The influence of language of instruction in the facilitation of academic activities: Nurse educators’ experiences

Ndawo, Gugu

doi:10.4102/hsag.v24i0.1261

Cited by 6 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 20 publications

(46 reference statements)

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“…Several studies have identified that a major hindrance of EMI progress is the lack of English proficiency among lecturers [ 19 , 29 , 35 ]. When lecturers are proficient in English they are able to communicate effectively, which enables learning and understanding of concepts and content knowledge, and stimulates students’ intellectual growth [ 36 ]. Defining the level of English language skills required by lecturers and ensuring that this is achieved before teaching is started could also be a tool to improve the quality of English language teaching.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A North–South-South partnership in higher education to develop health research capacity in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: the challenge of finding a common language

Horwood

Mapumulo

Haskins

et al. 2021

Health Res Policy Sys

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Background Globally, increasing numbers of higher education institutions (HEIs) in non-English-speaking countries have adopted English as a medium of instruction (EMI), because of the perception that this provides opportunities to attract high-calibre students and academic staff, and engage with the international research community. We report an evaluation of a North–South-South collaboration to develop health research capacity in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) by establishing a postgraduate programme in nutritional epidemiology at the Kinshasa School of Public Health (KSPH), where EMI was adopted. We report experiences and perceptions of stakeholders, facilitators and students about using EMI. Methods In-depth qualitative interviews were conducted between October and December 2019 among convenience sampled stakeholders (8), facilitators (11) and students (12) involved in the programme from all three partner institutions (University of Kinshasa; University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa; University of Bergen, Norway). Interviews were conducted in participants’ language of preference (English or French), audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and translated into English when required. Analysis employed a thematic approach. Results Most participants viewed EMI positively, reporting that studying in English created opportunities to access relevant literature, improve interactions with the scientific community and advance their careers. As a result of adopting EMI, some students had opportunities to present research findings at international conferences and publish their research in English. English-speaking researchers from partner institutions were able to participate in supervision of students’ research. However, inadequate English competency, particularly among students, was challenging, with some students reporting being unable to understand or interact in class, which negatively affected their academic performance. Further, EMI created barriers at KSPH among academic staff who were not proficient in English, leading to poor participation among non-English-speaking staff and lack of integration with other postgraduate programmes. Participants suggested additional English language support for EMI. Conclusion Partnerships between HEIs could be a powerful tool to develop research capacity in low-income countries in line with United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. EMI could be a solution to language barriers faced by many such partnerships, but wide-ranging support to develop English proficiency among staff and students is essential to ensure that the challenges do not outweigh the benefits.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A North–South-South partnership in higher education to develop health research capacity in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: the challenge of finding a common language

Horwood

Mapumulo

Haskins

et al. 2021

Health Res Policy Sys

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Several studies have identi ed that a major hinderance of EMI progress is the lack of English pro ciency among lecturers [10,19,25]. When lecturers are pro cient in English they are able to communicate effectively, which enables learning, understanding of concepts and content knowledge, and stimulates students' intellectual growth [26]. De ning the level of English language skills required by lecturers and ensuring that this is achieved before teaching is started could also be a tool to improve the quality of English language teaching.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A North-South-South Partnership in Higher Education to Develop Health Research Capacity in the Democratic Republic of Congo: the Challenge of Finding a Common Language

Horwood

Mapumulo

Haskins

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Background: Globally, increasing numbers of higher education institutions (HEIs) in non-English-speaking countries have adopted English as a medium of instruction (EMI), because of the perception that this provides opportunities to attract high calibre students and academic staff, and engage with the international research community. We report an evaluation of a North-South-South collaboration to develop health research capacity in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) by establishing a postgraduate programme in nutritional epidemiology at the Kinshasa School of Public Health (KSPH), where English was adopted as the medium of instruction. We report experiences and perceptions of stakeholders, facilitators and students about using EMI.Methods: In-depth qualitative interviews were conducted between October-December 2019 among purposively sampled stakeholders (8), facilitators (11) and students (12) involved in the programme from all three partner institutions (University of Kinshasa; University of KwaZulu-Natal, South-Africa; University of Bergen, Norway). Interviews were conducted in participants’ language of preference (English or French), audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and translated into English when required. Analysis employed a thematic approach. Results: Most participants viewed EMI positively, reporting that studying in English created opportunities to access relevant literature, improve interactions with the scientific community and advance their careers. As a result of adopting EMI, some students had opportunities to present research findings at international conferences, and publish their research in English. English-speaking researchers from partner institutions were able to participate in supervision of students’ research. However, inadequate English competency, particularly among students, was challenging, with some students reporting being unable to understand or interact in class, which negatively affected their academic performance. Further, EMI created barriers at KSPH among academic staff who were not proficient in English, leading to lack of integration with other postgraduate programmes. Participants suggested additional English language support for EMI.Conclusion: Partnerships between HEIs are a powerful tool to develop research capacity in low income countries and improve research outputs and evidence-based decision-making. EMI was able to develop the common ground required to establish a collaboration between HEIs where several languages were spoken. However, investing in wide-ranging supports to develop English proficiency is essential to ensure that challenges do not outweigh the benefits.

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“…Roshini et al ( 38 ) examined the perceptions of dental students taught in multilingual settings, noting that non-English backgrounds could affect academic performance and self-assessment, with perceptions evolving throughout their studies. Ndawo ( 39 ) provided insights into nurse educators’ experiences with EMI, revealing a generally positive stance despite challenges like the shortage of skilled EMI instructors. These studies collectively reveal the influence of linguistic backgrounds on EMI adaptability and propose a more inclusive educational approach that values students’ language skills ( 37 , 38 ).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

One decade of “English as a medium of instruction” (EMI) in healthcare education

Alhamami

2024

Front. Med.

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IntroductionThis paper analyzes published healthcare studies about “English as a medium of instruction” (EMI), indexed in the Scopus database from 2013 to 2022.MethodsThe author used published criteria of systematic reviews and limited the findings to healthcare education using several key terms; this returned 137 articles. The author then downloaded and carefully read the articles. The majority of articles (102) were deleted because they did not meet the selection criteria discussed in the methods section, thus the final list comprised 35 research studies. Next, the author analyzed the articles’ bibliometric indexes, such as author, funding information, context, research instruments, years of publication, place of publication, and citations. In addition, the key findings and recommendations of these studies were presented.Results and discussionMost of the studies assessed were conducted in the last five years in Arabic speaking countries by non-language specialists, and the language of instruction was not the main focus of the studies. The studies were most often about attitudes of students, and used quantitative methods such as questionnaires. The results show diverse and conflicted results such as positive impacts and positive attitudes in some cases, negative impacts and attitudes in others, and preferences for either monolingual or bilingual approaches. The findings demonstrate the need for experimental and rigorous mixed methods studies that involve different stakeholders and are conducted by both applied linguists and healthcare education specialists. Future research should move beyond student attitudes and utilize rigorous mixed methods involving researchers from both linguistics and healthcare education to deepen our understanding of EMI’s complex impact in diverse contexts.

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The influence of language of instruction in the facilitation of academic activities: Nurse educators’ experiences

Cited by 6 publications

References 20 publications

A North–South-South partnership in higher education to develop health research capacity in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: the challenge of finding a common language

A North–South-South partnership in higher education to develop health research capacity in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: the challenge of finding a common language

A North-South-South Partnership in Higher Education to Develop Health Research Capacity in the Democratic Republic of Congo: the Challenge of Finding a Common Language

One decade of “English as a medium of instruction” (EMI) in healthcare education

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