An investigation into the academic English language needs of students at Yıldız Technical University and disciplinary teachers' attitudes towards English-medium instruction at the tertiary level

Abstract

This study investigated the Academic English language needs of students at Yıldız Technical University through the perspectives of their disciplinary teachers. Yıldız Technical University is a Turkish-medium university, where the language of instruction has recently been switched from partial English to full Turkish medium instruction. Therefore, the secondary aim of this study was to determine the attitudes of disciplinary teachers towards English-medium instruction at the tertiary level. This study attempted to answer the following research questions:

What are the Academic English language requirements of students studying in different departments at YTU through the perspectives of their content teachers? According to the English language use requirements of content teachers, which skills should be given priority for the students of different disciplines? What are the content teachers’ attitudes towards English-medium instruction at the tertiary level? Data were collected from the disciplinary teachers currently working in eight different faculties at Yıldız Technical University. In order to collect data, a questionnaire was prepared and delivered to 400 disciplinary teachers. The 254 completed questionnaires were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Chi-square tests, ANOVA tests, Post hoc Tukey tests and Crosstabs analysis for multiple comparisons among departments. The results of the study revealed that most of the content teachers at Yıldız Technical University agree on the importance of English in the academic studies of learners. Nevertheless, when the results concerning the Academic English requirements of different disciplines were considered, ‘reading’ was shown to be the required skill given most priority. Only a small number of disciplinary teachers reported that the remaining academic skills, i.e. writing, listening, speaking, were required for the academic studies of the learners in their departments. When the data results about English-medium instruction were evaluated, it was concluded that most of the content teachers at Yıldız Technical University are in favor of Turkish medium instruction and they believe that students should be taught in their mother tongue in their content courses. An investigation of the academic English language needs of students through the perspectives of disciplinary teachers may provide a sound basis for curriculum renewal projects in the future. Through this study, current curriculum may be modified and specific needs-based curricula may be implemented for different departments. Moreover, the results of this study may provide empirical insights into the ways that non-native English speaking scholars in one country view the role of English in educational domain.