CHALLENGES AND READINESS IN IMPLEMENTING THE ENGLISH MEDIUM INSTRUCTION AT THE REGIONAL UNIVERSITY

Abstract

In the current global realia of internationalization of education and globalization processes, the English as a medium of instruction (EMI) has become popular at all levels of education worldwide and in the Republic of Kazakhstan as well. The study is aimed at exploring the challenges faced by the teachers and students in the EMI context and shedding light on the regional universities’ readiness to implement and switch to the EMI. A descriptive research design is used in the study employing a quantitative survey among bachelor and master degree students and teaching staff of the K. Zhubanov Aktobe Regional University. The study participants comprised 51 students and 15 academic staff representing the faculties of pedagogy, philology, natural sciences and exact sciences. The study results revealed that the regional university students in the EMI setting are mostly challenged by the lack of motivation to study, a large number of specialized vocabularies, and the insufficient level of English. Teachers’ main difficulties in the EMI context include the low level of students’ English language proficiency and the need to adjust educational materials, teachers’ insufficient level of English, the small number of hours allocated for English at the university limiting students’ ability to master their language skills, and the low interest of teachers in the organization of the educational process in the EMI setting using various handouts, video and audio materials during their lessons. Teachers’ and students’ opinions on the university readiness for the EMI differed. The theoretical significance of the study’s results is concerned with providing in-depth knowledge about the application of EMI in a regional context and providing a new perspective to strengthen the theoretical framework in this subject. The practical significance is demonstrated by the fact that the findings will help to create successful educational policies for promoting EMI at regional HEIs.