Three Swedish students’ experiences of EMI at three Swedish universities : Semi-structured interviews exploring preparedness, content acquisition and conceptualisations of English

Abstract: This paper aims to explore Swedish students’ experiences of English-medium instruction (EMI) in Swedish higher education. Previous research shows that students’ experiences of EMI in higher education are closely related to attitudes towards the proficiencies of lecturers and peers, which in turn are based on students’ conceptualisations of English. Through the use of semi-structured interviews, three interrelated themes are explored: (1) how prepared students felt they were to use English in higher education (2) students’ experiences of acquiring content through English and (3) students’ underlying conceptualisations of English. Three Swedish students at different institutions and programs were interviewed. Findings show that the students had varied views of what it was to be prepared for EMI as well as how prepared they felt they were according to their own definitions. Students also had differing experiences of acquiring content through English. All three students conceptualised English as a standard, native variety. Their conceptualisations of English as a standard had implications on student-student and teacher-student interactions, which was evidenced especially in regard to international non-native speakers of English. Findings are discussed in relation to relevant previous research on EMI and the Swedish context. Finally, suggestions are made for Upper Secondary school in-class practices, for the benefit of better preparing Swedish students for higher education in Sweden by implementing an English as a lingua franca (ELF-) perspective on English spoken interaction.