ABSTRACT
The growing trend of English-medium instruction (EMI) in universities raises the need to develop students’ discipline-specific English language proficiency, so as to help students improve their ability to use academic English in their own study. This chapter explores the possibility of supporting such needs through discipline-specific summary writing workshops and an online learning platform on which students could practice their summary writing skills. Qualitative data were collected through semi-structured interviews with nice mathematic students after the workshops. Findings support that academic English courses provided at EMI universities need to address students’ discipline-specific language needs, in order to facilitate their study of content knowledge. Their discipline-specific language learning needs can be met through teaching academic English skills (e.g., writing skills) within the context of their discipline. The online learning platform offered a chance for students to self-evaluate their writings according to the criteria provided by the course instructor and regulate their learning. The present study contributes to the understanding of language teaching strategies that can support discipline-specific language skills in the EMI context. Based on students’ responses, pedagogical implications on strategies to support students’ discipline-specific language learning needs in the EMI context are discussed.
