The results of EMI Field study in Russia (WP-1): Results and Conclusions

1.

Presentation made by:
Olga Safonkina,
Mordovia State University (courtesy of
Aleksei Kupriakhin, Petrozavodsk State
University)
L Огарёвские чтения» (2021)
The results of EMI Field study in
Russia (WP-1):
Results and Conclusions
Support for Innovative Methodology, Approaches and Tools for
Erasmus+ SMARTI
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for Innovative
Methodology,
Approaches
and Toolsinfor
Teaching
the
Teaching
through
the Medium
of English
order
to through
improve
Medium of English in order to improve Educational Yield, Sustainability and
Educational Yield, Sustainability and
Internationalization
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2.

Geography of the research
32/20*
19**
18
•HEIs
•Cities
•Regions
•Around
2000
people
• * 20 — the minimum number prescribed by the proposal
• ** The full list: Moscow, Saint-Petersburg, Saransk, Kaliningrad, Tomsk, Kazan, Irkutsk, Ioshkar-Ola, Makhachkala,
Perm, Ekaterinburg, Astrakhan, Novosibirsk, Petrozavodsk, Tula, Nizhniy Novgorod, Vladivostok, Naberezhnie
Chelny, Samara
Support for Innovative Methodology, Approaches and Tools for Teaching through the
Medium of English in order to improve Educational Yield, Sustainability and
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3.

Statistics: categorization
General indicators
Course/program transition into EMI
Tools and technologies within EMI
curriculum
Qualities of an EMI lecturer
Difficulties and challenges
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Medium of English in order to improve Educational Yield, Sustainability and
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4.

Statistics: general indicators
Experience
staff
shortage
(EMI)
13/32
No EMI
center/training
available
Have zero/extremely
low*** level of
incoming staff mobility
29/32
8/32
15/32
20/32
Would prefer
having more
staff (EMI)
7/32
Do not have
EMI programs*
at all
Have less than
10 EMI
lecturers**
NB: In 17/32 of the
respondent HEIs teachers
have an opportunity to
develop their linguistic and
pedagogical competences
within a special institutional
based training/program
• * EMI programs — programs taught in English
• ** EMI lecturers — lecturers capable of delivering EMI curricula
• *** 1-4 staff members per year
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5.

Statistics: general indicators
Command of English:
• 31/32 HEIs — B1-C2
• 1/32 HEI — A1-A2(!)
Compliance with ECTS:
• 8/32 HEIs do not have any
courses/programs aligned with ECTS
Perception of EMI:
• 0/32 HEIs consider EMI to be only a
matter of language
Support for Innovative Methodology, Approaches and Tools for Teaching through the
Medium of English in order to improve Educational Yield, Sustainability and
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6.

Statistics: course/program transition into EMI
A course can be enirely
transferred into EMI format by
means of its translation into
English
No, hardly
13%
No, the translation itself
will not be enough
None of the respondent
HEIs agreed that a
course or a program in
Russian
can
be
transferred into EMI just
by means of translating
it into English.
No, hardly
No, the
translation
itself will not
be enough
87%
Yes, probably
Yes, most likely
Support for Innovative Methodology, Approaches and Tools for Teaching through the
Medium of English in order to improve Educational Yield, Sustainability and
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7.

Statistics: course/program transition into EMI
Course transfer into EMI format may
also require:
Options
AUXILIARY MATERIALS (SELFLEARNING, GUIDES ETC.)
19
ECTS-TUNING TRAINING
26
DIDACTICAL TRAINING
25
LANGUAGE TRAINING
26
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
Number of votes from respondent HEIs
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Medium of English in order to improve Educational Yield, Sustainability and
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8.

Statistics: tools and technologies
number of respondents
Importance of different
educational technologies within
EMI
23
2
8 7
6
9
TRADITIONAL
13
10 11
1
8
2 2 7
2 2 7
3 5
SCL-DRIVEN
SELF-LEARNING
BLENDED
ENVIRONMENT
Technologies to be ranked from 1 to 5
1 Point
2 Points
3 Points
4 Points
23/32 (72%) of the
respondent HEIs ranked
“implementation
of
SCL approach” as 5
(maximum mark) while
only
9/32
(28%)
universities
ranked
“traditional
lectures
and seminars” as 5 as
well.
5 Points
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9.

Educational technologies implemented by EMI lecturers:
Use of old/fundamental examples
24,3%
Practice and labs
25,2%
Project-study method
28,7%
Options
Focus on theory
27,0%
Case-study method
23,5%
Use of advanced examples
27,8%
Interactive lectures and seminars
53,0%
Traditional lectures and seminars
44,3%
Active implementation of SCL
0,0%
57,4%
10,0%
20,0%
30,0%
40,0%
50,0%
60,0%
70,0%
% of students finding the option reliable
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Medium of English in order to improve Educational Yield, Sustainability and
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10.

Importance of different teaching methods within EMI
Number of votes from
respondent HEIs
25
20
15
10
5
0
Methods to be ranked from 1 to 5
1 Point
2 Points
3 Points
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Medium of English in order to improve Educational Yield, Sustainability and
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4 Points
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5 Points
10

11.

Statistics: qualities of an EMI lecturer
Number of votes from respondent HEIs
Importance of an EMI teacher's
skills
20
11 11
10
4 2 6
3 5
17
15
14
2
8
10
2 5
9
1 1
4
No less than 14 universities in
each case opted for topranking the following options:
• Oral speaking
• Academic writing
• Proper IT competence
• ECTS tuning competence
Skills to be ranked from 1 to 5
1 Point
2 Points
3 Points
4 Points
5 Points
Support for Innovative Methodology, Approaches and Tools for Teaching through the
Medium of English in order to improve Educational Yield, Sustainability and
Internationalization [SMARTI]
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11

12.

Importance of an EMI teacher's skills (students'
ranking)
Number of votes from students
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Oral explanations
Academic writing
Top research skills
High level of IT
competence
Skills to be ranked from 1 to 5
1 Point
2 Points
3 Points
Support for Innovative Methodology, Approaches and Tools for Teaching through the
Medium of English in order to improve Educational Yield, Sustainability and
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4 Points
ECTS-tuning skills
5 Points
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13.

Field study: Conclusions
SMARTI project initiative
Corresponding problem of Russian HEIs proved
by the survey results
Elaborating of a special EMI curriculum
training as a way of EMI teacher quality
enhancement
Lack of EMI curriculum or qualified staff to
develop/deliver it
Elaborating of ESP (English for specific
purposes) training as a way of bringing
the weaker English language speaking
teachers to the survival level within EMI
Establishing of EMI centers at each
partner HEI
Different level of language competence without any
standards and regulations
Need for a special center responsible for EMI teacher
quality enhancement/instruction: typical absence of
such a center at Russian HEIs
Using ECTS/TUNING framework
EMI curricula often do not comply with ECTS
Support for academic mobility of
teachers, active exchange of experience
and best practices among EMI staff
Lack or total absence of academic mobility for teachers
and/or international cooperation within sphere of EMI
Support for Innovative Methodology, Approaches and Tools for Teaching through the
Medium of English in order to improve Educational Yield, Sustainability and
Internationalization [SMARTI]
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14.

Recommendations
1.
To consider topics: international partnership, contacts, joint research work, internal and
external mobility factors, opportunities of financed internships and study-visits etc.
2.
To make emphasis on identifying the level of each participant and, if necessary, bringing it
to the corresponding “survival” level.
3.
To incorporate the relevant technologies in the very process of training.
4.
To shed light on other modern opportunities which could substitute the outdated ones with
a great efficiency advantage (presentations, online-tools etc.)
5.
To emphasize that EMI cannot be considered only as teaching in a foreign language.
6.
To come up with a general guide or a set of applied recommendations on how to start
from a scratch (topics in question: necessary resources, requirements, accreditation issues,
possible benefits, advantages and threats etc.)
Support for Innovative Methodology, Approaches and Tools for Teaching through the
Medium of English in order to improve Educational Yield, Sustainability and
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15.

Presentation made by:
Thank you for your
attention
[email protected]
Support for Innovative Methodology, Approaches and Tools for
Erasmus+ SMARTI
Support
for Innovative
Methodology,
Approaches
and Toolsinfor
Teaching
the
Teaching
through
the Medium
of English
order
to through
improve
Medium of English in order to improve Educational Yield, Sustainability and
Educational Yield, Sustainability and
Internationalization
Internationalization [SMARTI]
[SMARTI]
Erasmus+
Erasmus+