The adjustment journey: writing challenges and self-efficacy of students in transition from high school to an English medium instruction (EMI) university programme in Japan

Research into language-related challenges confronting EMI students is accumulating but gaps in understanding remain. One skill – academic writing – has not received the close-grained attention it merits given the centrality of the essay as a means of assessing EMI students. There is also a dire need for longitudinal insights into the EMI transition and a richer exploration of its lived reality. Such research may also provide valuable pointers to improving this crucial adjustment period. The current charts the writing challenges and task-based confidence (i.e., self-efficacy) of 40 freshman EMI social science students during their initial 14-week academic writing preparatory course at a university in Japan. It clarifies 1) what writing challenges are faced and how they evolve; 2) students’ self-efficacy beliefs about academic writing and how they develop; 3) the influence of language proficiency and self-efficacy on perceived writing challenges. A mixed-methods approach was chosen in pursuit of these goals. Quantitative data was gathered over four timepoints through an EMI Writing Challenges Scale and an EMI Writing Self-efficacy Scale. Qualitative data was collected via nine student journal entries written through the semester by all 40 participants and three semi-structured interviews conducted with nine students. Findings reveal that writing challenges lessened somewhat over the semester, yet the trend was not linear nor uniform. Self-efficacy remained largely stable as the semester progressed, but key differences existed between the nature and robustness of students’ beliefs. Overall, the initial adjustment journey to full EMI study remained a challenging one for participants. Implications for EMI policy and pedagogy are discussed.