영어전용강의: 외국인 학생들, 수준별 강의 원해

Students Want to Take EMI Courses Based on Their Levels

 

By Kim Hae-in, Tribune Reporter

 

 

A professor and students in an EMI class on Ecology offered by CNU

   This article is part 2 of the series on English as the Medium of Instruction (EMI) courses at Chonnam National University focusing on the international students. Seeing EMI courses from international students’ points of view will give us a new perspective on the efficiency of EMI courses.-Ed.  

 Chonnam National University (CNU) is trying to cultivate global human resources in various ways and one of them is EMI courses through which students can increase their intellectual powers and practice their English skills. According to the Office of Academic Affairs of CNU, most of foreign language courses (about 5.8% of the total classes) in 2012 were EMI courses.


      Korean Students Need to Change Their Attitude

Some international students pointed that the biggest problem they see in EMI classes is the attitude of Korean students during the class. Korean students tend to not talk in English when there is a group discussion, especially when there is an international student in the group. Kristina Sliazaite (Graduate Student, Division of Business Administration, Exchange Student from Siaulia University, Lithuania) said that “It is hard to communicate with Korean students in a work group because they are shy to speak up in the crowd. So I prefer to make a group with international students who are less afraid to speak up when it comes to discussion.” Korean students were educated at school to be quiet while the lecturer is talking and their attitude became passive. This attitude seems to be the barrier between them and the foreign students in the class. There is a call for more effort from both Korean and international students to try to be more active in class discussions and to try to understand the cultural atmosphere in EMI classes.

 

 

Pros and Cons of Absolute Evaluation

Most of EMI courses enforce the absolute evaluation grading system and it is an incentive system to encourage Korean students to take EMI courses. Unfortunately, it has been argued that the grading system needs to be changed because some students take advantage of it. Other classes that do not use English during the class take relative evaluation which only 30% of students could get an A+ or an A. However, when it comes to EMI courses, up to 50% of students can get an A+ or an A except in a few cases. Marina Tognoli (Senior, Dept. of English Lang. & Lit.) remembered when she had to write an essay about a sonnet and she worked so hard to get an A+. Then, when she checked one of her Korean classmate’s essay and she thought it was too easy to get an A+ essay. “I was depressed. I think students who speak English very well should get better grades.” She also added “Some Korean students who do not understand English come to the class because they know that they will get an easy B. Something must be done to change this matter.”

 

 

The Role of the Professor in the Class Is Important

The role of the lecturer is a primary factor when it comes to the efficiency of a class. EMI courses are open for both Korean and international students and it is very important for the lecturer to keep the balance between the two groups. Patrick Engberson (Exchange Student from the University of Utah, USA) said, “One of my professors sometimes skips the details because she thinks it is not easy to discuss in the class in English but I would like to know the details.” Keeping the pace of the lecture is also one of dilemmas for professors who teach EMI courses. Lee Sang-ho (Professor, Division of Economics) said that if the class is in low speed, students who are good at English will lose their interest in the class but if the class goes fast, students who are not that good at English will not be able to follow what is going on in the class. He added, “As more and more international students take classes at CNU, professors need to give an all-embracing lecture to students. They should grasp the level of students and provide an appropriate level to the class.”

In the case of the grading system, it is true that students who understand the lecture well could feel this system is unfair if someone who has less English skills can get the same scores. Well in this case, according to Professor Lee, the lecturer should attract the students who does not speak English well, to participate to get involved in the class and get fair grades.

 

 

EMI Is a Good Opportunity

Improving English proficiency is the general trend of the world and EMI courses could be a good opportunity to prepare for it. Of course, it has pros and cons on it and it still has a long way to go to set up a solid system. Still, students whether good at English or not, can learn something from the class and the professor will be there for you whenever you have a question. Plus international students could get a chance to make many Korean friends and experience different perspectives on certain subjects from them and vice versa.

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