English as a Medium of Instruction course improves skills by focusing on the offer of curricular subjects taught in English, in varied fields of expertise

The movement for internationalization inside the classroom is constant at University of Caxias do Sul and it is propelled through initiatives such as preparing professors to teach about varied domains of expertise using English. Started in April and with ongoing activities until the end of July, the course English as a Medium of Instruction (EMI) gathers 18 professors from UCS promoting the comprehension of EMI’s methodological principles and its benefits/challenges.

The course proposes the analysis of linguistic and structural features that compose technical-scientific domains and tools for the adaptation of these characteristics to the pedagogical process. Furthermore, the professors are invited to reflect upon EMI’s methodology, which entails the use of English as a means for instruction, its principles, applications and its assessment.

Participants met in Bloco L at the Headquarters of the university, on the 7th of June, for a session in person – the activities developed by the professors Sabrina Bonqueves Fadanelli and Maria Valesia da Silva Silva (coordinator of the Writing Center at UCS) also add 20 hours of online class. Accompanied by the Vice-Dean of UCS, professor Asdrubal Falavigna, the group debated about the criteria for presenting an assessment of the activities developed throughout the course, presentation which will take place at the end of July at a meeting of the university’s Internationalization Group.

In the class on the 14th of June, the participants took part in a conversation online with teachers and professors from Queen Mary University of London, in England, to talk about challenges, similarities and differences between the application of EMI in both institutions and contexts.

In charge of the Foreign Languages Program at UCS and the EducationUSA office at UCS, professor Sabrina contextualizes that the process of internationalization in Higher Education is engaged in using English as a Medium of Instruction. “The offer of subjects taught in English contributes to the receival of more foreign students to study at UCS; as well as it motivates our students and professors to learn/improve the language and opens doors to more knowledge”, she justifies.

Among the participants of the course, having also contributed to the elaboration of some activities carried out during the discussions, professor Mateus Panizzon elicits the access to important resources to be considered during the teaching practice. “Several techniques presented have provided me with more information on how to expand the association of students’ concepts, which can lead to an improvement in the learning of the subject and English at the same time”, he explains.

The Internationalization Staff at UCS foresees a new edition for the EMI course during next semester.

Photos: Bruno Zulian