Investigating English Medium Instruction (EMI) students' vocabulary learning and use of vocabulary learning strategies: a longitudinal study in China's tertiary context
Keywords: vocabulary learning
English Medium Instruction (EMI)
language learner strategies
China
vocabulary learning strategies
higher education

This thesis investigates students’ use of vocabulary learning strategies and their vocabulary gain, as well as the relationship between them, in English Medium Instruction (EMI) classes in the tertiary context in China. In previous literature researchers have emphasised the influence of the learning context on learners’ patterns of strategy use. However, they focused mainly on English as a Foreign Language (EFL) settings, whereas little research has been carried out in the context of EMI.
EMI is sometimes considered to have the dual purpose of teaching academic subject content and improving language learning, yet to date there remains scant research evidence of students’ language learning outcomes from EMI courses. This current study aims to address these gaps in the research field by providing an understanding of students’ strategy use and vocabulary gain in this relatively new context. The study employed a longitudinal mixed methods design. Data were collected via several instruments, including observation, self-developed EMI vocabulary learning strategy questionnaires, vocabulary tests and semi-structured interviews. Observations were carried out first to form an idea of the learning context, followed by questionnaires and vocabulary tests, both of which were administered at the start and at the end of a sixteen-week term. As the time span between the two data collection points ranged from nine to ten weeks, due to the actual teaching arrangements of lecturers, interviews were conducted to offer a further explanatory account of the quantitative results.
The participants were 114 EMI students from various subject areas in one top-ranking university in China, among whom 35 participated in the interviews. Questionnaire and test data from the two data collection time points were compared. Comparative analysis was also performed on the data of students in different subject areas.
Across one term’s period of study the students’ overall use of strategies and strategic behaviour reduced significantly in both type and quantity. The findings suggested that EMI students became more selective regarding the words they would attend to and they shifted their focus on strategic vocabulary learning from intentional memorisation to contextual comprehension and incidental learning. Subject discipline did not appear to have a significant effect on patterns of strategy use. The vocabulary tests provided evidence of significant gains, over the period, in productive vocabulary and in the acquisition of formulaic sequences. A few significant correlations were noted between vocabulary gain and strategy use, yet the correlations between the two variables were generally weak and small in their effect size, indicating there was no one-size-fits-all strategy favouring all types of vocabulary learning in the EMI context. The main methodological contribution of this study is that a vocabulary learning strategy inventory was developed that could be used in future EMI research. The study also demonstrates the importance of using qualitative research tools in EMI strategy research. Furthermore, the study yields pedagogical implications in terms of supporting and raising students’ awareness of vocabulary learning and strategy use in EMI.