International Christian University the Division of Languages
Abstract
This paper looks at the extent and distribution of English-medium instruction atInternational Christian University (ICU) from 2008 to 2011. This time periodrepresents the first four years following a major academic reform in the College ofLiberal Arts (CLA) at ICU, and a time when the administration aimed to increase thepercentage of courses taught in English to 45%. The two main questions addressed inthe paper were, in 2008-2011, (a) how close did ICU get to this 45% target, and (b)what constraints limited the availability of English-medium instruction? This type ofinformation, which both students and their advisers need to know, has not beenprovided by the ICU administration in the past, nor for the period considered in thispaper. Our results show an increase in “E-course” offerings (an ICU designation forcourses in which English is used primarily) from 15.2% in 1997-2000, to 21% in 2008-2011. Inconsistent availability of English-medium instruction was found across majors,and involved the major prerequisite courses, 100-level courses, and General Education(GE) courses. Scheduling patterns which further constrained the availability ofEnglish-medium courses for some students were found. Finally, we found that thepercentage of senior theses written in English by March graduates had dropped to 28%.Based on our findings, we suggest some questions for future discussion at ICU
