IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v18y2021i24p12920-d697291.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

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

Author

Listed:
  • Shih-Ling Lin

    (Graduate Institute of Educational Leadership and Development, Fu Jen Catholic University, New Taipei City 24205, Taiwan)

  • Tzu-Hsing Wen

    (Office of Teacher Education and Careers Services, National Taichung University of Education, Taichung City 403454, Taiwan)

  • Gregory S. Ching

    (Graduate Institute of Educational Leadership and Development, Fu Jen Catholic University, New Taipei City 24205, Taiwan
    Research and Development Center for Physical Education, Health, and Information Technology, Fu Jen Catholic University, New Taipei City 24205, Taiwan)

  • Yu-Chen Huang

    (Bachelor’s Program in Educational Leadership and Technology Development, Fu Jen Catholic University, New Taipei City 24205, Taiwan)

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.

Suggested Citation

  • Shih-Ling Lin & Tzu-Hsing Wen & Gregory S. Ching & Yu-Chen Huang, 2021. "Experiences and Challenges of an English as a Medium of Instruction Course in Taiwan during COVID-19," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(24), pages 1-21, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:24:p:12920-:d:697291
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/24/12920/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/24/12920/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Elise S. Brezis, 2016. "Why Migrate: For Study or for Work?," Economies, MDPI, vol. 4(3), pages 1-12, August.
    2. M. Flores Vizcaya-Moreno & Rosa M. Pérez-Cañaveras, 2020. "Social Media Used and Teaching Methods Preferred by Generation Z Students in the Nursing Clinical Learning Environment: A Cross-Sectional Research Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(21), pages 1-10, November.
    3. Fuhui Tong & Zhuoying Wang & Yue Min & Shifang Tang, 2020. "A Systematic Literature Synthesis of 19 Years of Bilingual Education in Chinese Higher Education: Where Does the Academic Discourse Stand?," SAGE Open, , vol. 10(2), pages 21582440209, May.
    4. Jian-E Peng & Xiaowen (Serina) Xie, 2021. "English-Medium Instruction as a Pedagogical Strategy for the Sustainable Development of EFL Learners in the Chinese Context: A Meta-Analysis of Its Effectiveness," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(10), pages 1-20, May.
    5. Haitao Guo & Fuhui Tong & Zhuoying Wang & Yue Min & Shifang Tang, 2018. "English- vs. Chinese-Medium Instruction in Chinese Higher Education: A Quasi-Experimental Comparison," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-17, November.
    6. María Consuelo Sáiz-Manzanares & María-Camino Escolar-Llamazares & Álvar Arnaiz González, 2020. "Effectiveness of Blended Learning in Nursing Education," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(5), pages 1-15, March.
    7. Viknesh Nair & Melor Md Yunus, 2021. "A Systematic Review of Digital Storytelling in Improving Speaking Skills," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(17), pages 1-15, September.
    8. Lisa M. Given & Rebekah Willson, 2018. "Information technology and the humanities scholar: Documenting digital research practices," Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 69(6), pages 807-819, June.
    9. Chang, Dian-Fu & Lin, Ni-Jung, 2018. "Applying CIPO indicators to examine internationalization in higher education institutions in Taiwan," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 20-28.
    10. Inversini, Alessandro, 2017. "Managing passengers’ experience through mobile moments," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 78-81.
    11. Kacper Nijakowski & Anna Lehmann & Jakub Zdrojewski & Monika Nowak & Anna Surdacka, 2021. "The Effectiveness of the Blended Learning in Conservative Dentistry with Endodontics on the Basis of the Survey among 4th-Year Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(9), pages 1-15, April.
    12. Haijiao Chen & Jinghe Han & David Wright, 2020. "An Investigation of Lecturers’ Teaching through English Medium of Instruction—A Case of Higher Education in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(10), pages 1-16, May.
    13. Yung-Ting Chuang, 2015. "An EMI Pedagogy That Facilitates Students' Learning," English Language Teaching, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 8(12), pages 1-63, December.
    14. Ting-Fang Chiu & Dachen Chu & Sheng-Jean Huang & Mengju Chang & Yining Liu & Jason Jiunshiou Lee, 2021. "Facing the Coronavirus Pandemic: An Integrated Continuing Education Program in Taiwan," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(5), pages 1-11, March.
    15. Francisco Ibáñez-Carrasco & Catherine Worthington & Sean Rourke & Colin Hastings, 2020. "Universities without Walls: A Blended Delivery Approach to Training the Next Generation of HIV Researchers in Canada," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(12), pages 1-12, June.
    16. Wahab Ali, 2020. "Online and Remote Learning in Higher Education Institutes: A Necessity in light of COVID-19 Pandemic," Higher Education Studies, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 10(3), pages 1-16, September.
    17. Alejandro Vega-Muñoz & Paloma Gónzalez-Gómez-del-Miño & Juan Felipe Espinosa-Cristia, 2021. "Recognizing New Trends in Brain Drain Studies in the Framework of Global Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-27, March.
    18. Yeuseung Kim, 2020. "The Value of Interactive Polling and Intrinsic Motivation When Using English as a Medium of Instruction," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-13, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Santiago Batista-Toledo & Diana Gavilan, 2023. "Student Experience, Satisfaction and Commitment in Blended Learning: A Structural Equation Modelling Approach," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-15, February.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Jian-E Peng & Xiaowen (Serina) Xie, 2021. "English-Medium Instruction as a Pedagogical Strategy for the Sustainable Development of EFL Learners in the Chinese Context: A Meta-Analysis of Its Effectiveness," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(10), pages 1-20, May.
    2. Marta Medina-García & Lina Higueras-Rodríguez & Mª del Mar García-Vita & Luis Doña-Toledo, 2021. "ICT, Disability, and Motivation: Validation of a Measurement Scale and Consequence Model for Inclusive Digital Knowledge," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(13), pages 1-17, June.
    3. Lei Feng & Li He & Jie Ding, 2023. "The Association between Perceived Teacher Support, Students’ ICT Self-Efficacy, and Online English Academic Engagement in the Blended Learning Context," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-17, April.
    4. Luis Miguel Moctezuma Teresa & José Luis Aparicio López & Columba Rodríguez Alviso & Herlinda Gervacio Jiménez & Rosa María Brito Carmona, 2022. "Environmental Competencies for Sustainability: A Training Experience with High School Teachers in a Rural Community," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-17, April.
    5. Al Lily, Abdulrahman Essa & Ismail, Abdelrahim Fathy & Abunasser, Fathi Mohammed & Alhajhoj Alqahtani, Rafdan Hassan, 2020. "Distance education as a response to pandemics: Coronavirus and Arab culture," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    6. Rozina Afroz & Nurul Islam & Sajedur Rahman & Nusrat Zerin Anny, 2021. "Students’ and teachers’ attitude towards online classes during Covid-19 pandemic: A study on three Bangladeshi government colleges," International Journal of Research in Business and Social Science (2147-4478), Center for the Strategic Studies in Business and Finance, vol. 10(3), pages 462-476, April.
    7. Syariful Muttaqin & Hsueh-Hua Chuang & Ching-Hui Lin & Ming-Min Cheng, 2022. "When Proficiency and Education Matter: The Mediating Role of English Proficiency and Moderating Effect of Parents’ Education in the SES–Academic Achievement Relationship During EMI," SAGE Open, , vol. 12(2), pages 21582440221, June.
    8. Mine Halis & Duygu Yildirim, 2022. "The effect of perceived social support and life orientation on anxiety caused by online education in Covid 19 conditions," International Journal of Research in Business and Social Science (2147-4478), Center for the Strategic Studies in Business and Finance, vol. 11(4), pages 310-322, June.
    9. Halpern, Nigel & Mwesiumo, Deodat & Suau-Sanchez, Pere & Budd, Thomas & Bråthen, Svein, 2021. "Ready for digital transformation? The effect of organisational readiness, innovation, airport size and ownership on digital change at airports," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    10. Hsiu-Ju Jen & Kuei-Ru Chou & Ching-Yi Chang, 2022. "Fostering Nursing Staff Competence in Personal Protective Equipment Education during COVID-19: A Mobile-Video Online Learning Approach," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(15), pages 1-10, July.
    11. Dian-Fu Chang & Wen-Ching Chou, 2021. "Detecting the Institutional Mediation of Push–Pull Factors on International Students’ Satisfaction during the COVID-19 Pandemic," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(20), pages 1-14, October.
    12. Ji Sun Lee, 2022. "Implementation and Evaluation of a Virtual Reality Simulation: Intravenous Injection Training System," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(9), pages 1-11, April.
    13. William Villegas-Ch. & Milton Roman-Cañizares & Santiago Sánchez-Viteri & Joselin García-Ortiz & Walter Gaibor-Naranjo, 2021. "Analysis of the State of Learning in University Students with the Use of a Hadoop Framework," Future Internet, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-25, May.
    14. Sun, Yu & Yang, Feng & Wang, Dawei & Ang, Sheng, 2023. "Efficiency evaluation for higher education institutions in China considering unbalanced regional development: A meta-frontier Super-SBM model," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    15. Jagoda Mrzyglocka-Chojnacka & Radoslaw Rynca, 2021. "Lessons from Covid‑19: Toward the Conceptual Model of University Management During Pandemic," European Research Studies Journal, European Research Studies Journal, vol. 0(2B), pages 383-393.
    16. Bijoya Saha & Shah Md Atiqul Haq & Khandaker Jafor Ahmed, 2023. "How does the COVID-19 pandemic influence students’ academic activities? An explorative study in a public university in Bangladesh," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-10, December.
    17. Brezis Elise S., 2019. "Should individuals migrate before acquiring education or after? A new model of Brain Waste vs. Brain Drain," The B.E. Journal of Macroeconomics, De Gruyter, vol. 19(2), pages 1-11, June.
    18. O’Connor, Jane & Ludgate, Shannon & Le, Quang-Vuong & Le, Huy Thanh & Huynh, Pham Dung Phat, 2023. "Lessons from the pandemic: Teacher educators’ use of digital technologies and pedagogies in Vietnam before, during and after the Covid-19 lockdown," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 103(C).
    19. Sunha Kim & Suzanne Rosenblith & Yunjeong Chang & Shira Pollack, 2020. "Will ICMT Access and Use Support URM Students’ Online Learning in the (Post) COVID-19 Era?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(20), pages 1-14, October.
    20. Shafi AlDousari, 2023. "Capacities and Obstacles of Kuwait Medical Educational Sector in Transitioning Education System to Online Form: A Paradigm Shift," International Journal of Business and Management, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 16(12), pages 1-88, February.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:24:p:12920-:d:697291. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.