Investigating Arab Students' Communication Strategies in Speaking English as a Medium of Instruction

Abstract

Speaking English in a multicultural context is considered one of the main requirements for students to communicate with their teachers and colleagues from diverse backgrounds. Due to the scarcity of these studies about Arab students, our study aimed to investigate the most Communication Strategies (CSs) used by Arab students in speaking English as a Medium of Instruction (EMI) in a public university in North Cyprus. Besides, it focused more on examining the possible correlation between these strategies and social factors (namely, gender and proficiency level). The study adopted the quantitative research tool, which included 102 participants. The descriptive analysis revealed several CSs adopted by Arab students when speaking English in an EMI setting. The results of ANOVA and t. test reported positive effects of gender and level of proficiency on students' usage of communication strategies. This study might contribute to drawing the attention of Foreign Language Schools to the teachability of communication strategies for Arab learners of English.