engleski

University teachers’ attitudes towards English- medium instruction: Insights from Rijeka University

Despite the increasing internationalisation of higher education and the spread of English-taught programmes, rather little attention has been directed to English-medium instruction (EMI) in Croatia, and higher education there is almost exclusively conducted in Croatian. The authors therefore carried out the first Croatian study into the attitudes of teachers towards EMI implementation, canvassing the opinions of teaching staff at Rijeka University. The aims of this questionnaire-based study were to examine whether the teachers felt competent to teach in English, believed EMI should be introduced and under what conditions, and found it possible for instruction to become English-medium. The participants were also asked to identify the strengths and challenges of EMI. The findings suggest that although half of the participants feel competent to undertake EMI, the vast majority think that it could and should be introduced. While acknowledging its strengths such as international collaboration and improved communication skills, the participants also anticipate three key challenges, which could have an adverse effect on the quality of education: a) lack of resources, b) increased preparation time, and c) inadequate level of language proficiency. In addition, the participants express concern that EMI might jeopardise the development of Croatian. In order to meet the challenges presented, certain preconditions such as financial support, workload modification, and language assistance should be fulfilled. It is not surprising that the teachers focus on preconditions given their negative experience with the hasty introduction of previous educational reforms, in particular the Bologna Process. The study also reveals a paradox: on the one hand, increased international mobility is seen as a prerequisite for introducing EMI, and on the other, unless EMI is introduced, it is unlikely that Croatian universities will be internationally visible.

EMI ; teachers ; attitudes ; perceptions

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