Language use in an English-Medium Instruction university in Lebanon : Implications for the validity of international and local English tests for admissions

Iliovits, Myriam and Harding, Luke and Pill, John (2024) Language use in an English-Medium Instruction university in Lebanon : Implications for the validity of international and local English tests for admissions. PhD thesis, Lancaster University.

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Abstract

English-medium instruction (EMI) universities in non-English dominant contexts often use internationally available tests of English (e.g., TOEFL) and/or locally developed tests to assess the academic English-language proficiency of applicants prior to admission. However, little research has been conducted to establish the extent to which either type of test reflects the real-world language use within these often multilingual educational contexts. This thesis addressed this research gap in a particular EMI environment – the American University of Beirut (AUB) in Lebanon. First, a domain analysis was conducted in which audio/video recordings of eight undergraduate classes across academic disciplines, five office hours with teachers from a variety of disciplines and three departmental and five library interactions were analysed to identify salient characteristics of language use. Then, sixteen interviews were conducted with students, teachers, and admissions personnel to gather stakeholder perceptions of the suitability of the content of current English language admissions tests. Findings from the analysis of classroom discourse indicated that classes were varied in nature, shifting between registers and levels of interaction, required cultural understanding, involved a range of translanguaging and English as a Lingua Franca-oriented phenomena, included meta-commentary about language use, and utilised discipline-specific language. Interactions outside of the classroom reflected continuous fluctuation in the power dynamics of the interaction, information exchange, negotiation of meaning, reliance on cultural understanding, and translanguaging. The interviews reflected a range of stakeholder perceptions regarding the English language tests used for admissions. It was clear that admissions personnel did not view setting language proficiency requirements as their role but believed that since the students have passed the language requirements set by the university the students must be proficient, while teachers and students had a range of opinions reflecting a more nuanced view of proficiency. None of the participants, however, explicitly asked for change and some built on their personal experiences when discussing the tests. From a test validity perspective, it is argued that speaking and listening constructs in English language admissions tests used in EMI contexts ideally need to be localised or locally developed to best match the unique language use characteristics of these settings. At the same time, the construct underrepresentation of tests does not incite stakeholders to ask for change. Ideally, language assessment literacy could be developed in the context.