Exploring the Effects of EMI on Teaching and Learning
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The document summarizes preliminary findings from a study exploring the effects of English-medium instruction (EMI) on teaching and learning. The study observed two parallel civil engineering undergraduate classes - one taught in Portuguese and the other in English by the same lecturer. Preliminary findings show the EMI class had higher levels of attention, interaction, involvement and progressed faster than the Portuguese class. Test scores also showed the EMI group consistently outperformed the Portuguese group over the past two semesters. The document hypothesizes the EMI class may benefit from the Portuguese class serving as a "trial run" to help the lecturer improve strategies for the EMI class.
Exploring the Effects of EMI on Teaching and Learning
- 1. Exploring the Effects of EMI on Teaching and Learning Contact: ronmartinez@ufpr.br 1. Context I. Much of the class involves the lecturer demonstrating how to use a particular software package; this multimodal support seems to have a facilitative effect. II. Students in Portuguese group often seen in ‘off-task’ activity (e.g. Facebook). III. There is an observable higher degree of attention, interaction and ‘involvement’ (e.g. humor) in EMI class among both students and lecturer. IV. The EMI group generally progresses faster than Portuguese group. V. Test scores from EMI group from past 2 semesters show that EMI group consistently outperforms Portuguese group. Dr. Ron Martinez1 , Dr. Francisco Fogaça1 , Dr. Eduardo H. Diniz de Figueiredo1 1 Department of Modern Languages, Federal University of Paraná, Brazil Setor de Tecnologia UFPR I. Two intact Civil Engineering undergraduate classes at a private university in Curitiba. II. Classes taught in Portuguese on Fridays, and the same content delivered by the same lecturer to an EMI group on the following Monday. III. Students in EMI group (n=12) are self-selected – no proficiency requirement. Two non-Brazilians in class. IV. Portuguese class is of equivalent size. 2. Rationale 3. Method 4. Some preliminary findings 5. What’s next? What can be gleaned from the above findings? Issues of motivation, identity, self-efficacy and even SES all merit further investigation (see below). However, evidence of a consistent pattern of a kind of ‘practice effect’ can also be observed. For example, Figure 1 shows Eve extemporaneously writing on the board while teaching the Portuguese class; Figure 2 depicts the EMI version of the same class, in which Eve strategically changed both the timing and organization of board content. One current developing hypothesis, therefore, is that the EMI class benefits from the Portuguese class as a kind of ‘trial run’. We have only scratched the surface of this research, but our next phases will add lecturer/student interviews and questionnaires to the observations. Some clear lines of inquiry are going to center on issues of motivation, identity, and teacher cognition. Portuguese class EMI class Figure 1 – Unplanned writing on board Figure 2 – Board work strategy change EMI is a new phenomenon in Brazil. Although EMI policies are already beginning to take shape, there is very little local research available to help inform such policies. This initial phase of the research is therefore ethnographic in nature to first try to assess the phenomenon more carefully. •20 hours of video-recorded parallel observation so far; •1 lecturer (‘Eve’); •3 observers (1 American, 2 Brazilian); •Initial observations open, later observations contributing to observation schedule; •1 initial formal interview with lecturer + less formal exchanges.