Course Experience as a Predictor of Learning Outcomes Among International Students in China’s English-Medium and Chinese-Medium Instruction Programs: A Multigroup Invariance Analysis

This study investigated international students’ course experience in China, and its impact on their generic skills (GSS) and satisfaction (SA) across English-medium instruction (EMI) and Chinese-medium instruction (CMI) programs. Self-reported data were collected in 2023 via an online questionnaire survey involving 659 international undergraduate students from 11 universities in China. Structural equation modeling and multigroup invariance analysis were conducted using AMOS 23 to examine the relationships between course experience, GSS, and SA across the two groups. The measurement model demonstrated satisfactory validity and reliability. Descriptive results showed that students generally reported favorable perceptions of their course experience. Hypothesis tests revealed significant positive effects of course experience on both GSS and SA, and a significant impact of GSS on SA. Multigroup analysis further revealed that the effect of course experience on SA was stronger for EMI students compared to their CMI counterparts, whereas the influence of GSS on SA was significant only among CMI students. These findings enhance the understanding of international students’ course experience and provide valuable insights for higher education institutions in non-English-speaking countries.