dili olarak İngilizce; ortak dil olarak İngilizce; yükseköğretim

Corresponding author: Yavuz Kurt, Marmara University Göztepe Campus, 34722, Kadıköy, İstanbul, Türkiye, E-mail: yavuz.kurt@marmara.edu.tr

Research funding: Funded by Boğaziçi Research Fund (Grant number: 12675).
Disclosure statement: Conflicts of interest: none.
Note: This manuscript is based on the PhD study of the first author.

Appendix

Guiding questions used during the focus-group interviews.

How do you feel about being in the prep school?
What do you think about the lesson you have just attended?
How did you feel during the lesson?
What did you learn in this lesson?
What were the things you liked or did not like about this lesson?
Did you previously know anything about the topics covered in this lesson?
In your opinion, what was the purpose of this lesson?
How do you generally evaluate the language education you receive in prep school?

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Published Online: 2024-01-12

Published in Print: 2023-09-26

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Articles in the same Issue

https://doi.org/10.1515/jelf-2023-2015

Keywords for this article

English as a lingua franca; English-medium instruction; higher education