Planning to take a degree taught in English when it’s not your first language?

Four students

Photo: Brooke Cagle on Unsplash

Every year, millions of students from all parts of the globe study for a degree through a language other than their first, usually English. In 2023, 25% of all higher education students in the UK were international students.

The understanding is that the incoming students will have, or develop, enough proficiency in English as a second language to study engineering, history, physics and other courses taught in English.

English-medium courses are also offered in countries where English is not the first language – or is a second national language as is the case here. In Sweden, where English has no official status, 66% of master’s programmes were taught through English in 2020. Universities in France primarily attract overseas students from Francophone Africa, to study in French, but they also offer courses taught in English.

Where domestic and international students study together, even those students who stay at home get to have an international experience when they meet students from other countries.

In some parts of the world and countries like Malta, English is preferred over local languages for domestic students, in the belief that this will best equip them for their professional lives.

Learning plans

If you’re planning on taking a degree taught in English and it’s not your first language, you already know that it will probably be more challenging than learning in your mother tongue would be.

Following what is being explained in lectures may be more difficult, and you may come up against unfamiliar vocabulary in the course literature. Group work can also be hard if students have varying levels of proficiency in English.

Lecturers may also be uncomfortable helping students with English, and do not see themselves as language teachers, even though all students need to become familiar with the specific language used in the field they are studying.

Group work comes with challenges but can also allow useful collaboration. ESB Professional/Shutterstock

Fortunately, there is a lot you can do as a student to meet the challenges of studying in a second language.

You don’t need to do all your studying only in English. Use your linguistic resources to make the most of your opportunities.

Una Cunningham, Professor emerita, Department of Teaching and Learning, Stockholm University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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