L2 pragmatic development of Chinese EFL learners at an EMI transnational university: A longitudinal study

English-medium instruction (EMI), an immersive setting designed to increase English exposure, provides a favourable environment for second language (L2) pragmatic learning by affording opportunities to develop learners' ability to use English in appropriate ways (Martí & Guzmán-Alcón, 2024). However, as much existing research focuses on pragmatic development in study abroad (SA) contexts, empirical evidence on whether pragmatic gains can be expected from EMI remains scarce. This study examines the L2 pragmatic development of Chinese English as a foreign language (EFL) learners during their first year of study at an EMI university. A total of 100 participants completed assessments of pragmatic competence (monologic role play, email writing task, and metapragmatic knowledge test) at three time points over a 35-week period, along with measures of L2 contact and proficiency. Results revealed significant improvements in learners' ability to identify overpoliteness, and their use of pragmalinguistic features and generic structure in oral and written tasks. However, no significant changes were observed in the recognition of impoliteness. Additionally, L2 contact in both social and formal learning contexts was positively associated with improvements in pragmalinguistic features in oral tasks, while L2 proficiency gains were positively related to more appropriate use of pragmalinguistic features in written tasks and improved recognition of overpoliteness. L2 contact in social contexts was negatively related to gains in recognizing impoliteness. These findings highlight the potential of EMI programs to support L2 pragmatic development, while also offering valuable insights into how to better facilitate learners' pragmatic learning.