This study addresses the scarcity of research examining technology’s impact on learners of English as a foreign language in English for specific purposes (ESP) courses within English-medium instruction (EMI) programs. Focusing on a business communication course using a social question-answering platform, this study explores the interplay among English proficiency, motivational orientations, and online engagement. Surveying 126 university students via a mixed-method approach, this research identifies distinct motivational orientations (intrinsic, extrinsic, and self-efficacy) existing during class activities, influenced by proficiency levels, with notable differences in online participation between beginner and advanced learners. The findings suggest that while online activities enhance peer interaction and teacher feedback, they may trigger anxiety in beginners, potentially diminishing motivation and self-efficacy. These results emphasize the need to tailor technology integration to proficiency levels and motivational orientations in ESP/EMI settings. Practical recommendations are offered for educators aiming to implement effective online activities and provide targeted support, particularly for beginner learners, thereby bolstering their motivation and selfefficacy.

This paper examined the effects of online English-medium instruction (EMI) on high school students’ performing English face threatening speech acts, by assessing indirect expressions and token agreement (agreement plus but). Participants completed an English placement test and English pretest and posttest through a Google survey. English proficiency, required for study participation was measured using the English placement test. An English pretest and posttest measured English pragmatic performance. The students were given approximately four weeks to complete eight online lectures. The experimental group completed eight online lectures which taught five face threatening speech acts, based on formal situations in the United States. The control group completed eight online lectures about worldwide cultures. The experimental group showed a significant improvement in the English posttest compared with the control group, based on improvements observed in the use of indirect expressions and token agreement. A difference between groups using indirect expressions was observed in an unfamiliar person scenario but not in a familiar person scenario.

This study investigated EFL college-level learners’ expectation on and their experience in an online English-medium instruction (EMI) course focusing on how participants interacted with their classmates and the instructor in their online class (zoom session) based on assumptions and rationales of Interaction Hypothesis and classroom interaction research. Analyses of questionnaire, observation, and interview data revealed that participants’ experience of interaction and their perception of interaction opportunities in the zoom session were significantly related to how they would evaluate the course-taking experience. It was also found that cognitive strategy such as participants’ preparation for each class rather than L2 confidence was more relevant to their level of satisfaction with the course. Results of analyses suggested that an online class could be more effective than a face-to-face class in terms of engaging EFL adult learners in an academic course offered in participants’ L2, English. Based on study results, suggestions on how to increase interaction opportunities in online EMI course are made.

Due to growing concerns regarding the effectiveness of full-scale online education, this study investigated motivational regulation strategies employed by tertiary-level English as a foreign language (EFL) learners taking a writing course via Zoom. Using a mixed method, this study examined a dataset comprising questionnaire responses of 154 Korean students with two proficiency levels and subsequent semi-structured interviews. Findings showed that the learners with a high English proficiency level utilized the instructor’s feedback significantly more than those having a low proficiency level. The high proficiency group also appreciated the Zoom context and the university-wide policy of English-medium instruction (EMI) significantly better than the other group. Finally, correlation analysis revealed significant relationship between the students’ uses of motivational regulation strategies and their responses to the context-dependent factors. For example, the strategic choice of instructor feedback was positively related to their perception of EMI. These findings are discussed for effective online EFL writing instruction in the post-pandemic era.

This study explores the effects of teacher feedback on engineering students’ perceptions of learning a business subject and English development in the context of English-medium instruction (EMI). Using a mixed method, it examines specific contributions of teachers’ extensive feedback to the students’ emerging perceptions of interdisciplinary education and EMI. The quantitative section includes questionnaire responses of two groups of students enrolled in four sections of an entrepreneurship course: the control group (CG) in which the students received limited feedback in the lecture-style EMI (n=137) and the experimental group (EG) of extensive corrective feedback (n=133). These results are cross-examined by a semi-structured focus group interview with four respondents. The analysis shows that the university seniors’ mean satisfaction score with EMI, despite staying around the mid-point, was higher than that of the others, and significantly more so than the freshmen group. Notably, EG students appreciated EMI more than CG students. Subsequent findings establish that extensive feedback correlates with the increased positivity towards learning entrepreneurship and, more importantly, English development. This study thus proposes English programs for specific purposes and a support system including an EMI-specialized teaching methodology.

High quality and timely assessment feedback is central to student learning in higher education; however, written feedback has many limitations. One of the innovative approaches to delivering feedback to EFL learners is individualized audio-visual feedback (AVF) using screencast technology. Previous research on AVF has been extensively descriptive and mostly focused on student preferences for feedback and evaluation of various screencast software. The present study employed a mixedmethod design using pre-post writing tasks and pre-post questionnaires to investigate what particularly beneficial affordances this type of media-rich feedback might offer for writers in the English-Medium Instruction (EMI) classroom, to identify the effects of AVF on changes in learners’ motivation, and to explore students’ perceptions towards screencast feedback. The results suggest that AVF is positively received by EFL learners and that simultaneous visual cues and detailed explanations promote better understanding, engagement, and active listening. In addition, AVF significantly improves learners’ writing performance and academic motivation. The paper concludes with practical implications and suggestions for further research.

This study critically examines the factors contributing to verbal participation and the achievement of desired learning outcomes in English medium instruction (EMI) classes in a Korean higher education institution. This case study uses mixed research methods including surveys, focus group interviews and peer observations of students and professors of selected EMI classes. This paper has highlighted several factors which influence active verbal participation and the achievement of desired learning outcomes in EMI classes. The research provides a rich understanding of how differences in teaching styles and learning activities significantly affect levels of verbal participation in EMI classes. The findings suggest that in order to achieve desired EMI learning outcomes, it is necessary to examine all of the interconnected elements within the education system, including students, professors, the teaching context, as well as the institutional systems at national and international levels. This research has raised a number of challenges and criticisms concerning EMI courses including the effectiveness of learning of subject content via a foreign language.

While the number of English-medium instruction (EMI) courses has increased in many EFL universities, relatively little attention has been paid to students who encounter language difficulties in EMI courses. In order to develop language support programs for Korean undergraduate students in foreign professors’ EMI courses, this study collected and analyzed the syllabi of target courses to identify what English language skills are necessary for these courses. Findings suggest that priority should be given to teaching research-oriented English skills such as academic writing skills, with particular emphasis on how to use primary and secondary sources. Furthermore,students need to acquire speaking skills based on an understanding of readings or lectures so as to participate in discussions and to make presentations. Given the greater number of opportunities to interact with foreign professors, it is necessary as well to teach the appropriate mode of speaking to them. This study also discusses the potential of syllabus analysis as a method to complement needs analysis and to develop language support programs for specific contexts.