Internationalising Higher Education

Coventry University and Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) have established a project through PMI2 Connect. The project involves the recording, transcribing and analysing of lectures on similar topics delivered in the medium of English in Malaysia and the UK. Engineering has been chosen as the target discipline of this project because UTM and Coventry University are noted for their engineering programmes, and because engineering and technology have been found to be the subjects most frequently taught in the medium of English worldwide. Results from the project reveal marked variations in the type and range of vocabulary used, the style and pace of delivery, and the way in which key information is highlighted. There is also evidence to suggest that in Malaysia, where English has been adopted solely as a medium of instruction, the lectures lack many of the rapport-building features common in the UK. This poster will discuss the project and its results, featuring annotated excerpts from lecture transcripts and materials derived from the corpus findings for use in English for Academic Purposes (EAP) and staff development programmes.