17

研究論文

The Significance of Studying in an EMI Program :Through the investigation of Japanese
L1 students’ senior thesis writing experiences
AZEGAMI, Erika(Waseda University)

1.Introduction
This study examines the perspectives of Japanese L1 students on their experienceof writing a senior thesis (sotsugyōronbun, in short sotsuron) in an English-Medium
Instruction (EMI) program. While EMI programs have been criticized for theireducational significance to some extent, the present paper tries to consider thesignificance of studying in an EMI program by investigating how students reflect andevaluate their experiences writing a thesis in English.
It is common in Japanese universities to make students write a senior thesis as
their capstone project of their study. A senior thesis is understood as the major
accomplishment of students’ studying (Doi & Oda, 2011; Kawagishi, 2020; Kitano,
2011; Seki, 1982; Shinoda & Higeta, 2015) and is believed to have an educationalsignificance (Kitano, 2011). This is no exception for EMI programs in Japan, where
about 80% of universities offering full-degree EMI programs (i.e., English-Medium
Degree Program: EMDP (Shimauchi, 2016)) have a senior thesis or a graduation
project in their curriculum (Azegami, 2021).
EMI programs are often described as “the use of the English language to teachacademic subjects in countries or jurisdictions where the first language (L1) of the
majority of the population is not English”(Dearden, 2014, 14). Conducting an EMI
program is believed to enhance students’ English proficiency, though “(i)t may or may
notincludetheimplicit

aimofincreasing

students’

Englishlanguageabilities”(Bradford & Brown, 2017, 330). In the Japanese context, as Iino & Murata(2018) explain, an EMI program “is primarily introduced to attract international
students as well as home students who want to have more exposure to globally used
English as a lingua franca while residing in their own home countries”(Iino & Murata,
2018, 404). As such, an EMI program is implemented in the context where English is
not daily used by a majority of students and faculty members. Therefore, within thiscircumstance, English is used as the main academic lingua franca.
Since EMI students are studying in English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) environment,
they are required to write their thesis in English in most cases. However, even though

AZEGAMI, Erika

18

they have spent time to be capable of studying in English, writing in English is still
considered to be challenging for Japanese L1 students (Adamson et al., 2019; Suzuki,2010). This study examines how Japanese L1 students evaluate their senior thesis
writing experiences. It shows that students express not only challenges regarding
language proficiency but also non-linguistics matters. It also shows that students
possess a positive view on their thesis writing experiences which insists theeducational significance of EMI programs in Japan.
This paper first outlines the related studies on students' writing experiences in
EMI programs in the Japanese context and shows how the present research could
contribute to filling in the knowledge gap. The following section then explains themethod used in this research. The analysis of the collected data will be presented
accordingly. Finally, the concluding remark is presented.
2. Related Studies
Along with the increase in the number of universities offering EMI programs inJapan, related studies have been conducted. Especially, there are a growing number ofdescriptions of what EMI programs' stakeholders (i.e., undergraduate students andlecturers) are experiencing (Adamson et al., 2019; Adamson & Fujimoto-Adamson,
2021; Adon, 2021; Iino & Murata, 2016; Konakahara et al., 2019; Murata et al., 2017;
Murata et al., 2019; Hino, 2017; 2019, Sugimoto, 2020; Toh, 2016; Tsukada, 2015). Of
these studies, those focusing on Japanese students (or Japanese L1 students) often
report students' challenges and improvements in their English language proficiency.
(Brown, 2017; Hino, 2017; 2019; Shimauchi, 2018). However, most studies reporting
the improvement focus on speaking and receptive skills (e.g., Iino & Murata, 2016;
Macaro et al., 2018; Uchihara & Harada, 2018). Moreover, the subjects of many studies
are mainly first- or second-year students. Studies focusing on senior students' writing
experiences are still scarce in the domestic context.
Still, some studies report writing as part of their project. According to the survey
conducted on Japanese L1 students, writing a paper is considered one of the mostchallenging skills of the four skills (i.e., speaking, writing, listening, and reading)(Azegami, 2019; Sugimoto, 2020).
In fact, challenges of writing experiences by English L2 students in EMI programs
outside Japan are commonly reported (Kaufhold, 2015; Kirkgöz, 2009; Salter-Dvorak,
2014; Tran, 2009; Xu & Zang, 2019). The described challenges often stem from a lack ofstudents' language proficiency and difficulties adjusting to academic conventions.
Moreover, most of these challenges are reported from the research at the post-graduatelevel.
Even though empirical studies on writing experiences in Japanese EMI programs

The Significance of Studying in an EMI Program :Through the investigation of Japanese L1 students’ senior thesis writing experiences

19

exist, students' perspective on writing experience or writing itself is missing in therelated studies mentioned above. Furthermore, most of them are based in
non-Japanese post-graduate settings. In order to fill in the gap, this study will focus onsenior undergraduate students’ writing experiences in an EMI program and theirperspectives on the experiences. Among the writings, a senior thesis is being focusedon because only few studies have considered the later stage of undergraduate study inJapan. Through the examination of the students' perspectives on writing experiences,
it attempts to supplement the body of literature on EMI empirical studies in Japan.
3. Method
The present paper is based on two sets of qualitative data: interview data on
Japanese L1 senior students and observation notes of an advanced seminar (zemi) in
an EMI program. The data was collected in a full-degree EMI program implemented ata private university located in Tokyo. This EMI program was chosen because it is one
of Japan's pioneering universities implementing a full-degree program. The program ischaracterized by its highly interdisciplinary curriculum allowing students to pursue abachelor's by taking courses in English. In their third year, students choose whether or
not to join a zemi to write a senior thesis. In most cases, students choose to join a zemi
and write a thesis. The full-degree EMI program was chosen as the research site
because such programs are expected to require students to write a thesis in English.
Interviews were done two to three times with 4 Japanese L1 senior students who
had joining an advanced seminar. Their brief profiles are shown in Table 1. In thesemi-structured interviews, participants were made to describe their ongoing senior
thesis writing experiences and to evaluate their thesis after they had finished writing
it. The semi-structured interview was employed because the author expected to
discover their personalized writing experiences, even though data collection throughsemi-structured interviews may lead the research to result in low validity.
In addition, the advanced seminar was observed for two semesters (FY of 2021).
This advanced seminar is a sociolinguistics seminar. It was conducted in a hybrid ofEnglish and Japanese. The students were required to present their research progress
at least once a semester and write the thesis in English. Due to the COVID-19
pandemic, the seminar was conducted online and face-to-face. Notes were taken during
the seminar so that they could be used to facilitate the conversation in the interview
session.

AZEGAMI, Erika

20

Participants

Research Topic

Overseas experiences
before university

Career after
graduation

Participant A

English education
policies in JapanNone

A government official

Participant B

English education
policies in Taiwan

3 years in Taiwan and
New Zealand

A consultant

Participant C

Relationship between
English learning andkatakana usage

None

A banker

Participant D

Japanese language
and genderNone

A consultant

Table1. The profile of the participants

The analysis was mainly done based on the audio data of the interviews. Theinterview data were transcribed and narratively analyzed to highlight important
aspects of the participants’ perspectives on the writing experiences. The narratives
were being focused on because it is "valuable when we want to capture the nature andmeaning of experiences that are difficult to observe directly and are best understoodfrom the perspective of those who experience it." (Barkhuizen, Benson, and Chik, 2014,8).
4. Findings and Discussion
From the analysis, students’(1) confidence and a sense of accomplishment incompleting a large project (i.e., senior thesis) in English, (2) evaluation of their thesis(thought they could have done more to make their thesis better), and (3) difficulty ofwriting in English as a foreign language have been revealed as common highlighting
aspects of their experiences. The following section explains the above three points byshowing interview extracts.
4.1 Confidence and A sense of accomplishment
Participants expressed a sense of accomplishment and confidence in completing thethesis in the interview. A sense of accomplishment seemed to stem from two aspects:
writing a long paper and writing in English (i.e., a foreign language).
When Participant C referred to a sense of accomplishment, she mentioned the lengthof the thesis. She mentioned this when the author asked what she feels about finishing
the senior thesis.
Extract 1:
C: 他のレポートに比べて、字数が多くて。でもなんとか書き終えられたって感The Significance of Studying in an EMI Program :Through the investigation of Japanese L1 students’ senior thesis writing experiences

21

じですね。
[Compared to other reports, I needed to write a lot. But I managed to finish
writing the thesis.] (translated by the author)
Similarly, Participant A also mentioned the word length but noted that she felt a senseof accomplishment in writing longer texts in English.
Extract 2:
A: 英語で、母国語じゃない言語で長い文章を書ききるって経験はたぶんしないじゃないですか。他の学部に行ってたら、普通に日本語で卒論書いてるだろうし。
もちろん、卒論ってやっぱ、特別だから日本語で書いてもやり遂げたって思うでしょうけど。でも英語で書いたっていうのは達成感を感じる部分ですね。
[You probably don't experience writing long texts in English, a language thatis not your native language. I would have written my thesis in Japanese if I
had gone to another school (Japanese-Medium Instruction [JMI] programs).
Of course, a thesis is special, so even if I had written it in Japanese, I would
have felt that I had completed it. But writing it in English gives me a sense ofaccomplishment.]
Author: たしかに日本語で書いてても卒論はほかのレポート課題と違う特別感ってきっとありますよね。それでもやっぱり英語で書いたっていうのが A さんの中で達成感を感じる大きな部分ってことですかね？
[I agree that even if you write it in Japanese, a thesis will be special. Even so,
is writing in English still a major part of your sense of accomplishment?]
A: そうですね。母国語じゃない言語で書いたっていうのが大きいです。
[Yes. Writing in non-native language is the main factor that gives me a senseof accomplishment.] (translated by the author)
In this EMI program, a senior thesis is to be written in approximately 8,000 words in
English. Since neither Participant C nor A had ever written 8,000 words in English,
they felt great accomplishment after writing their thesis. However, while writing thethesis, some participants also expressed their anxiety. The anxieties were heard when
the author asked concerns regarding writing the thesis.
Extract 3:
D: 書けるかな。ちょっと心配です。卒論って英語じゃないとダメでしたよね。
（中略）今までのレポートとかと違うから、ちゃんとしなきゃって思います。
[I wonder if I can write the thesis. I am a little worried. The thesis has to be
written in English, right? … It is different from the reports I've written in the

AZEGAMI, Erika

22past, so I think I need to do it thoughtfully.] (translated by the author)
Extract 4:
C: やっぱ（8000words って）長いですよね。やっぱ、卒論は研究をするものだから。
[Writing 8000 words is long. It is because writing a thesis is doing a research
project.] (translated by the author)
Participant D expressed concern about writing lengthy sentences in a foreign language.
During the seminar, she checked with her supervisor about the word count, asking how
many A4 pages would 8,000 words be. It is evident that writing in English is also
challenging for the senior students (e.g., Kirkgöz, 2009; Salter-Dvorak, 2014; Tran,2009). However, on the other hand, as Participant D stated "thoughtfully," she tried tomake full use of her past writing experience to write the thesis. She later mentionedthat experiences of the English report assignments she did throughout her four years
in the program were helpful.
Participant C, as with Participant D, also expressed concern. She recognized thatthesisproject

involves

readingliterature,collecting

data,

and

conducting

mathematical analysis, and she was concerned about whether she could put them
together in English. She eventually conducted a qualitative study but, noted that she
had read more literature compared to her other writing assignments. She mentionedthat the reading comprehension skills she had developed in other classes were helpful.
Despite the anxiety and difficulty of writing a longer paper in a foreign language,
the participants finished their thesis by making use of their past experience in theclasses at the EMI program. In Tran’s (2009) study, it was reported that master's
students tried to form their professional identity by using their own experience andother resources to complete their master's thesis. Similarly, the participants in thisstudy also used their experiences to tackle the challenges of writing the thesis in
English, albeit at the undergraduate level.
Along with a sense of accomplishment, expression regarding confidence could also beheard. After finishing his thesis, Participant B reflected that his self-affirmation had
enhanced.
Extract 5:
B: 英語で書き終えた達成感はもちろんあります。あの、もともと自己肯定感は高くないんですけど、高くなったと思いますね。
[Of course, I feel a sense of accomplishment after finishing writing the thesis

The Significance of Studying in an EMI Program :Through the investigation of Japanese L1 students’ senior thesis writing experiences

23

in English. Well, I didn’t have high self-esteem, but I think it has become
stronger.] (translated by the author)
The above extract illustrates that self-affirmation came from a sense ofaccomplishment. In addition to completing the thesis, Participant B also mentionedthat he felt his ability to write in English had increased, and his writing speed had
improved, which also contributed to gain self-affirmation. Furthermore, as a sign ofconfidence, he mentioned that if he had the opportunity to write in English at work, hewould undoubtedly be able to write better than others.
Besides Participant B, Participant C and Participant A also commented that theexperience of completing their thesis in English gave them confidence. Both comments
were heard when the author asked whether they could connect the writing experienceswith their future career.
Extract 6:
C: うーん、卒論を書いた経験が直接役に立つかはわからないですけど、動じることはないかなって思います。これ（卒論）が書けたんだから何がきても大丈夫みたいな。あと集中して書くってこともできると思います。
[Well, I don't know if the experience of writing the thesis will help me directly,
but I don't think I won’t be perturbed. I think I will be fine no matter what
happens because I was able to write my thesis. Also, I’m sure that I can stay
focused to write in English.] (translated by the author)
Extract 7:
A: 政策について書いたので、文科省が出している資料を読むことが多かったから、教育行政としての目線をあらかじめ知っておけてるっていうのは役立つかなって。役立つかはわからないですけど、それを英語で書いたっていうのは自信にはなる。
[Since I was researching policies, I often read materials published by the
Ministry of Education. So, I think this experience helped me to know how
educational administration thinks about English education in advance. I don't
know if it will be helpful (in my future work), but the fact that I wrote it inEnglish gave me confidence.] (translated by the author)
Extracts 6 and 7 depict that the experience of writing a thesis has given themconfidence and has led them to look ahead to the future. It seems that the participants
have found a connection between their experience of writing the senior thesis in

AZEGAMI, Erika

24

English and their future career. While the significance of studying in EMI programs isbeing questioned, utterances regarding future prospects insists that studying in suchprograms affords not only challenges/difficulties but also positive visions to students.
4.2 Evaluation of the thesis
The participants were also asked how they felt about their thesis in the interview.
While a sense of accomplishment and confidence were expressed, negative evaluationsof the senior thesis were heard.
Extract 8:
B: 思い描いていたものかって言われると、う～ん、違うかもしれないです。ギ
リギリになってしまったし、資料とかももっと目を通せばよかったって思うとこ
ろもあります。あと、もっときれいにまとめたかったですね。
[If you ask me if it was what I envisioned, well, perhaps not. It was a very
tight schedule, and I wish I had looked through the materials more carefully. I
also wanted to summarize my thesis more neatly.]
Author: ギリギリになったり、資料に目を通せなかったのは、何か理由がありますか？
[Is there any reason why the schedule became tight and why you couldn’t lookthough the materials?]
B: ちゃんとタイムマネジメントができてなかったってだけですね。
[It’s just that I couldn’t manage the time properly.] (translated by the author)
Extract 8 describes a regret for time management and writing organization. Tran’s(2009) and Salter-Dvorak’s (2014) studies made a similar point. However, Participant
B did not state that language deficiency was the reason why he could not write thethesis as he had hoped. He believed that it was because of poor time management.
What Participant B mentioned contradicts with what Suzuki (2010) reported:Japanese L1 students at an EMI program think language deficiency prevents themfrom pursuing their studies as they wish. Yet, it can be said that B was accustomed towriting in English, partly because he had longer overseas experience than the otherparticipants. However, Participant A, who had less overseas experiences, also
evaluated that time management was one of the factors that prevented her fromwriting her thesis the way she expected toi.
Furthermore, Participant C also did not express any negative things about her thesis

The Significance of Studying in an EMI Program :Through the investigation of Japanese L1 students’ senior thesis writing experiences25

related to language deficiency but mentioned about the thesis’ specialization.
Extract 9:
C: 専攻が決まってない中で、ずっと言語系の授業を取ってきたから、その流れで言語学のゼミに入って、言語（について）の卒論を書いて、書いたんですけど、専門的に深められたかはわからないなって。
[While this EMI program does not have a major, I had taken linguistics
classes for a long time. So, I joined the linguistics seminar and wrote mythesis on language studies. But I am not sure if I was able to deepen my
specialization.] (translated by the author)
Participant C mentioned that one of the characteristics of the EMI program is that it isbroad and shallow. She stated that she felt her thesis was also shallow, and Participant
D stated the same. As a criticism of the EMI program, Participant D pointed out that
she could not learn enough of the course contents in a foreign language. However, inthe case of Participant C, language deficiency was not a factor, but rather theinterdisciplinary curriculum and the class options were the reasons why she could not
deepen her expertise. When the author asked if she could have deepened her
specialization if the language had been Japanese, she answered that she was unsure
but stated that she might have felt the same way even in Japanese.
One criticism of EMI programs is that teaching in a foreign language prevents
adequate learning of course contents (e.g., Macaro et al., 2018; Toh, 2016). However, in
Participant C's case, language deficiency was not a factor, but rather how thecurriculum was organized was the reason for not being able to deepen her
specialization.
Despite the different reasons given by the individuals, they all evaluated that they
were able to complete the thesis, but not as well written as they wanted it to be.
However, according to their perspectives, this was not due to language deficiency but
due to other non-language factors (e.g., time management and curriculum policies).
These non-language factors are commonly witnessed in the L1 thesis writing as well
(Kawagishi, 2021; Shinoda & Higeta, 2015). The EMI students also face similar issues
as of JMI students which insists that both students are likely to be working hard tomeet the standards of the thesis.
4.3 Difficulties
Nevertheless, the difficulty of writing in a foreign language was still mentioned. The

AZEGAMI, Erika

26

difficulties where heard when the author asked if they have any problems in writing
the thesis. By referring to Japanese language, Participant A mentioned as follows.
Extract: 10
A: 例えば、論文書くときでも、本当に日本語で書けばパッと思いつく表現とかも何か英語だと、たぶん自分で自分が言いたいことが本当にその英語で伝わっているのかがちょっとわからないときがたまにある。でも、かといってこの表現をしたら本当にわたしが今日本語で考えている言いたいことがそのまま英語になってるのかって言われたらわかんない。それは多分、英語のネイティブの人じゃないと分からないから、そこら辺で結構難しさは感じますよね。（中略）卒論書くときもなんか、「あぁ、 こういう思いをするんだな。
」と思ってます。
[For example, when writing a paper, even though I can come up with theexpression in Japanese, there are times when I am not sure if what I am
trying to say is being correctly expressed in English. And I don't know if the
English expression really expresses what I'm thinking in Japanese. I think
this could only be done by a native English speaker. … When I write my senior
thesis, I think, "Oh, this is what I have to go through.” ] (translated by theauthor)When the author interviewed her before she started writing the thesis, she mentionedthat she would probably have trouble finding the correct phrasing. While students areunder the EMI program, they must be aware of standards and conventions in English
writing, especially when writing a thesis. What Participant A pointed out overlaps
with the difficulties that English L2 learners face in writing, as reported in the paststudies (e.g., Kirkgöz, 2009; Salter-Dvorak, 2014; Tran, 2009)
Furthermore, Participant A pointed out that in addition to the difficulty of writing in aforeign language, the ease of writing depends on the topic; since her topic was about
English education policy in Japan, she stated that most of the research materials werein Japanese.
Extract: 11
A: テーマが日本に関連することだったから資料は当然日本語。そこから英語にするのが面倒、というか大変で。これ英語だとなんて言うんだろうって止まって考えないといけない。
[Since the theme was related to Japan, the documents were written in
Japanese. It was troublesome, or rather difficult, to translate them into
English. I had to stop and think about how I would translate this in English.]The Significance of Studying in an EMI Program :Through the investigation of Japanese L1 students’ senior thesis writing experiences

27

Author: 翻訳作業が必要みたいな感じですか？
[Is it like you need to do a translation?]
A:うーん、翻訳というよりは、頭の中で一旦変換が必要で、それで時間がかかってた感じです。
[Umm, it's not so much a translation, it's more like converting it once in myhead. That's why it took so long.] (translated by the author)
Participant A described the difficulty of the Japanese-English converting process.
When the author asked her if she had done something to overcome this problem, sheanswered that she had asked her friends working on a similar topic. She made use ofhuman resources outside of the seminar.
On the other hand, while acknowledging the difficulty of reading materials in
non-English languages and writing in English, Participant B stated that he did notthink it was that difficult because all Japanese L1 students in the EMI program face
the same difficulties. Instead, he stated that reading the documents objectively andwriting logically were more challenging. In order to overcome this difficulty,
Participant B consulted his Taiwanese friends whenever he had questions about
documents related to Taiwan. In addition to this, he mentioned that his seniors(sempai) in the EMI program were also helpful in learning the writing styles.
In addition to the difficulty of writing in a foreign language, Participant C described asimilar difficulty in constructing her own opinion as Participant B did.
Extract12
C: 日本語と英語の、その変換っていうんですかね、は、たしかに大変でした。
（中略）あと、意見を組み立てるのが苦労して。わたしは最初に何を書くかアウトラ
インをざっくり書くタイプなんですけど、本当にこの流れでいいのかとか考えてて。先生に質問を聞きに行ったときも、初歩的な質問ばかりで、そもそも卒論って何？ってところからでしたよね、わたし。何を書けばいいか曖昧だった。
[It was indeed difficult to translate between Japanese and English. … I also
had a hard time putting together my opinions. I am the kind of person whoroughly outlines what I am going to write at the beginning, but I wondered if
this was really the right way to go. When I went to ask questions to theprofessor, all I got were very basic questions, like, "What is a thesis, anyway? I
started from the very beginning. I was not sure what I should write.](translated by the author)

AZEGAMI, Erika

28

Participant C described the difficulty of writing with a proper understanding ofacademic writing (e.g., the way of building her argument and the thesis format). Thisillustrates her concern about being able to adapt to academic conventions, as noted inTran’s (2009) and Salter-Dvorak’s (2014) studies. In order to solve her concern, she
actively asked questions to her supervisor and tried to understand the academic
discourse. Although the participants in Tran's (2009) and Salter-Dvorak’s (2014) study
were at the post-graduate level, the same was true for the undergraduates in thepresent study.
4.4 Wrap up
To some extent, the findings above overlaps with the findings from the related
studies introduced in the present paper. Even though the participants were seniors
who had studied in the EMI program for 4 years, they faced challenges regarding theforeign language. Writing in English is a difficult task for Japanese L1 students, even
if they are senior students. Moreover, since a senior thesis is a large project, theyexpressed how tough it was for them.
Furthermore, it was found that factors other than languages, such as time
management and curriculum features influenced how participants evaluated theirsenior thesis. They expressed that they could not write the thesis they had envisioned
because of these factors. It is interesting to note that despite their difficulties inwriting in a foreign language, they did not mention anything about language
deficiency to evaluate their senior thesis.
It was also revealed that the participants expressed a sense of accomplishment andconfidence after overcoming challenges using their own resources. Although they were
anxious about whether they could finish writing their thesis, the fact that they
completed it so in a foreign language seemed to have given them a sense ofaccomplishment and confidence.
In previous EMI studies, first- or second-year students' challenges and difficulties,
especially receptive skills, have been the central focus. The present study tried to fill in
the knowledge gap by showing that senior undergraduate students evaluated theirwriting experiences and their thesis positively, insisting that students may findsignificance in their experience in the EMI program.
5. Concluding Remarks
Perspectives on writing experiences and the thesis were revealed based on theinterviews with the participants. Overall, they expressed a sense of accomplishment
and confidence in completing their senior thesis. One factor for expressing such
expression was their efforts to overcome the anxieties and difficulties they felt. The

The Significance of Studying in an EMI Program :Through the investigation of Japanese L1 students’ senior thesis writing experiences

29

efforts were made mainly by relying on human resources (e.g., friends, seniors, and thesupervisor). Among the anxieties and difficulties, the difficulty of writing in a foreign
language was also discovered. This finding overlaps with what the previous studies
have reported. However, it appears that the participants in this study did not describe
the difficulties of writing in a foreign language from language deficiency. Instead, theydescribed the difficulties from a language user's perspective (e.g., section 4.3). The useof human resources and experiences gained in the EMI program could be heard forovercoming language difficulties (e.g., section 4.1).
Although existing studies mostly focus on difficulties or challenges learning in EMI
programs, it is meaningful that the present study was able to reveal that students
have a positive view of their experiences (i.e., experiences of working on their senior
thesis). Since one of the objectives of implementing EMI programs is to develop humanresources capable of foreign language (namely English), the present study's finding(completing a capstone project in English and gaining a positive view of theirexperiences) may be considered an educational significance of the foreign language
education policy in higher education.
However, due to the present study's small-scale research, it is difficult to generalize
whether the participants' sense of accomplishment stemmed from the fact that theywrote in English. Experiences mentioned by the participants perhaps could be heard
from the students in JMI programs. Moreover, the non-linguistic matters mentioned in
the interview are sociologically not surprising. As such, comparative study with JMI
programs is deemed necessary for further research to reveal the uniqueness of thesis
writing experiences in the EMI program. Since both EMI and JMI students are
required to meet the standards of the senior thesis, a comparison of standards acrossEMI programs and JMI programs would also be valuable.
Furthermore, the present study was conducted in a particular context of the EMI
program, so its results cannot be generalized. However, it offers insights into writing
practices in EMI programs in the Japanese context, especially for those who areplanning to write a thesis in English (e.g., senior students and zemi supervisors). In
order to obtain further knowledge, a larger-scale study that invites more Japanese L1
students from other EMI programs in Japan would accumulate empirical knowledge toreveal how senior students are dealing with a senior thesis in English.
References
Adamson, J. L., Coulson, D. & Fujimoto-Adamson, N. (2019). Supervisory practices inEnglish-medium undergraduate and postgraduate applied linguistics thesis
writing: Insights from Japan-based tutors. The Asian Journal of Applied

Linguistics, 6 (1), 14-27

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However, she also pointed out that language problem was another factor that prevented herfrom writing the thesis that she hoped.

i