The Analysis of Bilingual University Students’ English Academic Speaking Needs in Taiwan

Abstract

Enhancing students’ English academic speaking skills is crucial in higher education, such as oral presentations and class discussions (Heron et al., 2021). The Ministry of Education (MOE) in Taiwan also encourages instructors to enhance university students’ academic speaking performances in English as a medium of instruction (EMI) courses (MOE, 2021). Though various activities and courses are provided, few universities in Taiwan offer one-on-one academic speaking tutoring services. The study collected data from one of the four landmark bilingual universities selected by MOE that offers the academic speaking tutoring service. Data such as students’ appointment data and tutors’ client reports were collected to understand more about students’ academic speaking needs. By conducting quantitative and qualitative analysis, it was found that students have high demands for academic speaking tutoring services, showing the importance of providing scaffolding, such as academic speaking tutoring, to facilitate students’ academic performances in English.

Keywords

Academic Speaking, Bilingual University, Higher Education, EMI, Tutoring