To survive or to thrive? Synthesizing the narrative trajectories of students’ self-regulated listening practice in an EMI transnational higher education context

English-medium instruction (EMI) has burgeoned alongside two decades of L2 self-regulated learning research. In both areas, listening remains under-researched, longitudinal designs are under-employed, and in-depth studies are necessary to unpack learner development. In a context believed to initiate self-regulated learning, the current study employed a longitudinal qualitative design to explore the out-of-class, self-regulated listening practice of 34 Chinese students across their first term transitioning from Chinese-medium high schools to an EMI transnational university in China. Guided by Zimmerman’s social-cognitive model of self-regulated learning, 102 transcripts generated from interviewing students at the beginning, middle, and end of their transition term were analyzed using thematic analysis and narrative analysis. The findings are presented chronologically as a synthesis of the students’ narrative trajectories. They highlight the students’ initial enthusiasm for self-regulated listening practice to ‘survive’ EMI lectures and a watershed moment at the midterm, when many ‘dropouts’ stopped practicing as they perceived their proficiency had reached an abstract threshold. The ‘continuers’ developed sustainable practices informed by the pursuit of long-term, future-oriented goals that outreached the immediate EMI context, guided by metacognitive awareness and emotion regulation strategies. Pedagogical implications to support future cohorts of students to thrive during transition and beyond are provided.