The Effects of Contextualized EMI Instruction on Iraqi Postgraduate Students' Content Knowledge and Academic Writing

As English-medium instruction (EMI) continues to expand in higher education worldwide, there is an increasing need for instructional approaches that effectively support students’ content learning and academic writing. This study examined whether a needs analysis-based syllabus could improve Iraqi postgraduate teaching-English-as-a-foreign-language (TEFL) students’ content knowledge and academic writing in an EMI context. Using convenience sampling during the ۲۰۲۴–۲۰۲۵ academic year, ۴۰ Iraqi in-service teachers enrolled in two intact classes were assigned to an experimental group (n = ۲۰) and a control group (n = ۲۰) in a quasi-experimental design. A triangulated needs analysis informed a context-sensitive intervention comprising localized lectures and problem-solving tasks. Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) showed that the experimental group achieved significantly greater gains in content knowledge and academic writing, with the intervention accounting for ۷۴% of the variance in post-test content scores. The findings suggest that EMI instructors and universities should adopt systematic needs analysis and context-sensitive curricula to better support learners’ educational, linguistic, and sociocultural needs.

کلیدواژه ها:

Academic Writing ، Iraqi Context ، Problem Solving Tasks ، Teacher education