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Abstract

With the internationalization of higher education, more Chinese students are pursuing their postgraduate study in English-medium instruction (EMI) institutions abroad. Related studies have mostly investigated EMI policies and implementation and students’ attitudes; however, they have not examined how Chinese students cope in English-as-a-second-language environments, specifically in academic writing. This study examines Chinese students’ perceptions of English academic writing, difficulties, and coping strategies to complete academic writing requirements in Malaysian universities. Respondents, totalling 128, filled out a 51-item questionnaire. T-test was used for data analysis, and nine students were selected for qualitative interview. The results indicate significant differences in participants’ chances of practicing English writing before and after studying in Malaysia. Although they experienced challenges, such as insufficient prior English writing practice, lack of knowledge in English academic terms and expressions, and difficulty in identifying research gaps, they succeeded with help from teachers, peers, and workshops. Implications for EMI are provided.

Keywords

Chinese graduate students study-abroad writing perceptions writing difficulties coping strategies

Introduction

Tertiary students from mainland China have increasingly joined the trend of studying abroad. China has been documented as one of the world’s largest education-importing countries (Yang, 2008), as Chinese students have spent approximately US$ 30 billion on overseas tuition fees, prior to COVID-19 (J. Chua et al., 2022). Recent years have witnessed the rising interest in pursuing higher education in Hong Kong, Singapore, and other Asian destinations (J. Chua et al., 2022). Meanwhile, an increasing number of Chinese students enroll in English-medium instruction (EMI) institutions in Malaysia because English is widely spoken there, universities’ rising global rankings, diverse cultural heritage, and affordability. EMI is defined in several ways (Macaro et al., 2018; Pecorari & Malmström, 2018). It is defined as “the use of the English language to teach academic subjects (other than English itself) in countries or jurisdictions where the first language of the majority of the population is not English” (Macaro et al., 2018, p. 35). EMI is increasingly used in higher education institutions in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and other areas (Dearden, 2014).

Students in EMI institutions face similar challenges as their lecturers, mainly including pedagogy, English language skills, and communication skills (Curle et al., 2020). Although many students hold positive attitudes toward EMI courses (Zhang & Pladevall-Ballester, 2022), several studies have posited that students in EMI institutions tend to face difficulties speaking or understanding the English language. Specifically, their inadequate English proficiency may hamper their lecture comprehension and content learning and become a barrier to successful academic performance (Joe & Lee, 2013; Li, 2018; Tong et al., 2020; W. Xie & Curle, 2020). In other words, there is a positive associations between EMI students’ English proficiency and academic outcomes (Lin & Lei, 2021; Rose et al., 2020). Both linguistic (general English proficiency) and non-linguistic (i.e., intrinsic motivation, self-efficacy, and self-regulation) factors play important roles in students’ academic success (Soruç et al., 2022). According to Macaro et al.’s (2018) systematic review of EMI in higher education, evidence is lacking on EMI’s impact on improving students’ English proficiency; hence, a more focused and clearly conceptualized investigation is needed. To fill this gap, this study focuses on the impact of EMI on students’ English writing skills and investigates the perceptions, difficulties, and coping strategies in English writing among Chinese graduate students in Malaysian EMI institutions.

English writing is important for these Chinese students, particularly for graduate students who need to write their dissertation and reports in English and share their research with the academic community (Zhan et al., 2021). Unfortunately, as Wong and Wen (2013) noted, the student mobility from mainland China to Malaysia was the natural outcome of the rise of non-elite mass mobility from second- and third-tier cities, outside of the traditional metropolitan centers, as the market becomes more commercialized. The majority of these students came from business families with some wealth but little education. They were ill-prepared for tertiary education in Malaysia; the failure rate was high, and many returned to China without a certificate (Wong & Wen, 2013). To avoid such a tragic failure, it was deemed necessary to explore the experiences of this student group in Malaysian EMI institutions, as well as their inadequate English language proficiency.

Driven by the existing research gaps, this study investigates Chinese study-abroad learners’ self-perceptions of English writing before and after studying in Malaysian institutions, the challenges they faced with their academic writing, and the relevant coping strategies, which refer to students’ cognitive and behavioral efforts to cope with internal and external demands (Smith et al., 2016). These findings provide evidence of EMI’s impact on tertiary students’ English writing ability. Understanding these students’ perceptions, challenges, and coping mechanisms in English writing in a non-native English-speaking environment is vital in helping those students to complete their study successfully.

Three research questions are addressed in the present study:

RQ1: Is there any difference between Chinese graduate students’ self-perceptions of their English academic writing development before and after coming to Malaysia for graduate study?

RQ2: What are the challenges faced by Chinese graduate students with their academic writing in the English as a Second Language (ESL) environment in Malaysia?

RQ3: How do Chinese graduate students cope with the problems they encounter in completing their academic writing assignments?

Literature Review

Practice of EMI

Previous research on the practice of EMI has focused mainly on EMI pedagogies (Galloway et al., 2017; Lasagabaster, 2018; J. Pun & Macaro, 2019; Sahan et al., 2021), professional development of EMI teachers (Bradford, 2018; Farrell, 2020; Macaro & Han, 2020; Macaro & Tian, 2020; Macaro et al., 2020; J. K. Pun & Thomas, 2020), and EMI students’ attitudes, perceptions, and development (Li, 2018; Soruç et al., 2022; W. Xie & Curle, 2020; Zhang & Pladevall-Ballester, 2022).

Lasagabaster (2018) considered that team teaching is an effective pedagogy to help practitioners cope with the new teaching context in EMI institutions. Team teaching refers to the collaboration between language and content lecturers in an EMI program so that the abilities of the team members complement each other to boost the language and content integration and improve students’ learning results. In addition, Sahan et al. (2021) suggested that student-centered pedagogical techniques are an effective pedagogical approach in EMI university classes for achieving higher levels of student participation. Another important issue is the code-switching between L1 and L2. Based on their classroom observations and interviews with 21 EMI lecturers in Turkey, Sahan et al. (2021) suggested that L1 is commonly incorporated into EMI pedagogies as an unavoidable resource and “might be a useful pedagogical resource when used to encourage student participation and engagement in EMI classes” (p. 14). L1 can facilitate teacher–student interactions. Using only L2 may result in a lack of interaction between students and teachers, and students cannot have enough opportunity to learn content knowledge in English (J. Pun & Macaro, 2019). Conversely, Galloway et al. (2017) considered that EMI students perceive EMI courses as an opportunity to enhance their English language skills, and the excessive use of L1 is an obstacle to it. The discussion of these pedagogies has vital implications for the professional development of EMI teachers.

When disciplinary university teachers are encouraged to adopt EMI in content classroom teaching, they are likely to face many challenges: limited pedagogical knowledge, English language proficiency issues, feelings of isolation, a lack of collegial support or institutional recognition, and so on (Kim et al., 2018; Margić & Vodopija-Krstanović, 2018; Yuan, 2020, 2023). The professional development and certification of EMI teachers are necessary (Macaro et al., 2021). Language specialists with a broad pedagogic focus can help EMI teachers initiate classroom change by raising awareness, integrating language and content in certain disciplines through collaboration, attending to the social and affective needs of EMI teachers, and promoting EMI teachers’ professional status (Yuan, 2023). One way to assist EMI teachers’ professional development is through reflective practice, which means that “EMI teachers subject their philosophy, principles, theories and practices to a critical analysis so that they can take more responsibility for their actions” (Farrell, 2020, p. 2). It is helpful for EMI teachers to reflect upon their teaching practices, make appropriate adjustments, and refine what they do and how they do it. In addition, some institutions (e.g., the British Council and the University of Southampton) offer online academic courses to equip EMI teachers to teach in international contexts by enhancing their English language skills and intercultural knowledge (Macaro et al., 2020). It is essential that professional development programs be adequately provided and EMI teachers be rewarded for their additional effort.

EMI students hold mixed attitudes and perceptions toward the practice of EMI (Baker & Fang, 2021; Fang & Hu, 2022; Huang, 2018; Yeh, 2014; Zhang & Pladevall-Ballester, 2022). On the one hand, students’ overall attitudes toward EMI have remained positive, although “they became less positive and had lower perceived content and language gains at the end of the semester” (Zhang & Pladevall-Ballester, 2022, p. 213). Intercultural elements are incorporated into EMI curricula and teaching practices, as well as the use of English and internationalization, which can facilitate EMI students’ intercultural citizenship and equip them with the necessary knowledge and skills to engage in global workplaces (Baker & Fang, 2021). On the other hand, students’ L1 tends to be marginalized, compared with the dominant use of English in academic settings. Accordingly, the practice of EMI in higher education does not benefit linguistic diversity but “would endanger the L1s of minority language students” (Fang & Hu, 2022, p. 1). Based on the investigation of Chinese learners’ experiences in an EMI business program in Taiwan, Huang (2018) found that three out of four participants showed negative attitudes toward EMI courses. The reasons are not only unhelpful curriculum, pedagogy, and context, but also the Confucian heritage culture of learning, which emphasizes mental involvement (rather than verbal engagement) and learning to use (not necessarily learning by use).

In addition, many attempts have been made to investigate the problems in EMI students’ learning and how to improve students’ learning outcomes (del Mar Sánchez-Pérez, 2021; Soruç et al., 2022; Tai & Tang, 2021; Yu et al., 2021; Zhang & Pladevall-Ballester, 2021). For instance, based on semi-structured interviews and reflective journals from 14 mainland Chinese EMI students at a Macau university, Yu et al. (2021) investigated the strategies that these students adopted in their learning and reported that students’ strategies for EMI learning “were mediated by the sociocultural tools of their L1, L2, and the tools at their disposal, along with the community of instructors and peers around them” (p. 8). Therefore, students’ strategy for EMI learning is multifaceted. However, research on EMI students’ English writing development is limited.

EMI Institutions in Malaysia

Studies on EMI institutions in Malaysia mainly focused on the development of EMI policies (Ali, 2013; Kirkpatrick & Liddicoat, 2017; Mosiur & Mehar, 2021); the readiness, beliefs, and attitudes of teachers in EMI implementation (Ali & Hamid, 2018; Hasim & Barnard, 2018; Rahman & Singh, 2022; Rahman et al., 2021), and students’ attitudes toward and perceptions of EMI (Saeed et al., 2018).

Ali (2013) examined the change in language policy by the National Education Committee, and investigated how the change was put into practice in EMI institutions in Malaysia. This study illustrated how the national and university language policies of EMI were negotiated in written form to avoid the sensitivity of the language of instruction from three perspectives: those of the Ministry of Higher Education, the implementation of EMI at the university level, and the staff involved in delivering the EMI programs. The findings revealed that the language policy in Malaysia was driven by the ideology of globalization. However, EMI students’ poor English language proficiency is a challenge they face, particularly in Malaysia (Ali, 2013), where in recent years have been multilingual policies established in EMI institutions (Kirkpatrick & Liddicoat, 2017). “There were three varieties of language use in the classroom: (i) exclusive use of English, (ii) a mixture of English and Bahasa Malaysia, and (iii) exclusive use of Bahasa Malaysia” (Ali & Hamid, 2018, p. 240). Although policymakers try to maintain the dominance of Malay, “English has the potential to serve as a neutral language in a multi-ethnic and multi-lingual setting” (Mosiur & Mehar, 2021, p. 44).

To investigate the participating teachers’ beliefs about EMI and how they practiced EMI in their classes, Hasim and Barnard (2018) interviewed around 7 EMI teachers at a public university in Malaysia. They found that most lectures and tutorials had been delivered by lecturers in English over the past 10 years, although there was a bilingual policy that their national language, Bahasa Melayu, should be maintained. All of the participant lecturers were confident about using English to teach the content. The four lectures observed by the researchers revealed that some lecturers displayed a dearth of professional development in pedagogy, perhaps because they lacked formal training in teaching EMI courses. Finally, this study argued that offering both English and Bahasa Melayu as a medium of instruction is a viable way to maintain relevant language knowledge and practice. Similarly, Rahman et al. (2021) considered that EMI lecturers did hold positive attitudes and beliefs toward the adoption and implementation of EMI.

Unlike Hasim and Barnard’s study, Saeed et al. (2018) examined the attitudes toward and preferences for EMI from the perspective of undergraduate students in Malaysia. The survey was conducted at four Malaysian universities, and data were analyzed using a quantitative method. The results indicated that participants’ overall attitudes toward EMI were positive for courses in all disciplines, and EMI classes were also viewed as a positive factor in encouraging them to use English outside class. Students were pragmatic in their attitudes toward English, and they valued English as an asset in pursuing a successful career.

In summary, driven by the ambition of becoming hubs of international education, EMI programs have become increasingly popular in both public and private universities in Malaysia in recent years. Both teachers and students hold a positive attitude toward the implementation of EMI. This literature review reveals a dearth of research on EMI students’ English language skills in Malaysia, not to mention their deficiency in academic writing.

Study-Abroad Chinese Learners’ English Writing

The research on Chinese study-abroad learners’ English writing dates back to the study of different cultural ideologies between English and Chinese. It is generally acknowledged that the educational system and cultural environment between Chinese- and English-medium countries are quite different. A Confucian–Socratic framework was proposed by Tweed and Lehman (2002) to analyze the influence of different cultural and social contexts on study-abroad Chinese students’ academic learning. Confucius (551–479 BC), whose philosophy has had a strong impact on Chinese culture and people’s viewpoints, valued effortful and respectful learning, virtuous behavior that can ensure individual success and societal harmony, and pragmatic acquisition of essential knowledge (Tweed & Lehman, 2002). By contrast, Socrates (469–399 BC), a western exemplar, valued the questioning of people’s beliefs and knowledge. Consequently, Socratic-oriented teaching encourages Western students to doubt, question, and challenge, whereas Confucian-oriented teaching encourages Chinese students to respect and obey authorities.

Unsurprisingly, when Chinese graduate students with a Confucian-oriented perspective come to English-medium countries to continue their higher education, they may experience difficulties in English academic writing, which requires comparing and contrasting sources, articulating their own viewpoint toward the content, and expressing their own voice in writing (Davis, 2013; Sun & Soden, 2021; Sun et al., 2022). Through an analysis of 10 Chinese graduate students’ course assignments and dissertations in a master program at a UK university, Sun et al. (2022) found that “students tended to use citations primarily for knowledge display but less for comparing and contrasting sources and evaluating them” (p. 1), and it is important to raise Chinese graduate students’ awareness of using citations to construct their voice in English academic writing. Moreover, students must be given numerous opportunities to practice citation use. Based on their investigation of two Chinese students’ engagement on source use in a Master program in UK, Sun and Soden (2021) suggested that students who are more engaged in their education could actively seek strategies to develop their analytical source use skills and quickly improve their citation use. Raising students’ awareness of the rhetorical features of citations could impact their learning of a variety of source use skills: referencing, paraphrasing, and discipline-specific source use norms (Sun & Soden, 2021).

Other journal articles related to the English writing of Chinese tertiary students focused mainly on the L1 influence on writing in L2 (Dipolog-Ubanan, 2016), their grammatical errors (Eng et al., 2020), sophisticated writing difficulties beyond the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) test (Clark & Yu, 2021), diagnostic assessment of L2 academic writing product and process (Q. Xie & Lei, 2021), and Chinese international students’ reflections and strategies for overcoming their difficulties (Wette & Furneaux, 2018). Q. Xie and Lei (2021) conducted a diagnostic assessment of problems in undergraduates’ English academic papers at a university in Hong Kong and pointed out four obvious problems in their academic writing in English: lack of awareness and skills to address the source integration, inadequate vocabulary and subject knowledge, insufficient practice in English academic writing, and lack of self-regulatory strategies. Based on their interview data with Chinese international students in a UK postgraduate course, Clark and Yu (2021) argued that critical thinking and analysis were challenging aspects of their academic writing, as well as the transition from the IELTS test to full academic compositions and reading to facilitate academic writing.

Dipolog-Ubanan (2016) investigated the English writing errors committed by students from mainland China at a university in Malaysia from the perspective of their first language transfer. The findings of this study showed that the common errors were in “word choice and word form, spelling, tenses, use of articles and determiners, number, and agreement of subject and verb” (p. 1841). An important reason leading to these errors was the interference of their first language on their writing in English. When they write in English, there is a tendency to translate from their L1 to English. This study also provides some suggestions for English writing teachers in teaching strategies such as correcting students’ grammatical errors, engaging students in classroom activities, and cultivating in students an awareness of the English culture. Eng et al. (2020) compared and contrasted the grammatical errors committed in English essays completed by Malaysian Chinese students and international Chinese students from China at a university in Malaysia. The results showed that the common types of grammatical errors made were similar between the two groups, including “errors of omission, misformation, misuse, repetition, vocabulary, structure, coherence/cohesion, expression and misordering” (p. 931). The findings also indicated that the international Chinese students made more grammatical errors than the Malaysian Chinese participants. In addition, Wette and Furneaux (2018) found that when international graduate students entered English-medium universities, their previous undergraduate writing instruction could not meet the requirements of graduate study at an English-medium university, particularly the academic English literacy norms. As such, these international students adopted measures to assist with their studies such as getting help from their supervisors, searching more papers and online resources, and using other available resources such as workshops or peer support.

In conclusion, previous studies have found that Chinese study-abroad learners experience many difficulties in English academic writing and language development. However, most of these studies focused on students’ experiences in a native English-speaking country. Limited studies have investigating how Chinese students cope in English-as-a-second-language environments, specifically in their academic writing. Academic writing is highly relevant to the success of these study-abroad students, as writing is at the heart of academic life (Clark & Yu, 2021). Therefore, it is deemed necessary to understand Chinese students’ perceptions, difficulties, and coping strategies in English writing while studying abroad in a non-native English-speaking environment and find ways and strategies that can help students complete their studies successfully. This study addresses such gaps, and examines Chinese graduate students’ perceptions of the difficulties and development in English writing before and after coming to Malaysia to study in EMI institutions, as well as their coping strategies.

Methodology

To collect data, this exploratory study used a mixed methods research design, a 5-point Likert scale questionnaire, and follow-up semi-structured interviews, conducted immediately after the survey finished. The researcher was the writer of this article. Mixed methods research is more than just collecting two different types of data, quantitative and qualitative; the data are mixed, which involves merging, integrating, connecting, linking, or embedding the two types of methodologies (Creswell, 2002). In this study, the quantitative instrument refers to a 5-point Likert scale questionnaire that gathers participants’ self-perceptions of their English writing development before and after coming to Malaysia for graduate study. However, this survey questionnaire cannot collect more complicated data about the challenges faced by Chinese graduate students with their academic writing in the ESL environment and how they cope with the problems in completing their academic writing assignments in Malaysia. Accordingly, a qualitative semi-structured interview was designed and conducted to understand further the multiple English writing challenges encountered by the participants and their coping strategies, which are equally important in fulfilling the research objectives of this study.

Participants

Convenience sampling was used in this study. Members of the target population were selected if they were easily accessible and willing to volunteer (Dörnyei, 2007). Messages of recruiting participants for this study were sent through five Wechat groups of Chinese study-abroad graduate students in Malaysia: groups with 305 University of Malaya (UM) students, 219 National University of Malaysia (UKM) students, 169 University Putra Malaysia (UPM) students, 230 University of Technology Malaysia (UTM) students, and 210 University Sains Malaysia (USM) students, or 1,133 students in total. To achieve this study’s objective, each participant must be a Chinese citizen, have completed their undergraduate education in mainland China, applied and enrolled in a university in Malaysia as a graduate student, and must have been studying at a university in Malaysia for at least 1 year. There is a big difference between tertiary education in China and EMI institutions in Malaysia. When the participants received undergraduate education in China, Chinese language was predominantly used in their tertiary courses and daily lives. Nevertheless, they had to adapt to the English courses in EMI institutions in Malaysia immediately after starting their graduate education. In addition, participants must have studied at universities in Malaysia for at least 1 year to be able to think about and draw conclusions from their experiences.

Most of the participants were around 22 years old when they finished their undergraduate education in China. Some of them had several years of work experience. They were aged between 23 and 30 years. A total of 128 respondents submitted the questionnaire, comprising 51 male and 77 female students majoring in English literature, auditing, linguistics, chemistry, financial management, business administration, computer science, and so on.

As prospective interviewees for the follow-up semi-structured interview, nine Chinese graduate students from the previous 128 respondents were selected randomly. Pseudonyms were used to keep the interviewees’ information confidential (See Table 1).

Table 1.

Interviewee Information.

Name (gender)	University	Grade	Graduate major	Undergraduate major
S1 (female)	UM	Junior student	Linguistics	English
S2 (female)	UM	Junior student	Accounting	Auditing
S3 (male)	UM	Junior student	Literature	English
S4 (male)	UPM	Sophomore	Finance	Financial management
S5 (female)	UPM	Sophomore	TESOL	English
S6 (female)	UTM	Sophomore	Islamic studies	International trade
S7 (female)	UTM	Junior student	TESOL	English
S8 (male)	UKM	Sophomore	MBA	Business administration
S9 (male)	USM	Junior student	Computer science	Computer science

Data Collection

Data collection for this study comprised of three phases. First, a pilot version of the questionnaire and the interview questions were piloted on four UM Chinese graduate students. Potentially problematic questionnaire items were corrected, and some inappropriate interview questions were deleted. For example, one interview question relating to the overall English-speaking environment in Malaysia was deleted, because it was not closely related to academic writing. These four UM students were excluded in the next stage. Next, all respondents completed the questionnaire. The questionnaire was sent to participants and collected through www.wjx.cn, a popular and professional website for data collection in China. This approach provided practical advantages for distance collaborations when time, distance, and expense prohibited face-to-face encounters. A total of 128 valid questionnaires were collected from 1,133 Chinese graduate students, translating to a response rate of 11.3%, which is considered acceptable. Third, each of the nine interviewees selected was interviewed through Wechat given the current COVID-19 situation, to avoid face-to-face interviews. The interviewees could talk and send audio messages, which were recorded and transcribed automatically through Wechat, and all the audio information could be replayed at any time in the future, allowing the researcher to understand the interviewee’s viewpoint correctly.

In addition, triangulation and member checks were used to enhance the credibility and validity of the research findings and create a more in-depth picture of the three research questions. For example, multiple sources of data were collected. The quantitative research procedures were followed faithfully to examine the participants’ perceptions of their English writing ability before and after they came to study in Malaysia. Thereafter, the qualitative data were collected from semi-structured interviews with the same student group regarding their writing ability when they arrived in Malaysia. Comparing and cross-checking the quantitative and qualitative data is a good strategy to ensure trustworthiness and builds a richer picture of the research results. Another strategy used for ensuring the validity and credibility is member checks. The researcher solicited feedback on the findings from interviewees whenever there was something unclear, to rule out the possibility of misinterpreting the interviewees’ ideas, and to identify the researcher’s own biases. Meanwhile, to avoid misinterpretation, anything unclear was marked and discussed with the interviewees through WeChat.

Questionnaire

The questionnaire used in this study was adapted from the questionnaire of Wu and Zhang’s (2017) study, which comprised 80 items. Wu and Zhang (2017) investigated the impact of language environments on second-year Chinese graduate students’ English writing perceptions and performance. The participants were divided into a study-abroad group who moved to the United States to pursue graduate education and two other groups of students who continued their graduate education in mainland China. The questionnaire was designed to explore Chinese graduate students’ English writing perceptions and performance and was used to “measure the extent to which different language environments changed their perceptions and performance during their graduate studies” (p. 169). Twenty-five variables were used to measure students’ self-perceptions of their EFL writing: chance to practice English writing; motivation to enhance writing ability; self-confidence in writing ability; frequency of writing English e-mails, diary, PowerPoint slides, essays, and course papers; strength in originality of ideas, logical development of ideas, richness of vocabulary, fluency of writing, idiomatic use of language, appropriateness of language, correctness of grammar, use of rhetorical skills; the importance of originality of ideas, logical development of ideas, richness of vocabulary, fluency of writing, idiomatic use of language, appropriateness of language, correctness of grammar, use of rhetorical skills; and the students’ assessment of their writing ability (Wu & Zhang, 2017). This study adapted these 25 variables related to participants’ English writing perceptions in English-medium countries to the variables related to studying in Malaysia. Twenty-four variables remained after adapting these variables to the current study’s purposes. The last item relating to students’ assessment of their writing ability was excluded and was discussed in the follow-up interview part to get more detailed information. Each variable was used twice to examine the participants’ English writing perceptions and development before and after they came to study at EMI institutions in Malaysia. In addition, background information related to the participants’ gender, university, and major was collected. Therefore, this study used 51 items. After collecting the data, the questionnaire items were analyzed using SPSS (26). The reliability statistics of the questionnaire was .89 (>.7) according to Cronbach’s alpha, meaning that it was satisfactory.

Follow-Up Interviews

The interview questions used in this study were drawn from Wette and Furneaux (2018). Their interview question list included international students’ reflections and strategies to overcome their difficulties in English writing in English-medium countries. The interview questions in the present study were designed following their work. The follow-up interviews here were conducted immediately after the survey was completed, using several key questions to guide the whole interview, followed by some prompts based on the answers of the interviewees. Such a semi-structured interview allowed the researcher to conduct the interview flexibly and gather detailed data. The interview data were intended to provide complementary and more precise information about Chinese study-abroad graduate students’ perceptions of English writing problems and development, as well as their coping strategies in completing their English writing tasks in EMI institutions in Malaysia.

The interview question list consisted of three parts. The first two questions related to the participants’ previous English writing experiences, whether they had taken English writing courses and were well-prepared for English writing at the universities in Malaysia. The second part pertained to the challenges encountered by the participants, how they made sure they understood the required English writing assignments, the amount of time they spent to accomplish one writing assignment and how they accomplished it. The third part concerned other coping strategies they used in English writing while studying in Malaysia. Finally, an open-ended question solicited their suggestions to universities in Malaysia for English teaching and training for international students.

Data Analysis

Using SPSS 26, the descriptive statistics indicate that the data collected approximated a normal distribution, because all the items’ skewness and kurtosis value are within ±3 (Y. P. Chua, 2012). Then T-test was used in the analysis of the questionnaire items to establish whether a significant difference existed between the items before and after the participants studied in Malaysia (see Table 2).

Table 2.

Comparison of Participants’ English Writing Perceptions Before and After Studying in Malaysia.

	Mean (SD)		T	p
	Before	After	T	p
1. Chance to practice writing	2.16 ± 0.885	3.22 ± 1.034	−10.118	.000
2. Motivation to enhance writing ability	2.06 ± 1.002	2.81 ± 1.085	−6.476	.000
3. Self-confidence in writing ability	2.48 ± 0.851	3.16 ± 0.984	−6.726	.000
4. Frequency in writing English emails	2.09 ± 0.891	3.35 ± 1.296	−10.428	.000
5. Frequency in writing English diary	3.66 ± 1.167	4.22 ± 1.108	−5.715	.000
6. Frequency in writing English PPT	2.30 ± 1.146	3.57 ± 1.302	−8.470	.000
7. Frequency in writing essays	2.24 ± 1.070	3.45 ± 1.327	−9.806	.000
8. Frequency in writing course papers	2.15 ± 1.028	3.56 ± 1.413	−10.031	.000
9. Strength in originality of ideas	2.41 ± 0.935	3.95 ± 1.254	−13.176	.000
10. Strength in logic development	2.39 ± 0.872	3.05 ± 1.082	−6.600	.000
11. Strength in rich of vocabulary	2.48 ± 0.832	3.10 ± 1.034	−6.185	.000
12. Strength in fluency writing	2.49 ± 0.887	3.09 ± 0.976	−6.167	.000
13. Strength in idiomatic use	2.73 ± 0.876	3.50 ± 1.012	−7.935	.000
14. Strength in language appropriateness	2.55 ± 0.877	3.21 ± 1.017	−6.336	.000
15. Strength in correctness of grammar	2.46 ± 0.850	3.10 ± 0.995	−7.018	.000
16. Strength in use of rhetorical skills	2.79 ± 0.919	3.4 ± 1.067	−6.334	.000
17. Importance of originality of ideas	1.85 ± 0.888	2.15 ± 1.036	−3.191	.002
18. Importance of logic development	1.90 ± 0.963	2.04 ± 0.983	−1.467	.145
19. Importance of rich of vocabulary	2.01 ± 0.918	2.26 ± 0.982	−2.585	.011
20. Importance of fluency writing	1.96 ± 0.917	2.20 ± 1.030	−2.735	.007
21. Importance of idiomatic use	2.15 ± 0.965	2.46 ± 1.086	−3.060	.003
22. Importance of language appropriateness	2.03 ± 0.939	2.20 ± 1.118	−1.800	.074
23. Importance of correctness of grammar	1.98 ± 0.874	2.16 ± 1.063	−1.815	.072
24. Importance of use of rhetorical skills	2.34 ± 0.925	2.68 ± 0.963	−3.413	.001

To clarify the participants’ challenges and coping strategies in English writing while studying in Malaysia, the follow-up interview content was read critically. The method of data analysis used in this study was thematic analysis, which is “a method for identifying, analysing and reporting patterns or themes within data” (Braun & Clarke, 2006, p. 79). To apply this method, the data are, at a minimum, organized and described in great depth. However, this method frequently goes beyond that, as various facets of the topic are interpreted in the process of selecting codes and constructing themes (Braun & Clarke, 2006). All the interview data of this study were divided into three categories, as mentioned in the previous section on follow-up interviews. Then, deduction coding was conducted to develop the themes with the initial set of categories based on the three research questions.

Major Findings

The major findings are classified into three categories: (1) comparison of participants’ English writing perceptions before and after studying in Malaysia, (2) the challenges they confronted in English academic writing, and (3) their coping strategies in English writing while studying in Malaysia, which are discussed as follows.

Comparison of Participants’ English Writing Perceptions before and after Studying in Malaysia

As shown in Table 2, participants reported significant differences in most of the 24 English writing-related questionnaire items before and after studying in EMI institutions in Malaysia, except for the importance of logic development (p = .145 > .05), of language appropriateness (p = .074 > .05), and of correctness of grammar (p = .072 > .05), based on the paired-samples t-test results. The most significant differences lay in participants’ chances to practice English writing (Item 1) and the frequency of their writing of English e-mails, diaries, PowerPoint Slides, essays, and course papers (Items 4–8). According to these results, the students reported having more chances to practice English writing after beginning their study in Malaysia. Their motivation to promote their English writing ability and self-confidence in English writing also improved significantly (Items 2–3). For all these items, the mean score was higher after studying in Malaysia, compared with the mean score when they were undergraduate students in China.

Regarding their strength in different English writing questionnaire items, statistically significant differences were found in participants’ perceptions of their strength in their originality of ideas, logical development of ideas, the richness of vocabulary, fluency of writing, idiomatic use of language, appropriateness of language, correctness of grammar, and use of rhetorical skills before and after studying in Malaysia (p < .05). To some extent, these results indicate that the participants thought that their English writing ability improved after studying in Malaysia.

As for items concerning the importance of English writing, the differences were not as noticeable as the previously discussed items. Participants reported no significant differences in their perceptions of the importance of logic development (p = .145 > .05), of language appropriateness (p = .074 > .05), and of correctness of grammar (p = .072 > .05), although the mean values of these three items after studying in Malaysia (2.04, 2.20, and 2.16) continued to be higher than when they were undergraduate students in China (1.90, 2.03, and 1.98). Therefore, EMI did not significantly influence Chinese study-abroad graduate students’ understanding of the importance of these three items.

Challenges in English Academic Writing While Studying in Malaysia

The interview data presented the challenges Chinese study-abroad graduate students encountered and their coping strategies in writing while studying in Malaysia. There are six sub-themes: (1) Assessment of students’ prior English writing ability; (2) Prior English writing courses; (3) How to understand English assignments while studying in Malaysia; (4) Challenges in English academic writing; (5) Coping strategies in writing; and (6) Suggestions for students’ academic writing development.

Triangulated with the quantitative findings in Table 2, the interview content further corroborated that Chinese undergraduate students did have little practice in English academic writing, but they had more chances to write in English while studying in EMI institutions in Malaysia. Four out of nine interviewees reported that they did not have specific English writing courses during undergraduate education. Only English majors had taken part in English writing courses. All nine interviewees considered that they did not prepare well for the English academic writing in EMI institutions in Malaysia. As S2 stated,

When I was a senior middle school student, the topics of the English compositions were easy and fixed, like writing a letter to Lihua. After I went to college, we were seldom asked to write English compositions. I would write an English composition when I took part in College English Test Band 4 (CET 4), with no more than 180 words and no less than 120 words. However, after studying at this university in Malaysia, there was no examination at the end of the semester, instead course papers which required us to write between 1,000 to 1,500 words. This is a difficult task to me. (S2)

Meanwhile S1 noted, “As an English major, we had English writing courses when I was a sophomore, but the feedback from my English teacher only focused on language errors like grammatical and spelling mistakes, which did not help enhance my academic writing.”

Unsurprisingly, these Chinese study-abroad graduate students faced many challenges in finishing their English academic writing tasks in EMI institutions in Malaysia, such as writing term papers and their dissertation. Based on the interview content, the main challenges included using English academic terms and expressions properly, finding research gaps, the overall research design, and dissertation format.

Coping Strategies in English Writing While Studying in Malaysia

To address these challenges, Chinese graduate students constructed a series of coping strategies to complete their English writing assignments. To begin with, they needed to ensure that they understood teachers’ requirements in English writing assignments. If they could not understand it, they asked teachers or classmates for help, or reread the assignments. They also turned to modern technology for help. For example, they recorded the teachers’ requirements using audio-recording APPs on their cell phone so that they could replay it after class. They also used some translation software, such as Google Translate, to help them understand teachers’ requirements and writing assignments. They made sure they spent enough time to complete their writing assignment and checked it many times before submission. It is evident that they made great efforts to finish their English writing assignments to meet their teachers’ standard.

S2 said,

The first time when I was asked to write a course paper between 1,000 and 1,500 words, I had no idea about it. Then I asked a local classmate for help. He was very warm-hearted, and helped me finish that writing task step by step. (S2)

The participants stated that they asked their local classmates for help and expressed their trust in them. Because they could learn much from their classmates, most participants preferred group work when working on English writing assignments. Other coping strategies included reading a lot to facilitate writing and imitating academic articles from top journals and so forth. As S4 noted,

I did not know what a research gap was when I started my graduate study at this university in Malaysia. I spent much time to understand this concept. But how could I find a meaningful research gap? I am still not clear about it. (S4)

Finally, the participants provided some suggestions to help cope with the English academic writing tasks in EMI institutions. All nine interviewees suggested that it was necessary for Chinese graduate students to receive substantial training in academic writing starting from their freshmen year. Moreover, holding more activities on campuses can help, as this allows international and local students to get to know each other and share writing experiences. This way, the international students will be encouraged to participate actively in English workshops and forums to enhance their language proficiency.

Discussion

This study’s results reveal that Chinese study-abroad graduate students had more chances to practice English writing in the form of e-mails, diaries, PowerPoint Slides, essays, and course papers after starting their study in Malaysia; their motivation and self-confidence to enhance their English writing ability were also significantly improved. Unfortunately, most Chinese graduate students are not well-prepared for the English writing required in the courses in EMI institutions in Malaysia based on the interview content. Consequently, they encounter many challenges in accomplishing various writing tasks. To cope with these writing problems, many students struggle to develop a series of coping strategies.

The Popularity of EMI Institutions in Malaysia

Participants confirmed the popularity of EMI institutions in Malaysia among Chinese study-abroad graduate students, partly because English is used as the working language in EMI institutions, and it is important for them to have more opportunity to improve their English writing skills, including writing English emails, essays, and course papers, and preparing PowerPoint slides in English. Incorporating such tasks in graduate education will make a difference in Chinese universities (usually Chinese-medium), as this would allow students to enhance their English-writing ability, increase their intercultural communication, and ultimately help them succeed in the job market or pursue further education globally. This finding reflects the teaching situation in EMI institutions in Malaysia, where there are adequate English courses for international students, and this is a key factor attracting many international students.

The findings regarding the EMI institutions in Malaysia echo those of previous studies (e.g., Hasim & Barnard, 2018; Rahman et al., 2021), which found that most lectures and tutorials have been delivered in English over the past 10 years. Moreover, both stakeholders and lecturers are positive and confident about the adoption and implementation of EMI in Malaysia, driven by their ambition to become a hub of international higher education.

Chinese Graduate Students’ Inadequate English Writing Ability

Most participants did not have confidence in their prior English language ability. From the interview content, we can conclude the reasons Chinese participants’ previous English ability has not adequately prepared them for the English writing required in the courses taught in Malaysian institutions. First, many Chinese undergraduate students have not taken English writing classes before studying in Malaysia, which reflects the college English teaching situation in China, that is, non-English majors are not offered English writing courses. Second, only English majors at universities in China are offered English writing classes for one or two semesters, which would benefit those English major students’ writing ability. However, in S1’s opinion, their English writing course teacher always paid much attention to the correctness of English grammar and vocabulary, instead of other more important elements in English academic writing such as citation, argument, organization of the essay, development of ideas, and assuming an authorial voice. Unsurprisingly, many mistakes and inappropriate expressions in S1’s English writing assignments were always noted by teachers in her first semester at her institution. Third, some Chinese college students would pay for and take part in the English writing courses provided by various types of IELTS training centers to prepare for the IELTS test. As S8 said, this type of English writing course is exam-oriented and designed only for passing the IELTS test; it is not suitable for writing actual English essays and dissertation at universities in Malaysia. This finding supports some of the previous studies’ finding that Chinese graduate students may experience more sophisticated writing difficulties in English in actual English-medium countries, even though they gained good marks in English tests and were considered as successful English learners in their home country (Clark & Yu, 2021; Wright & Schartner, 2013), particularly in academic English writing (Wette & Furneaux, 2018).

At the beginning, these students were surprised that their course papers had so many mistakes as identified by EMI teachers in Malaysia (S1), and the greater challenge was to write a dissertation. It is not easy for them to understand the nuanced meaning of every English word and use it in the appropriate context. The participants reported that their knowledge of academic terms and expressions was limited, and it was difficult for them to use rich and advanced academic vocabulary. In addition, many Chinese study-abroad students have difficulty in finding the research gaps and writing in the right format when working on their dissertation. Because the concept of a research gap is not emphasized during their undergraduate education in China, Chinese college students do not have enough practice in finding research gaps, which is an important aspect of writing English essays and dissertations. This finding regarding Chinese study-abroad students’ academic writing difficulties echoes those of previous studies (e.g., Sun & Soden, 2021; Sun et al., 2022; Q. Xie & Lei, 2021), which found that these students lacked the awareness and skills to compare, contrast, and evaluate sources; they do not know how to identify gaps in research through the use of appropriate citation. Nevertheless, students who are more concerned with their education actively seek coping strategies to improve their skills in using sources, and enhance their academic writing. This study adds that it is necessary for EMI teachers to be aware of Chinese graduate students’ difficulties with English writing, which, to some extent, is due to their previous educational backgrounds. There are substantial differences in the tertiary education and language environments between China and Malaysia; EMI teachers need to be cognizant of this, and be patient with the Chinese students.

Coping Strategies Among Chinese Study-abroad Graduate Students

Given the many challenges the study participants encountered in English writing, they developed a variety of coping strategies to overcome such challenges. Some of the common measures to assist with their academic writing are getting help from their teachers, peers, and other available resources such as workshops. They also turn to modern technology for help, such as using google translate to provide the necessary English vocabulary or translate their ideas from Chinese to English. Another important method is to search for more academic papers and online resources, as reading more materials helps improve their academic writing. Finally, imitating academic articles from top journals is also suggested as a good method for novice writers. The findings regarding these students’ coping strategies echo those of previous studies (e.g., Wette & Furneaux, 2018; Yu et al., 2021), that these international students’ coping strategies for English learning is multifaceted and has a sociocultural construct.

The coping strategies used by these students are goal-directed and reveal an understanding of their needs. Specifically, they need to enhance their English writing and language proficiency by actively interacting with the English-speaking communities in EMI institutions in Malaysia. With the increased exposure in an actual English-speaking environment, they can observe and acquire the appropriate collocation and usage of English words and expressions, as well as the academic writing norm.

Conclusions, Implications, and Limitations

This study investigated Chinese study-abroad graduate students’ perceptions, challenges, and coping strategies in English academic writing while studying in EMI institutions in Malaysia. A 5-point Likert scale questionnaire and semi-structured interviews were used as research instruments. Because English is the second language and the medium of instruction commonly used in higher education institutions in Malaysia, Chinese students who were raised under Chinese-medium instructions may face some challenges in the transitional process, especially in terms of fulfilling the assessment requirements, which demand that they write using academic English. The major findings of this study reveal that the participants lacked the appropriate English writing training before coming to Malaysia for their graduate education. Therefore, they struggled to accomplish their English assignments, essays, and dissertations at EMI institutions in Malaysia. Through their consistent exposure to the environment in Malaysian institutions where English is widely spoken, they had more chances to practice their English writing skills. Although they had to develop a variety of coping strategies to finish their English writing tasks, they finally managed to do so and confirmed that they had made progress in their English writing skills.

Implications

The implications of this study are for both the Chinese study-abroad learners and the relevant EMI institutions in Malaysia. Chinese college students should attach importance to their English writing ability and English language proficiency. It is advisable for them to intensify their practice of English writing, listening, speaking, and reading before they go abroad for higher studies. While studying in Malaysia, giving voice to personal opinions during active participation in English forums and campus activities will also benefit the international students’ English language skills. In addition, as a host country, it is sensible for the institutions in Malaysia to provide enough language training support for these international students. They need more instructions regarding English writing, especially academic writing, such as the relevant academic expressions, identification of research gaps, overall research design, and dissertation format. However, this type of English language training cannot serve as a one-for-all solution. Instead, it is necessary to provide consistent support in the form of English writing centers, workshops or forums, and the like.

Limitations

This study has several limitations. First, a pilot study usually requires approximately 30 participants per one variable. However, our pilot study had only four participants. The researchers of this study stopped looking for more participants when the questionnaire items and the interview questions became clear. Second, the quantitative data came from a large-scale survey questionnaire; therefore, a few respondents may have given dishonest answers. Third, both qualitative and quantitative data were mainly based on students’ self-report. Future studies could conduct pre- and post-test research among Chinese study-abroad students’ English academic writing for a more accurate reporting of data.

Footnotes

Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the contribution of the section editor, three anonymous reviewers and their invaluable comments.

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

ORCID iDs

Songcun Zhang

Zuwati Hasim

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Perceptions and Coping Strategies in English Writing Among Chinese Study-Abroad Graduate Students

Abstract

Keywords

Introduction

Literature Review

Practice of EMI

EMI Institutions in Malaysia

Study-Abroad Chinese Learners’ English Writing

Methodology

Participants

Data Collection

Questionnaire

Follow-Up Interviews

Data Analysis

Major Findings

Comparison of Participants’ English Writing Perceptions before and after Studying in Malaysia

Challenges in English Academic Writing While Studying in Malaysia

Coping Strategies in English Writing While Studying in Malaysia

Discussion

The Popularity of EMI Institutions in Malaysia

Chinese Graduate Students’ Inadequate English Writing Ability

Coping Strategies Among Chinese Study-abroad Graduate Students

Conclusions, Implications, and Limitations

Implications

Limitations

Footnotes

Acknowledgements

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

Funding

ORCID iDs

References