Supporting first-year undergraduate emirati engineers in reading in english for science

Set in a Middle-Eastern engineering university context, where many first-year undergraduates studying chemistry, mathematics and physics before progressing to their main degree programmes are thought to struggle with reading for science in English, this article describes an intervention involving communication faculty designed to help. It draws upon qualitative data collected through various methods: reflective accounts of supporting the intervention provided by communication instructors; questionnaires completed by content instructors and students, followed by focus group discussions and interviews conducted with samples of the latter groups. Various benefits of the intervention are identified including greater awareness of the issues in both students and content instructors, and some positive changes in reported practices. However, evidence suggests the intervention could have been more effective if better planned, with challenges that arose anticipated; implications are discussed.