English as a medium of instruction (EMI) is expanding in higher education globally. However, for non‑native students, comprehending academic disciplinary knowledge in EMI university lectures often results in cognitive overload and shallow understanding. This difficulty is especially acute during initial transition, as students must cope with both an unfamiliar instructional language and more intellectually demanding content. Consequently, students urgently need to develop self‑regulated listening skills. Investigating their strategy use through cross‑disciplinary comparison can reveal how strategic listening supports comprehension in relation to characteristics of disciplinary knowledge building. This study aims to investigate students' self‑regulated lecture listening and its longitudinal transformation across academic disciplines throughout their first EMI year.

Adopting a social cognitive framework of self‑regulated listening, the research situates strategy use within disciplinary contexts and associates it with socially constructed learning motivation, addressing the gap left by generic or cross‑sectional studies. A longitudinal mixed‑methods design combines questionnaires and interviews to capture variations across disciplines and over time. Theoretically, the study extends knowledge about the evolving, discipline‑specific features of strategic behaviour, offering a dynamic perspective on academic literacy development. Practically, it will inform evidence‑based language support programs to scaffold students' successful transition into EMI university studies. The study will inform the 'bigger picture' of cultivating students' strategic, self‑regulated lecture listening as a key academic literacy in EMI higher education.

Funded by the Research Grants Council of Hong Kong, Early Career Scheme (HKD$ 617,680; Ref. 24611824).