INTEGRATING CLIL WITHIN ENGLISH-MEDIUM INSTRUCTION: STUDENT PERCEPTIONS OF LEARNING, ACADEMIC COMMUNICATION, AND READINESS IN A MULTILINGUAL HIGHER EDUCATION CONTEXT

Chia-Ti Heather Tseng

Abstract


With the rapid expansion of English-medium instruction (EMI) across Asian higher education, increasing attention has been directed toward pedagogically grounded course design rather than reliance on language exposure alone. This action-based case study examines Vietnamese biotechnology undergraduates’ perceived learning gains, language development, and challenges in a CLIL-informed cross-cultural communication course at a university in northern Taiwan. Drawing on Coyle’s 4Cs framework—Content, Communication, Cognition, and Culture—the course integrated intercultural communication concepts with structured academic interaction, collaborative analysis, and milestone-based assessment. Data were collected through a course-specific questionnaire combining Likert-scale and open-ended items (n = 17). Descriptive and thematic analyses indicate that students perceived meaningful gains in conceptual understanding and academic readiness for future English-medium study in the United States. Participants also reported improvement across English skills, particularly increased confidence and participation in discussions and presentations. While language-related challenges—especially vocabulary limitations and difficulty expressing complex ideas—remained evident, these were generally framed as manageable through self-regulated strategies and instructional support. The findings suggest that CLIL-informed scaffolding, interaction-rich tasks, and staged assessment design may enhance EMI learning experiences and promote more equitable academic participation for international students in multilingual higher education contexts.

Keywords


English-medium instruction (EMI); CLIL; international students; cross-cultural communication; academic readiness; action-based case study

Full Text:

PDF

References


Burns, A. (2009). Action research in second language teacher education. In A. Burns & J. C. Richards (Eds.), The Cambridge guide to second language teacher education (pp. 289–297). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781139042710.038

Chang, Y.-Y. (2010). English-medium instruction for subject courses in tertiary education: Reactions from Taiwanese undergraduate students. Taiwan International ESP Journal, 2(1), 39–62. Retrieved from https://nurulfarhani7971.weebly.com/uploads/2/7/5/4/27546657/emi_3.pdf

Coleman, J. A. (2006). English-medium teaching in European higher education. Language Teaching, 39(1), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1017/S026144480600320X

Coyle, D. (2007). Content and language integrated learning: Towards a connected research agenda for CLIL pedagogies. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 10(5), 543–562. https://doi.org/10.2167/beb459.0

Curle, S., Yuksel, D., Pun, J., & Macaro, E. (2020). Predictors of English medium instruction academic success: English proficiency versus first language medium education. Language Teaching Research, 24(5), 585–606. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362168819848813

Galloway, N., Numajiri, T., & Rees, N. (2020). The ‘internationalisation’, or ‘Englishisation’, of higher education in East Asia. Higher Education, 80(3), 395–414. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-019-00486-1

Gilanyi, L., Gao, X., & Wang, S. (2023). EMI and CLIL in Asian schools: A scoping review of empirical research between 2015 and 2022. Heliyon, 9, e16365. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e16365

Hall, E. T. (1976). Beyond culture. Anchor Books. Retrieved from https://monoskop.org/images/6/60/Hall_Edward_T_Beyond_Culture.pdf

Hidalgo, D. R., & Ortega-Sánchez, D. (2023). CLIL (content and language integrated learning) methodological approach in the bilingual classroom: A systematic review. International Journal of Instruction, 16(3), 915–934. https://doi.org/10.29333/iji.2023.16349a

Huang, D.-F. (2015). Exploring and assessing effectiveness of English medium instruction courses: The students’ perspectives. Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences, 173, 71–78. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.02.033

Huang, Y.-P. (2012). Design and implementation of English-medium courses in higher education in Taiwan: A qualitative case study. English Teaching & Learning, 36(1), 1–51. https://doi.org/10.1001/archneurol.2012.1810

Huang, Y.-P. (2024). English-medium instruction in higher education in Taiwan. In K. Bolton, W. Botha, & B. Lin (Eds.), The Routledge handbook of English-medium instruction in higher education (pp. 535–550). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003011644-41

Ma, C., & Lucietto, A. M. (2024). Integrating intercultural communication in STEM: A model for international collaborative projects. Inquiries into STEM Education, 2(1), 1–12.

Macaro, E., Curle, S., Pun, J., An, J., & Dearden, J. (2018). A systematic review of English medium instruction in higher education. Language Teaching, 51(1), 36–76. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0261444817000350

Pun, J., & Thomas, N. (2019). Students’ perceptions of EMI in Hong Kong higher education: Challenges and coping strategies. Asian Englishes, 21(3), 236–252. https://doi.org/10.1080/13488678.2018.1533818

Rose, H., & McKinley, J. (2023). Content and language integrated learning and English medium instruction: Contexts, internationalization strategies, and implications. In J. Huang & S. Gao (Eds.), Higher education English medium instruction: Challenges and strategies (pp. 34–48). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003082644-9

Tai, W. H., Yang, W., & Gao, X. (2025). Enhancing students’ content and language development: Implications for researching multilingualism in CLIL classroom contexts. Learning and Instruction, 92, 102083. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2025.102083

Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes (M. Cole, V. John-Steiner, S. Scribner, & E. Souberman, Eds.). Harvard University Press. Retrieved from https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctvjf9vz4

Wu, W.-S. (2006). Students’ perceptions of using English as the medium of instruction in the university. Journal of Education and Foreign Languages and Literature, 4, 67–84.




DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.46827/ejel.v11i2.6636

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Copyright © 2015 - 2026. European Journal of English Language Teaching (ISSN 2501-7136) is a registered trademark of Open Access Publishing Group. All rights reserved.

This journal is a serial publication uniquely identified by an International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) serial number certificate issued by Romanian National Library (Biblioteca Nationala a Romaniei). All the research works are uniquely identified by a CrossRef DOI digital object identifier supplied by indexing and repository platforms.

All the research works published on this journal are meeting the Open Access Publishing requirements and can be freely accessed, shared, modified, distributed and used in educational, commercial and non-commercial purposes under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).