Coping with English at Tertiary Level: Instructors’ Views

Over 90% of the curriculum material at the University of England is in English. The purpose of the current research project is to explore views of university instructors on how this extensive use of English course material affects their instruction and students’ learning. Data was collected through electronic surveys to all instructors at the University of Iceland. The questions asked were: How do Icelandic university instructors’ perceive their own proficiency in English and their ability to cope? Is there a difference between academic fields in instructors’ views of the use of English? Do instructors use scaffolding devices to help their students cope; which and how? The findings indicate that most instructors in the survey rate their English proficiency as very good although they need help with their academic writing. Although the study also suggests that instructors believe that using English curriculum material causes few or no problems to their students, many of them feel they need to use a variety of scaffolding devices to support their students’ learning.