1、Topic:

▸ in-class EMI education and evaluation of core English proficiency
▸ Speaker: Mr. Bo-Yui Chiu (project manager, Acumen Co. Ltd – authorized Cambridge English assessment center)
▸ Organizer: Department of Chemical and Material Engineering

2、Time: 12:00-13:00, May 25, 2022 (Tuesday)

3、Venue: E787, Tamkang University campus

4、Moderator: Associate Professor Yan-Ling Yang, Department of Chemical and Material Engineering

5、Attendees: Members of the College of Engineering EMI teacher community

At the event, Mr. Bo-Yui Chiu (project manager, Acumen Co. Ltd – authorized Cambridge English assessment center) shared on some of the possible issues and challenges when implementing English as a Medium of Instruction (EMI), and looked at the difficulties from the perspectives of the teachers and the students, and how to improve and adjust to provide effective teaching in class.

From the perspective of the teachers, using English that is not their mother tongue to teach is already no small feat itself, and their English proficiency for reading, writing, speaking and listening has to be at least of CEFR B2-C1 level. Another commonly seen situation is that the English level on a professional and academic level is adequate, but how to clearly and accurately use English to explain is another aspect all together. He suggests when preparing before classes, discussing with their colleagues and doing drills can adjust class content to match the students’ level. In addition, double checking the questions students might have can avoid misunderstanding the questions due to the use of English.

From the perspective of the students, learning knowledge from a brand new field using an unfamiliar language is really a massive challenge, and will take them more time and energy to deal with the course. To attend courses that are taught in English generally require students’ English level to be at least of CEFR B2 level, but in practice, English level of students are never consistent. Even though some student’s English proficiency may be of B2 level, but they have never had the experience of using academic English, thus possibly creating another challenge. He suggests that at the start of each class, the teacher should provide clearer lesson structure and outline, and cut course content into smaller portions; use more images to replace text in powerpoint presentations or course materials; and do more frequent reviews of key points in the course to boost students’ understanding and sense of achievement in English taught courses.