Papeles de Europa (Nov 2018)

Towards a new classroom dynamic? A comparative analysis of students’ learning strategies in English vs. in Spanish degrees

  • Elena Urquía-Grande,
  • María-del-Mar Camacho-Miñano,
  • Emma Dafouz

DOI
https://doi.org/10.5209/PADE.61488
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 31, no. 1
pp. 41 – 56

Abstract

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University strategies of internationalisation together with the foundation of the European Area of Higher Education have driven Spanish universities into joining this trend creating the degrees taught in English. The aim of this research is to compare empirically if the students’ learning strategies (meta-cognitive, cognitive and socio-affective) are the same in an “English as a Medium of Instruction (EMI)” group as in a non-EMI one. A sample of students from the degree of Business Administration at the Faculty of Economics and Business at the UCM has been analysed. Students have different learning strategies if they belong to the EMI group, particularly the meta-cognitive strategies. Students from the EMI group are more participative, communicative and collaborative with their peers, working more efficiently in teams, resulting also in a more interactive class dynamic.

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