Teaching in English as Medium of Instruction as a new educational vector: the case of SMARTI project

1.

Presentation made by:
Olga Safonkina,
Mordovia State University
Teaching in English as Medium of
Instruction as a new educational
vector: the case of SMARTI project
(Erasmus +)
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+

2.

Goals of project :
To enhance the qualification of teaching staff teaching in English
To increase the quality of EMI programs
To advance English language knowledge of students enrolled to EMI problems
To enhance intercultural competences and soft skills of both teaching staff and
students due to new learning and teaching methods and approaches
https://smarti-erasmus.eu/
Erasmus+
2

3.

Project partners:
EU partners
Technische Universität Dresden (TUD)
Armenian partners:
Riga Technical University (RTU)
Public Administration Academy of the Republic of Armenia
(PAARA)
Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU)
“Vanadzor State University after H. Toumanyan” VSU
Universidade Católica Portuguesa – Faculty of Biotecnology
(UCP-ESB)
Armenian National Agrarian University (ANAU)
Mikayel Nalbandian Shirak State University (SUSh)
Goris State University (GSU)
RF partners:
Ogarev Mordovia State University (MRSU) Irkutsk National
Research Technical University (INRTU)
NON academic partners:
Kazan Federal University (KFU)
Certification Association “Russian Register” (RR)
Petrozavodsk State University (PetrSU)
National Centre for Professional Education Quality
Assurance, Foundation ANQA
Irkutsk National Technical University (INRTU)
Erasmus+
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4.

STEP 1: PREPARATION
The inventory of the best European EMI teaching methodologies
Development of EMI teaching descriptors
Development of EMI Curriculum Training.
Erasmus+
4

5.

Step 1
Desk and field study of PC practices in EMI teacher enhancement approaches and
student-centred methodologies. Inventory of the best European EMI teaching
methodologies.
https://smarti-erasmus.eu/dissemination/publications/
Erasmus+
5

6.

EMI MODULES:
Module 1. Communicative Approach (student-centered) and
Blended/ICT/E-Learning strategies that are as opposed to the
more common traditional teaching approaches used in all
faculties.
Module 6. EMI Module Curriculum Development and
Instructional Design
Module 7. EMI Student Assessment strategies (formal and
alternative assessment).
Module 2. EMI Oral Teaching Skills Part 1 (including range for
lectures, seminars, lab sessions)
Module 3. EMI Oral Teaching Skills Part 2 (Case Studies to
support analytical thinking approach as specifically
recommended by Armenian and Russian Lead partners)
Module 8. EMI QA Module Benchmarking and Validation in EMI
environment. This includes a model of digital transformation of
EMI implementation in academic sector, with focus on
effectiveness assurance based on data analytics.
Module 9: ESP Pathway Program Module. This EMI English for
Module 4. EMI Research & Writing Skills (relating to research, Specific Purposes Training (terminology, soft skills, and key
thesis writing, supervision, for MA/PhD Cycle. This also involves writing skills) package for PCs is based on an English Language
Information Literacy input.
Staff Audit.
Module 5. Pre-Module Curriculum Development ECTS and EU
Tuning Framework Training
Erasmus+
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7.

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
Internationalization [SMARTI]
Erasmus+
7

8.

Statistics: categorization
General indicators
Course/program transition into EMI
Tools and technologies within EMI
curriculum
Qualities of an EMI lecturer
Difficulties and challenges
Support for Innovative Methodology, Approaches and Tools for Teaching through the
Medium of English in order to improve Educational Yield, Sustainability and
Internationalization [SMARTI]
Erasmus+
8

9.

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
Support for Innovative Methodology, Approaches and Tools for Teaching through the
Medium of English in order to improve Educational Yield, Sustainability and
Internationalization [SMARTI]
Erasmus+
9

10.

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
Internationalization [SMARTI]
Erasmus+
10

11.

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
Internationalization [SMARTI]
Erasmus+
11

12.

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
Support for Innovative Methodology, Approaches and Tools for Teaching through the
Medium of English in order to improve Educational Yield, Sustainability and
Internationalization [SMARTI]
Erasmus+
12

13.

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
Internationalization [SMARTI]
4 Points
ECTS-tuning skills
5 Points
Erasmus+
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14.

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]
Erasmus+
14

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+