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13 - Using a Longitudinal Quantitative Design to Investigate Student Transition from Secondary School to EMI Higher Education

from Part II - Empirical Chapters (Case Studies)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 December 2024

By
Sihan Zhou
Edited by
Samantha M. Curle  and
Jack Pun
Samantha M. Curle
Affiliation:
University of Bath
Jack Pun
Affiliation:
City University of Hong Kong
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Summary

English Medium Instruction (EMI) research has highlighted the transition from secondary schools to EMI higher education as a critical stage that shapes students’ learning behaviors and perceptions. However, longitudinal studies that draw on a quantitative design to outline students’ patterns of academic development during the transition period are scarce. While investigating students’ language-related academic difficulties, previous research has predominantly treated students as a unitary cohort without exploring the disparities that may arise from individual difference variables. This chapter reports an empirical case study that adopts a longitudinal quantitative design to identify patterns of change in students’ perceptions of lecture listening difficulties during their first semester transitioning into an EMI university in China. The study also explores variations in these patterns that are associated with students’ English listening proficiency upon entry. Key methodological procedures for designing and implementing the study will be introduced, while along with sharing suggestions for handling the typical challenges of attrition and missing data in longitudinal quantitative research. The chapter concludes with methodological implications of the study for EMI research, and offers suggestions for future research based on a critical reflection of the study’s limitations.

Keywords

EMIlongitudinallisteningproficiencytransitionChina
Type
Chapter
Information
Researching English Medium Instruction
Quantitative Methods for Students and Researchers
 , pp. 227 - 239
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2024

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