抄録
A growing number of universities in Japan have adopted English-medium instruction (EMI) and started offering classes in English. However, EMI has been implemented at such an unprecedented speed that the research in this area has fallen behind the practice. While the literature includes several case studies on student experiences at a single institution, very few studies have attempted to compare those at different institutions or in different departments. This exploratory study aims to contribute to filling this knowledge gap by comparing the experiences of students who enrolled in an EMI course in human sciences with those who took an EMI course in medicine. Employing a quantitative survey, the present study examined human sciences students’ EMI experiences, focusing on motivation, expected outcomes, coping strategies, perceived difficulties, and learning support needs. Despite the disciplinary differences, the comparative analyses revealed considerable similarities in motivation, expected outcomes, perceived difficulties, and coping strategies. However, the findings also highlighted differences in learning support needs, such as in the degree of importance that students placed on specific types of assistance.
