Higher education content lecturers' attitudes towards English medium instruction (EMI), their challenges and coping strategies in EMI classes

The adoption of English-medium instruction (EMI) at higher education institutions (HEIs) has become a growing phenomenon globally as a strategic response to the internationalization of HEIs, especially in non-Anglophone countries including Turkey. As the key stakeholder in EMI practices, content lecturers play a pivotal role in the effective implementation of EMI. Research on content lecturers' attitudes towards EMI has revealed inconclusive and conflicting results. Scant studies have examined challenges encountered by EMI content lecturers and their coping strategies. Considering the gap in the literature, the present study aimed to investigate content lecturers' perceptions of EMI, their challenges and coping strategies across 8 universities in Turkey, employing a mixed methods design. Quantitative data collected from an online questionnaire were analyzed using descriptive statistics and one-way ANOVA. Qualitative data gathered through semi-structured interviews were analyzed through thematic analysis. The findings revealed the participants were mostly supportive of EMI due to its potential benefits, but they expressed some concerns. Students' low English proficiency, low level of learner engagement and assessment-related challenges were found as the major challenges. The coping strategies included simplification, L1 use, providing additional support and integration of fun elements into course plans. No significant difference between the perceptions, challenges and strategies was identified across disciplines. The findings suggest implications for content lecturers, higher education administration and EMI policy makers about prep year language education, the extent of L1 use in EMI classes, and translanguaging implementations.