The Implications of Using English as a Medium of Instruction on English Language Learning

Abstract

This paper is designed to test whether using English as a medium of instruction is an effective means of enhancing learners’ language proficiency at the University of Khartoum. The subjects of the study were two groups of graduates from University of Khartoum who had completed four-year degree courses in Faculty of Law, Faculty of Economics, and School of Management Studies. Learners of group one studied all their subject courses, in total approximately 12 hours per week, in English. Learners in group two studied all their subject courses in Arabic, and in addition they studied English for two hours a week as a university requirement in their first and second years. Learners were asked to evaluate their proficiency in English, and results for the two groups were compared. The study revealed that group one, for whom English was the medium of instruction, attained overall a significantly higher level of proficiency in English than group two, for whom Arabic was the medium of instruction. In what follows we discuss the advantages of EMI over AMI, in the context of our survey results, for the four skills of speaking, listening, reading and writing.