Medical Students’ Perceived Needs Considering the English Language Skills from the Perspective of Students and Instructors in Eastern Mediterranean University

The present study aimed at investigating the medical students’ perceived needs for the four language skills, the instructors’ perceptions of the students’ needs of four skills, the similarities and differences between students’ and instructors’ opinions in terms of students’ needs of those four skills as well as the instructors’ views on English language needs of the medical students at the Eastern Mediterranean University. To conduct the study, a mixed methodology was employed. The participants included ninety-nine medical students at the medical department and seven instructors who taught the English courses and medical courses at the same department in the academic year of 2019. The quantitative phase included data collection adapting Taşçi’s (2007) questionnaire. To collect qualitative data structured interviews with the instructors were conducted. The quantitative data were analyzed descriptively using SPSS and the qualitative data were analyzed using thematic emergent coding. Based on the findings, it was revealed that both the students and the instructors believed that English language is vital in their education. However, the students believed that failing in the courses must not hinder them from continuing their studies at the Medical Department; whereas, the instructors’ perception was not same. Also, it was found that the most prioritized skill for the students was speaking while the instructors believed that it was reading. Based on the sub-constructs analysis, it was observed that they needed the skills for reading exam questions, textbooks, and resource books, following spoken instructions from lecturers and for understanding discussions on medical issues, succeeding in presentations in conferences or seminars and making reports, and using the medical sites on the internet. Most of the sub-constructs were in line with what the instructors believed other than the reading skill. The instructors reported that the students need to improve their English reading skill. Some practical recommendations were also listed for the EMU curriculum designers and materials and course developers to be considered while reviewing or evaluating the English courses.