Integrating English-Medium Instruction for First-Year Biology Students Through Tailored Course Design: A Case Study of Fundamental Chemistry Units

Abstract

With the growing trend of integrating English as a Medium of Instruction (EMI) in science classrooms, concerns raised about student success. This study explores the challenges faced by First Year license biology students at Tebessa University and how a desired tailored course design can support EMI integration in a fundamental chemistry unit to meet student’s needs. Furthermore, the current research intends to gain general analysis of how a potential EMI courses in chemistry unit would look like. Therefore, the data conducted through a mixed approach. Thus , a sample of 150 first license biology students at Tebessa University , have responded to a mixed quantitative questionnaire about the identification of students' challenges and preferred learning materials. Additionally, a qualitative content analysis examines existing courses, exercises, and practical work, while a structured teacher interview provide insights into more data gathered for the document analysis framework to identify components of an EMI course design in terms of lectures content and teaching- learning materials. The findings reveal significant student challenges associated with EMI in chemistry. However, the study emphasizes the impact of tailored course design components on overcoming these challenges. This research sheds light on the importance of engaging EMIintegrated materials for chemistry learning. These findings provide a preliminary standing ground for future initiatives to design an EMI course for first year biology students specially for their fundamental chemistry unit. It is recommended to highlight the need to consider language use in scientific fields when developing educational materials.