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This study investigates student listening and coping skills in undergraduate courses taught in English at a Spanish university. Groups of students enrolled on bilingual programmes took a listening test at the beginning of the year. Questionnaires on student listening ability and coping skills and strategies were developed, and these were administered to the students at the end of the semester. Qualitative interviews were carried out with a representative sample of students in each faculty, and the results of these were analysed in order to provide a richer, more detailed picture of the way that students face the challenge of taking academically demanding courses in English. Statistical tests revealed small correlations between students' listening scores and their final grades in the courses taught in English, and moderate to large correlations between the listening scores and self-report data obtained from the questionnaires. The results from the questionnaires and interviews enabled us to develop guidelines for visiting lecturers in order to promote good practices within a CLIL context.
1 Introduction
English is increasingly being adopted as a language of instruction in universities throughout Europe. However, the far-reaching implications of the change from mother-tongue university education to courses delivered wholly or partly in a second language are not often taken into account. In this chapter, I provide a brief overview of the two most influential models of English-medium higher education, and outline three important questions that arise in this context. I then report some recent empirical research, the results of which shed light on all three of the issues identified, and provide pointers that could help lecturers and organisers to improve university courses given in English, indicating how this guidance could be applied.
2 Higher education in English: current solutions and unresolved questions
The English language is taking on an increasingly important role in higher education across Europe. In some countries, undergraduate and postgraduate courses have moved over almost entirely to English as the language of instruction, while in others there has been a gradual incorporation of classes taught in English. This is often motivated by the idea that offering such courses will attract students from beyond the immediate area, either for the entire degree course or as part of an exchange programme. The implications that these changes...