Higher education is becoming increasingly internationalized, and a significant aspect of the internationalization of higher education is student mobility. A relatively new feature in international student mobility is the offer of English taught programs. Wächter and Maiworm (2008) define English taught programs as “programmes taught in English in non-English speaking countries in Europe, i.e. in countries where English was not the domestic language” (p. 9). Increasing numbers of universities are offering these programs, yet the existing research on them is limited.
This study contributes to the literature by exploring the levels of importance of and satisfaction with selected experiences expressed by international students enrolled in English taught programs at German universities. A concurrent mixed methods design was used. Quantitative data were collected by administering an on-line questionnaire; qualitative data were collected by conducting on-site interviews. The data were collected concurrently and analyzed separately. Finally, the data were integrated in the interpretation phase.
The findings of this study suggested that the salient experiences of international students were centered on their academic program, living in Germany, and being a member of a cohort of international students. Experiences as non-native speakers of German and a sense of isolation were interwoven with these experiences. Students
expressed overall satisfaction, however, they were less satisfied with certain aspects of their experience. Differences in levels of satisfaction existed by world region of origin and students’ self-assessed German proficiency.