One challenge in EMI courses is developing teacher-student rapport. Rapport leads to improved student engagement and academic performance. This study compared two groups where teacher and materials were the same for both groups; the only difference was the language of instruction. Findings suggest rapport is possible, regardless of the language.
English-medium instruction classes in higher education are increasing in English non-dominant countries around the world. Though these courses offer advantages, they also offer concerns and challenges. One of these challenges is creating rapport between a teacher and students who are working in a language that is not their own. This study explored possible differences in rapport between two groups of students who were taking a class on Communications Research. One group took the class in their native Spanish; the other group took the class in English, The teacher, the program, and the materials were identical in both cases; they only differed in language of instruction. The study is qualitative in the ethnographic tradition. It used videos of classroom interactions as a data source. The teacher’s log and the nine-item Student-Instructor Rapport scale (Lammers & Gillaspy, 2013) complemented the study. The videos showed evidence of rapport-building activities in both the Spanish and the English groups. The results of the scale showed the students in the English group perceived more rapport between them and the instructor, than those in the Spanish group.
