Azerbaijani and Ukrainian students’ attitudes towards their English skills: a case study

Abstract

Due to the demographic situation in Lithuania, local universities receive fewer Lithuanian students who enter their study programmes. This is the reason why the universities try to enter the international student market and take a share of it by attracting student from abroad to study in Lithuania. Consequently, more study programmes at all study cycles are offered in English. This qualitative research focuses on first year Azerbaijani and Ukrainian students at Vytautas Magnus University in Lithuania and their attitudes towards their English skills, because at the time of the research they were studying English as a foreign language (EFL) and English was also used as a medium of instruction (EMI) in their study programmes at the same time. The research, which was based on a printed questionnaire, shows that the research participants were critical towards their English skills. They thought that they had not had enough knowledge of English before their studies at VMU and also were dissatisfied with the level of English they had nine months after that (when the research was carried out). On the other hand, they emphasised that good English skills were necessary for communication and important in their future careers, but to speak in English was reported to be easier than to write. The importance of English in their study programmes taught through English was not mentioned at all. In general, all the Ukrainian research participants wanted to improve speaking skills, while all the Azerbaijani students thought they needed to enrich their English vocabulary.