UNDERSTANDING FIRST-YEAR UNIVERSITY STUDENTS’ CHALLENGES AND LANGUAGE STRATEGY USES AT AN EMI UNIVERSITY: EVIDENCE FROM A MULTILINGUAL CONTEXT

Abstract

Given the fast development of English-medium instruction (EMI) in higher education institutions around the world, scant research has investigated non-native English speaking students' experiences while studying in English, as well as the factors that influence their language learning efforts and goals. As a result, this qualitative study was undertaken in Kazakhstan, guided by a sociocultural perspective on language learning, and it aimed to answer the following research questions: 1) What challenges do a group of Kazakhstani University students encounter while studying at an EMI University in Kazakhstan? 2)What contextual factors affected the participants' language learning experiences? 3) How did they deal with these challenges (i.e., their strategy uses)? The study was guided by Leontiev’s (1981) Activity Theory (AT) which stresses that goal-directed actions or strategies, mediated by appropriate means, assist individuals in achieving their overarching goals. Also, Oxford’s (1990) classification of language learning strategies (LLSs) was adopted to classify the participants’ reported LLSs in an EMI university. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, data was obtained online from eight undergraduates through narrative writing and one-on-one semi-structured interviews. The data were analyzed using Clarke and Braun's (2013) systematic guidelines for conducting thematic analysis. The study reported diverse linguistic and academic challenges faced by first-year university students at an EMI university in Kazakhstan. Examples of these challenges were the lack of academic vocabulary while writing their academic assignments, the adaptation to some instructors’ teaching style, lack of self-confidence and fear of making mistakes during their classroom participation. Therefore, most participants exercised their agentive power by employing certain effective LLSs to deal with these challenges. Examples of these strategies were using digital and mobile technologies to remember and revise new vocabulary, self-talk and seeking help from more successful peers (i.e., cognitive, affective and social strategies). The study also revealed how different contextual factors (e.g., teachers’ practices, private tutors and peers’ mediation and the new assessment modes) mediated the participants’ English language experiences and their strategic learning. Pedagogical implications, such as the use of innovative pedagogical tools and the implementation of LLS training, as well as future research directions, are indicated based on the findings of this qualitative study.