EFL students’ challenges in English-medium business programmes: Perspectives from students and content teachers

Abstract

The overarching aim of this study was to investigate EFL students’ challenges in English-medium business programmes from the perspectives of both students and content teachers. English medium instruction (EMI) has been increasingly used in business study programmes in higher education institutions in English as second/foreign language (ESL/EFL) contexts around the world. Consequently, there has been a growing body of research reporting the experiences of both EMI teachers and students utilizing EMI, particularly in European contexts. However, there is little attention given to EMI in the Middle East and the North and sub-Saharan African contexts. This paper duly reports findings from a large study of students’ experiences on an EMI Master of Business Administration (MBA) programme in Sudan. A qualitative ethnographically-oriented methodology was adopted involving three methods of data collection namely, interviews, classroom observations and collection and analysis of some documentary data. Twenty-one MBA students and ten subject teachers took part in the investigation. Results showed that students experienced a range of challenges which were reportedly perceived to have impacted on students’ academic performance and experiences on the programme negatively. Pedagogical implications for both EMI business education and English for academic purposes (EAP) are presented and discussed.