Intensive ESL Research Articles

Student Perceptions of Academic Language Study

This article reports on a study done to determine how nonnative English speakers studying in U.S. colleges and universities perceive their language learning experiences and how they use English in academic settings. Open-ended interviews, using a structured set of topics, were conducted with 80 students. Areas investigated included the value of the U.S. language training program, how the program addressed specific skill areas, how outof-class experience contributed to language learning, what teacher qualities were valued, and how English was used in the academic setting. In general, students supported the design of most intensive ESL training, but they raised questions about some skill-area emphasis. A strong desire for more interactive instruction was expressed as well as an appreciation for personality, 'rather than technical, qualities of teachers. Students indicated the importance in academic work of the receptive skills of reading and listening over the productive skills of speaking and writing. Curriculum design in ESL programs for academic preparation has, in general, failed to use the experience of students themselves as a basis for planning and decision making. This article reports on a study that attempted to discover what students believed contributed most to their language learning. The subjects had studied in intensive ESL programs in the United States and were engaged in academic study at the time of the investigation. Student attitude toward teachers and teacher behavior was also studied. Last, the study attempted to determine how these students were using English in their academic work.

Differential gain rates in intensive ESL programs: Who gains the most?

Students entering intensive English as a second language programs at various proficiency levels may make comparatively greater or lesser gains in proficiency over the same period of training. Whether or not some groups within a heterogenous student population can be expected to make significantly more rapid gains than others is the question addressed by this paper.’ Also tested is the assumption that scores on a standardized proficiency test can serve to identify individuals as likely to make greater or lesser gains. The problem of predicting differential gain rates is of particular interest to those involved in the intensive ESL program at New Mexico State University. Many students admitted to the program have had little or no preparation in English language skills, yet they are expected to be ready for graduate level work at the University after one year of language instruction. Our teaching strategies and program organization are therefore crucial to their academic success. It is hoped that a systematic analysis of relative gain would indicate if the prograrr is benefiting some types of students more than others. Significant biases, if found, would indicate the need for a thorough examination of program organization; possibly admissions policy would need to be examined if program goals were found unrealistic for all students currently being admitted. Numerous studies have examined the general problem of predicting success in language programs. Some have focused on individual characteristics of the learner (Carroll 1962), others with environmental variables of the classroom and school (Fatham 1976). Initial scores on an English proficiency test were analyzed by Mason (1971) who found them of no value in predicting the academic success or failure of international students at the University of Hawaii. Moran and Erion (1978) on the other hand found that initial scores on the Comprehensive English Language Test were significantly reliable predictors of academic success of American Samoan ESL speakers at the junior college level. Few studies have specifically observed the effect of an already attained proficiency level on further proficiency gains. Nevo, Sim and Bensousan (1977) examined 322 Israeli students in a non-intensive EFL reading course at Haifa University and found that generally students with higher entering scores on a proficiency test made greater gains on the same test a year later than did students with lower initial scores. The authors thus sum up their findings: “The rich get richer and the poor stay poor”. Similar results were obtained among tenth year English language students in a Swedish university (Marton 1972). However, until now no data has been available from intensive programs operating in the target language setting. The question remains, then, how adult L2 learners living in

English Language Instruction for the Hearing Impaired: An Adaptation of ESL Methodology

Notwithstanding years of previous instruction, these hearing-impaired students have continued to evidence severe English-language problems. We are convinced that they need ESL work and are offering such a program at the Tutorial Center of Gallaudet College. Because these students cannot hear and because they have problems not only with English structure but also with the concepts expressed, we have made two major modifications in ESL procedure: (1) Language practice is done in writing. (2) Practice at the mechanical stage is done with the addition of a step which forces the students to express the concept involved. Although these students encounter problems in using English outside the classroom, the intensive ESL work they receive when our program is offered in its ideal form has resulted in significant improvement in their control of English. We as well as the students themselves see from endof-course writing samples that they have improved their control of English and do, indeed, have the ability to master it.