Higher education medium of instruction and career prospects: an exploration of current and graduated Chinese students’ perceptions

Abstract

This article reports a mixed-methods study that explored university students’ perceptions of whether and how English Medium Instruction (EMI) improves career prospects. Questionnaire (n = 100) and interview data (n = 20) were collected from current and graduated (alumni) students from an EMI Finance programme at a Chinese university in Beijing. Participants reflected on their EMI experience and/or career experience to determine whether or not their employability had increased. Findings showed that both cohorts of students were positive that EMI will/had increased their career prospects. They believed that EMI could/had expanded their career choices as well as provided more job opportunities by improving their English proficiency. Overall students agreed that using EMI meant less content was taught, however, denied that this would negatively affect their career prospects. Practical implications for pedagogy are discussed.