Article published in:
Journal of Immersion and Content-Based Language Education
Vol. 5:2 (2017) ► pp. 238–264

A survey of English-medium instruction in Italian higher education

An updated perspective from 2012 to 2015

| Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore
| Università degli Studi di Bergamo
English as a Medium of Instruction (EMI) has rapidly become a widespread phenomenon in Europe, especially in many Italian institutions. The growth of EMI is currently exponential as well as non-regimented; it is therefore very important to obtain updated, local data regarding this phenomenon, which could be of use in developing future national policies. This study describes the data gathered in a 2015 survey of English-Medium Instruction (EMI) which included all Italian universities. The survey concentrated on three areas, the lecturers and students involved and the overall organisation of the courses in both private and public institutions in the North, Centre and South of Italy. The paper updates information on the same topic gathered from a previous questionnaire (Costa & Coleman, 2012), reflecting on what has changed during the intervening three years.
Keywords: English-medium instruction, internationalisation, higher education, tertiary education, Italy
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.The Italian university system and the context of EMI
  • 3.Research questions
  • 4.Methodology
    • 4.1Research framework
    • 4.2Sampling
    • 4.3Survey design and format
  • 5.Results of the 2015 Survey
    • 5.1Organisation
      • 5.1.1EMI programmes
      • 5.1.2Subjects, levels, date of introduction and trends
      • 5.1.3Funding for EMI courses and collaboration with other universities
      • 5.1.4Reasons for establishing EMI courses
      • 5.1.5Greatest difficulties in implementing EMI
    • 5.2Teachers and teaching styles
      • 5.2.1Selection of teachers
      • 5.2.2Teacher profile and their levels of English
      • 5.2.3Lecturing styles and teaching materials
      • 5.2.4Teacher training
    • 5.3Students
      • 5.3.1Language domains and linguistic admission criteria
      • 5.3.2Language of assessment
  • 6.Comparing 2015 and 2012 survey results
  • 7.Conclusions and discussion
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 06 November 2017
https://doi.org/10.1075/jicb.5.2.04bro
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