Does English-Medium Instruction Benefit Students in EFL Contexts? A Case Study of Medical Students in Korea

With an increase in English-medium courses in universities in non-English speaking countries, various concerns have been raised such as difficulty of students' lecture comprehension and ineffective interaction between lecturers and students. This study scrutinized relationships among Korean medical students' comprehension of and satisfaction with English-medium lectures and their general English proficiency. Sixty-one medical students taking a required medical course participated in the study. The students' data concerning their lecture comprehension and perceptions were collected by means of pre- and post-tests and survey questionnaires during English-medium and Korean-medium lectures. It was found that the medium of instruction had no effect on the understanding of the lecture and that students' general English proficiency was not related to their lecture comprehension. In the survey, students expressed diverse needs for English such as LI summaries of main points and remedial English courses in general or medical English. Based on the results, suggestions and recommendations for the implementation of EMI courses in Korea are suggested.