Non-Native English-Speaking Students' Perspectives of Culture, Language, and Academic Success

2020 ◽  
pp. 181-201
Author(s):  
Maja Stojanovic ◽  
Petra A. Robinson
Keyword(s):  
Academic Success ◽  
Graduate Students ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
The United States ◽  
Graduate Schools ◽  
Language Programs ◽  
Cultural Challenges ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
Native English Speaking

The chapter examines how non-native English-speaking graduate students perceive academic success and possible linguistic and cultural challenges in graduate schools in the United States. Data were collected from six in-depth individual face-to-face interviews specifically to understand the complexities and nuances in the perceptions of non-native English-speaking graduate students related to their academic success and possible challenges they face that may be caused by the lack of native-like language proficiency. Students' perceptions revealed the importance of cultural and language training for key stakeholders. Graduate schools as well as those teaching multicultural classes, among other stakeholders, should utilize this information to help modify English language programs and curricula for current and new students.

scholarly journals International Graduate Students’ Academic Writing Practices in Malaysia: Challenges and Solutions

2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 12-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manjet Kaur Mehar Singh
Keyword(s):  
Academic Success ◽  
Graduate Students ◽  
Academic Writing ◽  
International Graduate Students ◽  
Academic Literacies ◽  
Writing Practices ◽  
International Graduate ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
Native English Speaking ◽  
Instructional Settings

This article focuses on the challenges faced by non-native English speaking international graduate students in their academic writing practices while they studied at a university in Malaysia as well as the solutions they employed when faced with the challenges. Academic Literacies Questionnaire was used to collect data. Based on 131 participants, the findings indicate that non-native English speaking international graduate students faced challenges in their academic writing practices in the instructional settings where English was used as a medium. In addition, the results revealed that some challenges those students face were mainly attributable to the fact that English in Malaysia is not the native or first language. This study suggests policies and programmes to meet the unique academic writing background needs of these students and ensure their academic success.

scholarly journals Grammatical Positions of Focuser Like Among Native English-Speaking Undergraduate Students

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 116
Author(s):  
Basim Alamri
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Noun Phrase ◽  
Exploratory Study ◽  
Discourse Markers ◽  
The United States ◽  
Final Exam ◽  
Discourse Marker ◽  
Midwestern University ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
Native English Speaking

Discourse markers (DMs) are used in everyday conversations to serve different meanings and functions. The present exploratory study investigated grammatical positions of focuser like among 60 undergraduate native-English-speaking students at a midwestern university in the United States. Students were asked to read and place focuser like in this sentence: “We have to read five chapters for the final exam”. Then students were required to indicate a degree of acceptability of the placement of like at every possible position in sentences that contained the discourse marker like in 10 different grammatical positions. The results showed that students preferred inserting the DM like before a noun phrase, at the beginning of a sentence, and before a verb phrase, respectively. In terms of gender, females frequently posited focuser like before a sentence, whereas males placed it before a noun phrase. Also, the discourse marker like does not occur within auxiliary. Finally, this study draws conclusions about different grammatical positions and broader usages of discourse marker focuser like among younger students. 

scholarly journals Suitability of Blackboard as Learning Management System to assess oral competence: Students’ perceptions and results

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Isabel Muñoz Alcón ◽  
Francisco Trullén Galve
Keyword(s):  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Management System ◽  
Learning Management System ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
State Of Mind ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Speaking Skill ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
Learning Management ◽  
Undergraduate Programs

Learning a foreign language involves the practice and development of linguistic competencies through a series of communicative activities. Assessing each of these competencies face to face can provide an accurate profile of the student’s level of language proficiency. But assessing them online, particularly oral skill, poses a challenge for both students and professors. The change of scenario and use of digital tools may intimidate students and deprive the interview from naturality and warmth. In this paper, the suitability of Blackboard Collaborate as Learning Management System to assess English speaking skill is studied together with other factors influencing students’ online performance. 81 students from 5 different undergraduate programs in Engineering and Applied Sciences were assessed, following the threefold pattern of IELTS speaking test questions. Their results and responses to a final survey are contrasted so as to check the positive of negative effect of online testing on the students’ state of mind and eventual achievement. Blackboard platform proves to be as a suitable online framework for optimal performance, and the examiner’s attitude is equally a conditioning factor in students’success.

scholarly journals Challenges Facing Asian International Graduate Students in the US: Pedagogical Considerations in Higher Education

2014 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 16-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shu-Yuan Lin ◽  
Susan Day Scherz
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
United States ◽  
Graduate Students ◽  
Phenomenological Study ◽  
The United States ◽  
International Graduate Students ◽  
International Graduate ◽  
Conceptual Structures ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
Linguistic Challenges

Non-Native English Speaking (NNES) international students attending colleges and universities in the United States often encounter difficulties in adjusting to their new cultural environment. In addition, they often struggle with academic language while learning the content and conceptual structures of various graduate level disciplines. This phenomenological study identified cultural and linguistic challenges experienced by NNES Asian international graduate students at a mediumsized rural university in the northwestern United States. A pedagogical framework and recommendations for professional practice address the linguistic, cultural, and academic needs of this particular student population in higher education.

scholarly journals NATIVE ENGLISH SPEAKERS VERSUS NON-NATIVE ENGLISH SPEAKERS: THE IMPACT OF LANGUAGE TEACHERS ON EFL LEARNER'S ENGLISH PROFICIENCY

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 27
Author(s):  
Tariq Elyas ◽  
Noor Motlaq Alghofaili
Keyword(s):  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Native English Speakers ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Ex Post ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
Native English Speaking ◽  
Native English Speaking Teachers ◽  
The Impact

In the field of TESOL, the perception that Native English Speaking Teachers (NESTs) are better than Non-Native English Speaking Teachers (NNESTs) has influenced language schools, recruitment policies and institutional leadership practices. The tendency to recruit more NESTs and achieve improved learning outcomes can be seen in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) and English as a Second Language (ESL) contexts. This paper aims to investigate whether NESTs or NNESTs have any impact on the EFL learners� language proficiency in Saudi EFL context. This quantitative study adopts pretest-posttest experimental and ex post facto designs to determine students� achievement in two language skills, namely speaking and listening. The two groups of participants are EFL students in a foundation year program at a Saudi Arabian University. One group was taught by a NEST and the other by a NNEST. The quantitative data were analyzed by using SPSS. The findings indicated that teachers� nativeness and backgrounds have no significant effects on the Saudi EFL learners� speaking and listening skills. Here, Saudi EFL learners can equally perform in classes taught by NESTs or NNESTs. In the light of the findings, the study suggests that recruitment policy should not be influenced by the employers� belief that NESTs possess better teaching skills than NNESTs.��

scholarly journals The Earnings Disadvantage of 21st Century Immigrants in the United States

2018 ◽  
Vol 64 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-44
Author(s):  
Fahad Gill ◽  
Waseem Ahmad
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Human Capital ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
21St Century ◽  
English Language ◽  
Decomposition Analysis ◽  
The United States ◽  
Highly Educated ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
Low Levels

This article provides a comprehensive analysis of the earnings disadvantage of 21st century immigrants in the United States. The study is the first to decompose the earnings disadvantage faced by recent immigrants to present the channels through which immigrants lag behind their native counterparts. The decomposition of the earnings disadvantage reveals that the time spent in the United States is the key determinant of the earnings disadvantage. Other important sources of the earnings disadvantage of immigrants are the levels of English-language proficiency and educational attainment. The decomposition analysis also suggests that low levels of human capital cause an even larger disadvantage for immigrants in the years following the 2008-2009 recession as compared with the corresponding relative returns of the prerecession period. The decomposition analysis and trends in returns to human capital variables highlight the merits of a selective immigration system that favors young, English-speaking, and highly educated individuals. JEL Classifications: J1, J3, J6

Limited-English Proficient (LEP) Students and Mathematical Understanding

2004 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 269-272 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hea-Jin Lee ◽  
Woo Sik Jung
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Public Schools ◽  
Instructional Practices ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Limited English Proficient ◽  
The United States ◽  
Student Demographics ◽  
Education Statistics ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
A Current

The number of Limited-English-Proficient (LEP) learners in the United States is dramatically and steadily increasing every year. In 1993–1994, U.S. public schools enrolled more than 2.1 million LEP students, with more than 90 percent of them coming from non-English-speaking countries (McCandless, Rossi, and Daugherty 1996). A study by the National Center for Education Statistics estimates a current enrollment of 3.4 million LEP students in grades K–8 (Buck 2000). This change in student demographics and the importance of language proficiency in mathematics require increasing awareness of instructional practices.

scholarly journals EFL Learners' Perspectives Towards Online Reading Module of IELTS: A Study at Tertiary Level

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 942-947
Author(s):  
Tanzina Halim ◽  
Sayyed Rashid Ali Shah
Keyword(s):  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
English Language ◽  
Testing System ◽  
Online Classes ◽  
Online Reading ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Saudi Students ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
General Training

This paper seeks to investigate the attitude of students towards attending IELTS (Reading) classes online. The International English Language Testing System (IELTS) is a world-wide recognized test that students/ candidates have to take to assess their English language proficiency to study or work in an English- speaking context. They have to either take the IELTS Academic or the IELTS General Training modules. In recent times with the shift from face-to-face to online classes, the students face many challenges while attending online classes of IELTS, especially the reading module. This study aims to find out the problems which are faced by Saudi students while attending online classes. For this, 40 undergraduate students, both males and females of a public university in Saudi Arabia, were chosen as participants to carry out the study. A survey questionnaire was administered to the students who experienced challenges in online classes of IELTS. Based on the findings, the study concludes with some recommendations about how students can overcome the challenges they face while having online classes of the Reading module of IELTS.

scholarly journals First Term Support for International Graduate Students Attending Small Colleges and Universities

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 527-538
Author(s):  
Mary Jo Shane ◽  
Loredana Carson ◽  
Diana Gloria Macri
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Academic Success ◽  
International Students ◽  
Graduate Students ◽  
Private University ◽  
The United States ◽  
Small Colleges ◽  
International Graduate Students ◽  
Political Climate ◽  
International Graduate

The recruitment and retention of international students in academic institutions in the United States has become more complicated and more competitive than ever before given the current political climate and governmental policies. This article discusses some of the specific challenges international students face and what a small- to medium-sized private university has put in place to attract these students and to better prepare them for graduate level management courses starting their first term. This example introduces an 11-week foundations course along with additional resources designed to provide knowledge, instruction, and practice in skills and behaviors crucial for academic success within the United States.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document