Experiences and Challenges of an English as a Medium of Instruction Course in Taiwan during COVID-19

Abstract

Recently, Taiwan’s higher education has been impacted by COVID-19 and the necessity of English as a Medium of Instruction (EMI). In 2018, the Taiwanese government approved a roadmap for the development of a bilingual nation by 2030. This resulted in a renewed focus on EMI. However, the fluctuating surges of COVID-19 have caused university classes to shift from face-to-face to online. To assess its effectiveness, the current paper describes the quantitative and qualitative experiences and challenges associated with a blended EMI course within a private Taiwanese university. The data was collected from the students in the spring semester of 2020 (40 students) and 2021 (23 students). Overall satisfaction rate is calculated at 4.13; indicating that the transition from face-to-face to online has not affected the students’ overall satisfaction with the course. In addition, interviews and focus groups respondents pointed out the importance of a student-centered course approach and the opportunity to practice English in order to improve their competitiveness. While the flexibility offered by the blended learning approach during COVID-19 has given students more freedom to learn at their own pace. Lastly, in times of uncertainty, a careful pedagogical design will help to make the learning process fruitful and sustainable.

Davao Conyo invasion: A morpho-semantic analysis

“…Moreover, with the impact brought about by the morphosemantic features of the language, they established interventions in helping the students overcome the challenges of switching from "text speech" to formal writing that includes proper spelling. This is not limited to local languages, but is also quite common with other languages besides English and Tagalog, for instance can also be found in Chinese and other dialects (Lin et al, 2021). With this, it aided them regain their communicative skills.…”

The Power of Ice Breaker Activity: Examining the Impact of Icebreakers on Student Participation and Engagement in the Classroom

“…This suggests that the use of icebreakers in the Philippine context may be an effective strategy to promote student engagement and participation. Another study by Lin, et al, (2021) investigated the impact of icebreakers on student engagement in a high school classroom in the Philippines. The study found that the use of icebreakers led to increased student engagement, with students reporting higher levels of interest and motivation in the class.…”

Implementation of Blended Learning during COVID-19

“…Students were satisfied with BL because they found it to be an environment conducive to learning, as this modality allowed for the incorporation of interesting content in face-toface classes and effective interaction with the faculty [17]. However, students did not see this incorporation of interesting content in virtual classes [18].…”

“…Individually, the students highlighted the flexibility they had with BL to organize their time and follow the pace of study that best suited them [17,18,21]. In particular, the fact that they did not have to travel to the university for classes saved them time that they invested in studying or in other activities.…”