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Language use in an English-medium instruction university in Lebanon: Implications for the validity of international and local English tests for admissions

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Language use in an English-medium instruction university in Lebanon: Implications for the validity of international and local English tests for admissions. / Iliovits, Myriam; Harding, Luke; Pill, John.
In: Journal of English-Medium Instruction, Vol. 1, No. 2, 25.08.2022, p. 153-179.

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@article{7e1d16467ce642ce8232d17f9b6fd2ea,
title = "Language use in an English-medium instruction university in Lebanon: Implications for the validity of international and local English tests for admissions",
abstract = "nglish-medium instruction (EMI) universities in non-English-dominant contexts often use internationally available tests of English (e.g., TOEFL) and/or locally developed tests to assess the academic English-language proficiency of applicants prior to admission. However, little research has been conducted to establish the extent to which either type of test reflects the real-world classroom discourse, and associated communicative demands, within these often multilingual educational contexts. In this paper, we report on one part of a larger study designed to address this research gap in a particular EMI environment – the American University of Beirut (AUB) in Lebanon. We collected and analysed samples of language use at AUB through non-participant ethnographic observations and video recordings of eight undergraduate classes across academic disciplines. Findings indicated that classes were varied in nature, shifted between registers and levels of interaction, involved a range of translanguaging and English as a Lingua Franca-oriented phenomena, and included meta-commentary about language use. We argue that speaking and listening constructs in English-language admissions tests used in EMI contexts ideally need to be localised or locally developed to best match the unique language use characteristics of these settings.",
keywords = "language assessment, language tests, university admissions, lecture discourse, domain analysis",
author = "Myriam Iliovits and Luke Harding and John Pill",
year = "2022",
month = aug,
day = "25",
doi = "10.1075/jemi.21009.ili",
language = "English",
volume = "1",
pages = "153--179",
journal = "Journal of English-Medium Instruction",
issn = "2666-8882",
publisher = "John Benjamins",
number = "2",

}

RIS

TY - JOUR

T1 - Language use in an English-medium instruction university in Lebanon

T2 - Implications for the validity of international and local English tests for admissions

AU - Iliovits, Myriam

AU - Harding, Luke

AU - Pill, John

PY - 2022/8/25

Y1 - 2022/8/25

N2 - nglish-medium instruction (EMI) universities in non-English-dominant contexts often use internationally available tests of English (e.g., TOEFL) and/or locally developed tests to assess the academic English-language proficiency of applicants prior to admission. However, little research has been conducted to establish the extent to which either type of test reflects the real-world classroom discourse, and associated communicative demands, within these often multilingual educational contexts. In this paper, we report on one part of a larger study designed to address this research gap in a particular EMI environment – the American University of Beirut (AUB) in Lebanon. We collected and analysed samples of language use at AUB through non-participant ethnographic observations and video recordings of eight undergraduate classes across academic disciplines. Findings indicated that classes were varied in nature, shifted between registers and levels of interaction, involved a range of translanguaging and English as a Lingua Franca-oriented phenomena, and included meta-commentary about language use. We argue that speaking and listening constructs in English-language admissions tests used in EMI contexts ideally need to be localised or locally developed to best match the unique language use characteristics of these settings.

AB - nglish-medium instruction (EMI) universities in non-English-dominant contexts often use internationally available tests of English (e.g., TOEFL) and/or locally developed tests to assess the academic English-language proficiency of applicants prior to admission. However, little research has been conducted to establish the extent to which either type of test reflects the real-world classroom discourse, and associated communicative demands, within these often multilingual educational contexts. In this paper, we report on one part of a larger study designed to address this research gap in a particular EMI environment – the American University of Beirut (AUB) in Lebanon. We collected and analysed samples of language use at AUB through non-participant ethnographic observations and video recordings of eight undergraduate classes across academic disciplines. Findings indicated that classes were varied in nature, shifted between registers and levels of interaction, involved a range of translanguaging and English as a Lingua Franca-oriented phenomena, and included meta-commentary about language use. We argue that speaking and listening constructs in English-language admissions tests used in EMI contexts ideally need to be localised or locally developed to best match the unique language use characteristics of these settings.

KW - language assessment

KW - language tests

KW - university admissions

KW - lecture discourse

KW - domain analysis

U2 - 10.1075/jemi.21009.ili

DO - 10.1075/jemi.21009.ili

M3 - Journal article

VL - 1

SP - 153

EP - 179

JO - Journal of English-Medium Instruction

JF - Journal of English-Medium Instruction

SN - 2666-8882

IS - 2

ER -