There is limited contemporary evidence around students’ experience of lectures, notwithstanding critiques of their value. This study focuses on second-year chemical engineering students across four institutions in England and South Africa. The analysis of student interviews identified three themes describing what students value in lectures. In terms of interaction, they valued simply being able to ask questions. In terms of explanations, pacing was key and working through problems by hand was valued, while the use of powerpoint often received critique. The final theme shows how resources form a crucial link from the lecture into students’ private studying. This study also drew on lecturer interviews, and the comparison shows considerable coherence between lecturer intentions and students' experiences. The final aspect of this study compared across institutions, and here we see the structural impact of the high levels of contact time in the South African programmes.