Understanding secondary school students’ challenges, language learning strategies and future selves at highly selective EMI schools in Kazakhstan

Abstract

This qualitative study explores the experiences of 22 Grade 11 students, aged 17–18, studying science subjects at highly selective English medium instruction (EMI) schools. The study is guided by Dörnyei’s L2 Motivational Self System (namely, the ideal/ought-to L2 self concepts) and Hajar’s (2019) distinction between compulsory and voluntary strategies. Specific focus was paid to the participants’ English learning challenges, language learning strategies (LLSs) and future selves. The data were collected from two rounds of semi-structured individual interviews with 22 participants. The interview data revealed that most students indicated that although it was their parents’ decision to send them to outstanding English-medium schools, they gradually realised that studying at this type of school fostered their identity formation as users of English and helped them visualise their ideal end state. This end state related to professional, intercultural and academic gains. The students reported that they sometimes faced challenges in understanding new terminology in science, along with using English to answer their teachers’ questions. Despite these challenges, the students exercised their agency by valuing studying in a resource-rich EMI environment, using certain effective strategies, and receiving fee-charging private tutoring. This study highlights the importance of understanding language learners’ motivations for attending English private tutoring and how it impacts their LLS use and future vision. Also, it reveals how educational policy and the distribution of language learning resources can affect individuals’ LLS choices and use, and their identity development.

Keywords:
Publication history
Table of contents

The increasing significance of English as the language of global commerce, tourism, and politics has led many educational institutions worldwide to adopt English as the medium of instruction (EMI) in recent decades. EMI refers to using English to teach academic subjects in countries where the first language of most individuals is not English (Macaro, 2018). Despite efforts to resist the negative impacts of ‘linguistic imperialism’ (Canagarajah, 1999; Phillipson, 1992) and to promote multilingualism as the norm in many societies, English remains the predominant language used in academic settings and international publications (Griffiths, 2023). In Dearden’s (2014) mixed-methods study, 55 British Council representatives were asked to report on the public’s opinion of EMI in their respective countries. The results indicated that although the public’s support for EMI was not enthusiastic, there has been a remarkable increase in the number of institutions offering EMI programmes in non-anglophone countries as a pathway for educational institutions to become more internationalised. Soruç et al. (2024, 1) point out that the growing popularity of EMI programmes can be attributed to their potential to achieve dual goals; namely, improving subject-specific knowledge and English language proficiency. This concept is often referred to as ‘killing two birds with one stone’.

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