ERIC Number: EJ1354582
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2022-Nov
Pages: 26
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0167-8507
EISSN: EISSN-1613-3684
International Students' Perceptions of Multilingual English-Medium Instruction Classrooms: A Case Study in Taiwan
Lan, Shu-Wen
Multilingua: Journal of Cross-Cultural and Interlanguage Communication, v41 n6 p717-742 Nov 2022
Many English-medium instruction (EMI) classrooms in non-Anglophone countries adopt a multilingual stance, using English alongside the host country's local language(s). However, the perceptions of such multilingual practices held by students remain under-researched. Given many Asian countries' current drives to internationalize and diversify their student bodies, a clear understanding of international students' perspectives on multilingual EMI classrooms is long overdue. Through semi-structured interviews with international students from developing countries and the theoretical lens of language ideologies, this study investigates their perceptions of multilingual EMI classrooms in Taiwan. Most expressed a belief that their multilingual EMI classrooms, saturated with non-standard varieties of English, were not a legitimate pathway to acquiring their desired linguistic capital, i.e., standard English. These findings differ sharply from those of previous research, which has painted international students as holding positive attitudes towards English as a lingua franca (ELF). Moreover, the participants resisted the English-Mandarin translanguaging practices in their classrooms. As such, the findings highlight the need to understand the language ideologies of international students in Asia. Further investigation of learner resistance to multilingual EMI practices should also be conducted, with the wider aim of helping advanced English-language learners from developing countries accept different English accents, and accommodate ELF communication.
Descriptors: Foreign Students, Student Attitudes, Multilingualism, Second Language Instruction, Language of Instruction, English (Second Language), Translation, Foreign Countries, Language Attitudes, Mandarin Chinese, Ideology, Developing Nations, Dialects, Language Role, Official Languages
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research; Tests/Questionnaires
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Taiwan
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A