Abstract

Program on Bilingual Education for Students in College (BEST Program) at I-Shou University in Academic Year 2021 

Achievements and Highlights

International College

With the help of the BEST Program, outstanding EMI teaching staff, a variety of EMI courses, and an English immersive environment, ISU draws up a detailed plan for a bilingual campus and bilingual education from the perspectives of students and learning, teachers and teaching, and supportive measures. The achievements and highlights in Academic Year 2021 are as follows:

I. Improvement in Students’ English Proficiency Levels

A. Innovative EMI Courses

1. Comprehensive EMI professional courses: EMI professional courses at basic, intermediate, and advanced levels are offered to freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior students, respectively, so that they can keep improving their English proficiency levels while developing professional skills. The percentage of EMI courses is rising every year. In Academic Year 2021, a total of 594 EMI courses were offered by ISU, accounting for 12% of all courses, 162 of which (93.64%) were offered by the International College. 
2. In light of ISU’s policy for offering innovative courses, the departments under the International College have engaged in innovating courses and establishing many interdisciplinary EMI micro-credit programs, including the Micro-credit Program in Cross-cultural Global Perspective, the EMI Micro-credit Program in X+AI Study, the EMI Micro-credit Program in International Trade and e-Commerce, and the EMI Micro-credit Program in Digital Marketing in Tourism. The micro-credit programs offered by the four departments can be categorized into basic, intermediate, and advanced. To complete a micro-credit program, students must take one course from each category and earn nine credits in total. With these courses, talent with a good English proficiency level and interdisciplinary knowledge demanded by industries can be nurtured. 
3. The mechanism for learning quality assurance of EMI courses has been developed. A teaching survey for EMI courses has been specially designed and conducted. Each department discussed the quantitative and qualitative results of the survey and made improvement strategies to improve future teaching and learning outcomes. 

B. Diverse English Learning Opportunities and On-campus English Proficiency Tests

1. In Academic Year 2021, faculty members of the Department of Applied English were commissioned to prepare lessons about analyzing TOEIC questions and useful tips. These lessons have been uploaded to ISU Moodle for all ISU faculty members, staff, and students to learn anywhere and anytime at no cost.
2. To improve students’ English proficiency levels, the International College offered five intensive TOEIC classes for students at different levels. During the 8-week intensive training, course instructors trained students’ English listening, reading, speaking, and writing skills. A total of 116 students participated in the training.
3. To better understand students’ English learning outcomes and make appropriate improvement plans for them, regulations for rewarding students who took English proficiency tests were made, in the hope that more and more students can learn English actively and take GEPT, CSEPT, TOEIC, or other tests to improve their competitiveness. Among all the students who have taken English proficiency tests, the percentage of students reaching the CEFR B1 level has increased from 38.3% in Academic Year 2021 to 47.1% in Academic Year 2022, and the percentage of students reaching the CEFR B2 level or above has increased from 1.9% in Academic Year 2021 to 6.1% in Academic Year 2022. 

C. EMI Teaching Assistant Training

To equip EMI teaching assistants with the skills required to help course instructors of EMI courses and improve students’ English proficiency levels, four batches of EMI teaching assistant training were held in Academic Year 2021, and 46 participants completed the training. EMI teaching assistants can participate in conversations during the class and facilitate the class in order to improve their English speaking skills and competitiveness in the future workplace. Students with perfect attendance will receive a certificate. With this certificate, students will be granted higher wages if they apply for being teaching assistants to the Center for Teaching and Learning Development. Among the 46 participants, 18 worked as EMI teaching assistants.

D. Diverse Immersive Activities

1. Dean’s List Awards, Bilingual Learning Outcomes, and Interaction among Faculty Members and Students: To create an internationalized learning environment and help international students adapt to life at ISU, the Dean’s List Awards Ceremony was held to commend outstanding international students, and international students also put on performances during the ceremony. The departments under the International College offered information about study tours and overseas study programs with an eye to encouraging students to put more effort into their studies and promoting the interaction between domestic and international students within the International College. During the annual English Graduation Ceremony, students showcased their learning outcomes of English and took this opportunity to well interact with their teachers and peers. At the same time, awards for academic excellence and service excellence were given to graduating students as encouragement for their hard work and dedication over the past four years. In addition, an all-English oral presentation & exhibition was held with the aim of training the students of the International College to present their learning outcomes orally in English to enhance academic exchanges among departments.
2. Cross-cultural Exchanges and Events: To create a mini-global village on campus, ISU organized the ISU Cultural Festival, the FiGE (Foundations in Global Engagement) program, the selection of cultural ambassadors, trips for exploring local cultures, etc., to help students experience different cultures and expand their horizons. In 2021, ISU held the very first “TEDx-IShou University,” mainly organized by international students on the theme of “Breaking Through, Breaking Free.” In addition, in Academic Year 2021, three English Corner sessions were held, with a total of 125 participants, to help participating students overcome their fear of English through conversation practice, interactive games, mini-interviews, and role play.
3. Podcast: At “Voice of I-Shou,” an online radio station of ISU, faculty members and students produced 6 podcast episodes to introduce trademark rights, patents, and the copyrights and incorporate the knowledge of intellectual property rights and other legal knowledge into conversations. In each episode, hosts explained new vocabulary and gave examples with an eye to helping listeners improve their English listening skills. Also, a database was created to contain the vocabulary introduced in each episode.

II. Enhancement for Faculty Members’ EMI Skills

A. Professional EMI Training

As the faculty members of the International College have already taught in English for several years, they can serve as mentors to colleagues both within and outside of the College. In addition, ISU has invited a specialist from Canada, who offers both face-to-face (Courses 1-3) and online EMI training courses. In Academic Year 2021, a total of 125 faculty members took the EMI training courses offered by ISU or external units. In addition, 5 EMI workshops were held by ISU for faculty members to sharpen their EMI skills by learning from others’ experiences.

B. Incentives to EMI Courses for Faculty Members

1. The hourly pay for EMI courses is multiplied by 1.5. 
2. EMI courses are given priority for hiring EMI teaching assistants, and the working hours of these teaching assistants are increased as well.
3. Faculty members are entitled to an exemption from the faculty evaluation if they 1) have taken the EMI training courses offered by ISU (Course 1+3 or Course 2+3) and received a certificate of completion, 2) have passed the evaluation made by the EMI specialist and received a CEFR C1 certificate, and 3) have offered an EMI course for the first time (for one academic year or one semester) and passed the final teaching survey. 
4. Faculty members who have taken the EMI training courses offered by ISU will receive points under the faculty evaluation. 
5. Subsidies are granted to form faculty professional communities for EMI education with an eye to facilitating peer interaction and faculty development. In Academic Year 2021, a total of 16 faculty professional communities for EMI education were established. 

III. Comprehensive Supportive Measures

A. Bilingual Regulations and Documents

ISU has professional and experienced translators to translate Chinese regulations and documents into English or vice versa. Since 2010, more than 90% of ISU’s regulations and rules in connection with faculty members and/or students have been bilingualized. In addition, administrative systems students often use and more than 90% of signs on campus are also bilingualized, in order to create a bilingual learning environment.

B. Information to Stakeholders & Friendly Communication

1. In addition to the information about bilingual education on the web page of the Bilingual Education and EMI Center, ISU periodically releases ISU News in English on a specific Facebook fan page and Instagram page in order to disclose relevant information and facilitate bilateral communication.
2. ISU worked with a local radio station to produce a podcast program, inviting faculty members and students from the International College, the College of Medicine, the College of Medical Science and Technology, and the Foreign Language Center who taught or took EMI courses to share their English learning/teaching journey and what ISU has done to create a bilingual and international campus. 

C. Sharing of Resources and Inter-institution Engagement

1. To build an EMI resource-sharing platform with other universities and colleges in southern Taiwan, ISU signed an MOU with National Kaohsiung Normal University and the College of Management of the National Central University for exchanging faculty members and teaching information and organizing academic activities together. In addition, ISU is part of the Southern Regional Resource Center for Bilingual Education, where universities and colleges in southern Taiwan attend exchange meetings regularly and exchange and collaborate with one another. 
2. To help high schools nurture competent EMI teachers and in response to high schools’ need for teaching different subjects in English, faculty members of the International College assisted in holding EMI workshops for high school teachers who teach bilingually at bilingual high schools or normal high schools. 

D. Bilingual Education for Staff

To let everyone at ISU engage in creating a bilingual campus, English training courses at different levels are designed based on staff members’ business and English proficiency levels. In Academic Year 2021, 5 advanced and 5 practical English training courses were offered with an attendance of 150 staff members. Participating staff members were trained for English speaking, listening, and writing skills with an eye to improving their English language skills.