non-English Speaking Background Students Research Articles

Block Mode Study: Opportunities and Challenges for a New Generation of Learners in an Australian University

This article is an update on a university-wide overhaul of its pedagogy, curriculum and delivery to support the expanding non-traditional, new generation learners while enhancing opportunity and success for traditional learners. The Block Model developed by Victoria University (VU), Australia for its undergraduate cohort, was a bold response to support all students including its high proportion of First-in-family (FiF), low socio-economic status (LSES), and non-English-speaking background (NESB) students. In this radical new hybrid Block model, students study one unit/subject at a time over four weeks. The article reports on preliminary results after two years of implementing the VU Block Model. While both traditional and new-generation cohorts significantly improved their performance, there was a higher improvement in the pass rates of LSES, NESB and FiF students, compared to the improvements in the traditional cohorts of students. These initial results confirm the value of the institution-wide strategy to expand opportunity and enhance success for all.

How Can Universities Encourage Self-Disclosure by Equity Students?

This paper extends upon a previous study into reasons behind student non-disclosure of equity status (Clark, Kusevskis-Hayes & Wilkinson, 2018). Based on findings from this previous study, this paper proposes good practice guidelines for universities to encourage self-disclosure by students in equity cohorts—Indigenous students, students with disabilities and those from non-English-speaking backgrounds (NESB). The previously published 12-month study, reporting on an equity staff survey on the subject of current university practices and student motivations for disclosure and reasons for concealing equity status, revealed that the primary reasons for disclosure versus non-disclosure varied between these three groups. Indigenous students were influenced by pride in identity versus popular perceptions of special treatment and may perceive Indigenous programs as primarily intended to achieve bureaucratic goals and meet “diversity” targets (Sullivan, 2008). Students with disabilities appreciated adjustments, but often waited until a crisis moment before seeking help. We advocate removal of barriers rather than a ‘medical model’ of support (Shakespeare and Watson, 2002). NESB students were least likely to disclose, because in many cases disclosure was not necessary to receive assistance, or no targeted assistance was available despite the apparent frustration of teaching staff (Fildes et al. 2010). The guidelines urge universities to adopt inclusive practices to reduce the need for self-disclosure, and to define equity groups in a practical and understandable way. Universities should educate staff and students to improve understanding of equity groups. Where disclosure is necessary, universities should offer options for levels of disclosure so students can retain control of their data. They should explain equity programs and services with clear guidelines for benefits and preserving confidentiality. Finally, they should explain the need for disclosure and allow noncommittal responses during enrolment, with later follow up.

Bridging the ‘English gap’: achievements and challenges of a non-award English Language Support Program

Australian universities are increasingly welcoming international non English speaking background (NESB) students with little consideration for the cultural, linguistic and institutional adjustments that the students must make.  The substantial gap between the required English language proficiency for entrance and that expected on graduation remains a concern.  This need for additional language support became evident in the Student Learning Centre (SLC) at [institutional details removed for review], where records indicated that NESB students seeking academic assistance were overrepresented.  Consequently, the SLC created an English Language Support Program (ELSP) to enhance the communication skills of NESB students. Student feedback and improvements in ability showed that this program had been successful.  However, it is only a first step in addressing the so-called ‘English problem’.  This paper discusses the advantages and constraints of non-award programs such as these to assist NESB students to bridge the ‘English gap’ in higher education.

Captioned Recorded Lectures as a Mainstream Learning Tool

In Australian universities, many courses provide lecture notes as a standard learning resource; however, captions and transcripts of these lectures are not usually provided unless requested by a student through dedicated disability support officers (Worthington). As a result, to date their use has been limited. However, while the requirement for—and benefits of—captioned online lectures for students with disabilities is widely recognised, these captions or transcripts might also represent further opportunity for a personalised approach to learning for the mainstream student population (Podszebka et al.; Griffin). This article reports findings of research assessing the usefulness of captioned recorded lectures as a mainstream learning tool to determine their usefulness in enhancing inclusivity and learning outcomes for the disabled, international, and broader student population.Literature ReviewCaptions have been found to be of benefit for a number of different groups considered at-risk. These include people who are D/deaf or hard of hearing, those with other learning difficulties, and those from a non-English speaking background (NESB).For students who are D/deaf or hard of hearing, captions play a vital role in providing access to otherwise inaccessible audio content. Captions have been found to be superior to sign language interpreters, note takers, and lip reading (Stinson et al.; Maiorana-Basas and Pagliaro; Marschark et al.).The use of captions for students with a range of cognitive disabilities has also been shown to help with student comprehension of video-based instruction in a higher education context (Evmenova; Evmenova and Behrmann). This includes students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) (Knight et al.; Reagon et al.) and students with dyslexia (Alty et al.; Beacham and Alty). While, anecdotally, captions are also seen as of benefit for students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) (Kent et al.), studies have proved inconclusive (Lewis and Brown).The third group of at-risk students identified as benefiting from captioning recorded lecture content are those from a NESB. The use of captions has been shown to increase vocabulary learning (Montero Perez, Peters, Clarebout, and Desmet; Montero Perez, Van Den Noortgate, and Desmet) and to assist with comprehension of presenters with accents or rapid speech (Borgaonkar, 2013).In addition to these three main groups of at-risk students, captions have also been demonstrated to increase the learning outcomes for older students (Pachman and Ke, 2012; Schmidt and Haydu, 1992). Captions also have demonstrable benefits for the broader student cohort beyond these at-risk groups (Podszebka et al.; Griffin). For example, a recent study found that the broader student population utilised lecture captions and transcripts in order to focus, retain information, and overcome poor audio quality (Linder). However, the same study revealed that students were largely unaware about the availability of captions and transcripts, nor how to access them.MethodologyIn 2016 students in the Curtin University unit Web Communications (an introductory unit for the Internet Communications major) and its complementary first year unit, Internet and Everyday Life, along with a second year unit, Web Media, were provided with access to closed captions for their online recorded lectures. The latter unit was added to the study serendipitously when its lectures were required to be captioned through a request from the Curtin Disability Office during the study period. Recordings and captions were created using the existing captioning system available through Curtin’s lecture recording platform—Echo360. As well as providing a written caption of what is being said during the lectures, this system also offers a sophisticated search functionality, as well as access to a total transcript of the lecture. The students were provided access to an online training module, developed specifically for this study, to explain the use of this system.Enrolled Curtin students, both on-campus and online, Open Universities Australia (OUA) students studying through Curtin online, teaching staff, and disability officers were then invited to participate in a survey and interviews. The study sought to gain insights into students’ use of both recorded lectures and captioned video at the time of the survey, and their anticipated future usage of these services (see Kent et al.).A total of 50 students—of 539 enrolled across the different instances of the three units—completed the survey. In addition, five follow-up interviews with students, teaching staff, and disability support staff were conducted once the surveys had been completed. Staff interviewed included tutors and unit coordinators who taught and supervised units in which the lecture captions were provided. The interviews assessed the awareness, use, and perceived validity of the captions system in the context of both learning and teaching.ResultsA number of different questions were asked regarding students’ demographics, their engagement with online unit materials, including recorded lectures, their awareness of Echo360’s lecture captions, as well as its additional features, their perceived value of online captions for their studies, and the future significance of captions in a university context.Of the 50 participants in the survey, only six identified themselves as a person with a disability—almost 90 per cent did not identify as disabled. Additionally, 45 of the 50 participants identified English as their primary language. Only one student identified as a person with both a disability and coming from a NESB.Engagement with Online Unit Materials and Recorded LecturesThe survey results provide insight into the ways in which participants interact with the Echo360 lecture system. Over 90 per cent of students had accessed the recorded lectures via the Echo360 system. While this might not seem notable at first, given such materials are essential elements of the units surveyed, the level of repeated engagement seen in these results is important because it indicates the extent to which students are revising the same material multiple times—a practice that captions are designed to facilitate and assist. For instance, one lecture was recorded per week for each unit surveyed, and most respondents (70 per cent) were viewing these lectures at least once or twice a week, while 10 per cent were viewing the lectures multiple times a week. Over half of the students surveyed reported viewing the same lecture more than once. Out these participants, 19 (or 73 per cent) had viewed a lecture twice and 23 per cent had viewed it three times or more. This illustrates that frequent revision is taking place, as students watch the same lecture repeatedly to absorb and clarify its contents. This frequency of repeated engagement with recorded unit materials—lectures in particular—indicates that students were making online engagement and revision a key element of their learning process.Awareness of the Echo360 Lecture Captions and Additional FeaturesHowever, while students were highly engaged with both the online learning material and the recorded lectures, there was less awareness of the availability of the captioning system—only 34 per cent of students indicated they were aware of having access to captions. The survey also asked students whether or not they had used additional features of the Echo360 captioning system such as the search function and downloadable lecture transcripts. Survey results confirm that these features were being used; however, responses indicated that only a minority of students using the captions system used these features, with 28 per cent using the search function and 33 per cent making use of the transcripts. These results can be seen as an indication that additional features were useful for revision, albeit for the minority of students who used them. A Curtin disability advisor noted in their interview that:transcripts are particularly useful in addition to captions as they allow the user to quickly skim the material rather than sit through a whole lecture. Transcripts also allow translation into other languages, highlighting text and other features that make the content more accessible.Teaching staff were positive about these features and suggested that providing transcripts saved time for tutors who are often approached to provide these to individual students:I typically receive requests for lecture transcripts at the commencement of each study period. In SP3 [during this study] I did not receive any requests.I feel that lecture transcripts would be particularly useful as this is the most common request I receive from students, especially those with disabilities.I think transcripts and keyword searching would likely be useful to many students who access lectures through recordings (or who access recordings even after attending the lecture in person).However, the one student who was interviewed preferred the keyword search feature, although they expressed interest in transcripts as well:I used the captions keyword search. I think I would like to use the lecture transcript as well but I did not use that in this unit.In summary, while not all students made use of Echo360’s additional features for captions, those who did access them did so frequently, indicating that these are potentially useful learning tools.Value of CaptionsOf the students who were aware of the captions, 63 per cent found them useful for engaging with the lecture material. According to one of the students:[captions] made a big difference to me in terms on understanding and retaining what was said in the lectures. I am not sure that many students would realise this unless they actually used the captions…I found it much easier to follow what was being said in the recorded lectures and I also found that they helped stay focussed and not become distracted from the lecture.It is notable that the improvements described above do not involve assistance with hearing or language issues, but the extent to which captions improve a more general learning experience. This participant identified themselves as a native English speaker with no disabilities, yet the captions still made a “big difference” in their ability to follow, understand, focus on, and retain information drawn from the lectures.However, while over 60 per cent of students who used the captions reported they found them useful, it was difficult to get more detailed feedback on precisely how and why. Only 52.6 per cent reported actually using them when accessing the lectures, and a relatively small number reported taking advantage of the search and transcripts features available through the Echo360 system. Exactly how they were being used and what role they play in student learning is therefore an area to pursue in future research, as it will assist in breaking down the benefits of captions for all learners.Teaching staff also reported the difficulty in assessing the full value of captions—one teacher interviewed explained that the impact of captions was hard to monitor quantitatively during regular teaching:it is difficult enough to track who listens to lectures at all, let alone who might be using the captions, or have found these helpful. I would like to think that not only those with hearing impairments, but also ESL students and even people who find listening to and taking in the recording difficult for other reasons, might have benefitted.Some teaching staff, however, did note positive feedback from students:one student has given me positive feedback via comments on the [discussion board].one has reported that it helps with retention and with times when speech is soft or garbled. I suspect it helps mediate my accent and pitch!While 60 per cent claiming captions were useful is a solid majority, it is notable that some participants skipped this question. As discussed above, survey answers indicate that this was because these 37 students did not think they had access to captions in their units.Future SignificanceOverall, these results indicate that while captions can provide a benefit to students’ engagement with online lecture learning material, there is a need for more direct and ongoing information sharing to ensure both students and teaching staff are fully aware of captions and how to use them. Technical issues—such as the time delay in captions being uploaded—potentially dissuade students from using this facility, so improving the speed and reliability of this tool could increase the number of learners keen to use it. All staff interviewed agreed that implementing captions for all lectures would be beneficial for everyone:any technology that can assist in making lectures more accessible is useful, particularly in OUA [online] courses.it would be a good example of Universal Design as it would make the lecture content more accessible for students with disabilities as well as students with other equity needs.YES—it benefits all students. I personally find that I understand and my attention is held more by captioned content.it certainly makes my role easier as it allows effective access to recorded lectures. Captioning allows full access as every word is accessible as opposed to note taking which is not verbatim.DiscussionThe results of this research indicate that captions—and their additional features—available through the Echo360 captions system are an aid to student learning. However, there are significant challenges to be addressed to make students aware of these features and their potential benefits.This study has shown that in a cohort of primarily English speaking students without disabilities, over 60 per cent found captions a useful addition to recorded lectures. This suggests that the implementation of captions for all recorded lectures would have widespread benefits for all learners, not only those with hearing or language difficulties. However, at present, only “eligible” students who approach the disability office would be considered for this service, usually students who are D/deaf or hard of hearing. Yet it can be argued that these benefits—and challenges—could also extend to other groups that are might traditionally have been seen to benefit from the use of captions such as students with other disabilities or those from a NESB.However, again, a lack of awareness of the training module meant that this potential cohort did not benefit from this trial. In this study, none of the students who identified as having a disability or coming from a NESB indicated that they had access to the training module. Further, five of the six students with disabilities reported that they did not have access to the captions system and, similarly, only two of the five NESB students. Despite these low numbers, all the students who were part of these two groups and who did access the captions system did find it useful.It can therefore be seen that the main challenge for teaching staff is to ensure all students are aware of captions and can access them easily. One option for reducing the need for training or further instructions might be having captions always ON by default. This means students could incorporate them into their study experience without having to take direct action or, equally, could simply choose to switch them off.There are also a few potential teething issues with implementing captions universally that need to be noted, as staff expressed some concerns regarding how this might alter the teaching and learning experience. For example:because the captioning is once-off, it means I can’t re-record the lectures where there was a failure in technology as the new versions would not be captioned.a bit cautious about the transcript as there may be problems with students copying that content and also with not viewing the lectures thinking the transcripts are sufficient.Despite these concerns, the survey results and interviews support the previous findings showing that lecture captions have the potential to benefit all learners, enhancing each student’s existing capabilities. As one staff member put it:in the main I just feel [captions are] important for accessibility and equity in general. Why should people have to request captions? Recorded lecture content should be available to all students, in whatever way they find it most easy (or possible) to engage.Follow-up from students at the end of the study further supported this. As one student noted in an email at the start of 2017:hi all, in one of my units last semester we were lucky enough to have captions on the recorded lectures. They were immensely helpful for a number of reasons. I really hope they might become available to us in this unit.ConclusionsWhen this project set out to investigate the ways diverse groups of students could utilise captioned lectures if they were offered it as a mainstream learning tool rather than a feature only disabled students could request, existing research suggested that many accommodations designed to assist students with disabilities actually benefit the entire cohort. The results of the survey confirmed this was also the case for captioning.However, currently, lecture captions are typically utilised in Australian higher education settings—including Curtin—only as an assistive technology for students with disabilities, particularly students who are D/deaf or hard of hearing. In these circumstances, the student must undertake a lengthy process months in advance to ensure timely access to essential captioned material. Mainstreaming the provision of captions and transcripts for online lectures would greatly increase the accessibility of online learning—removing these barriers allows education providers to harness the broad potential of captioning technology. Indeed, ensuring that captions were available “by default” would benefit the educational outcomes and self-determination of the wide range of students who could benefit from this technology.Lecture captioning and transcription is increasingly cost-effective, given technological developments in speech-to-text or automatic speech recognition software, and the increasing re-use of content across different iterations of a unit in online higher education courses. At the same time, international trends in online education—not least the rapidly evolving interpretations of international legislation—provide new incentives for educational providers to begin addressing accessibility shortcomings by incorporating captions and transcripts into the basic materials of a course.Finally, an understanding of the diverse benefits of lecture captions and transcripts needs to be shared widely amongst higher education providers, researchers, teaching staff, and students to ensure the potential of this technology is accessed and used effectively. Understanding who can benefit from captions, and how they benefit, is a necessary step in encouraging greater use of such technology, and thereby enhancing students’ learning opportunities.AcknowledgementsThis research was funded by the Curtin University Teaching Excellence Development Fund. Natalie Latter and Kai-ti Kao provided vital research assistance. 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Video Lecture Capture Technology Helps Students Study without Affecting Attendance in Large Microbiology Lecture Courses

Recording lectures using video lecture capture software and making them available for students to watch anytime, from anywhere, has become a common practice in many universities across many disciplines. The software has become increasingly easy to use and is commonly provided and maintained by higher education institutions. Several studies have reported that students use lecture capture to enhance their learning and study for assessments, as well as to catch up on material they miss when they cannot attend class due to extenuating circumstances. Furthermore, students with disabilities and students from non-English Speaking Backgrounds (NESB) may benefit from being able to watch the video lecture captures at their own pace. Yet, the effect of this technology on class attendance remains a controversial topic and largely unexplored in undergraduate microbiology education. Here, we show that when video lecture captures were available in our large enrollment general microbiology courses, attendance did not decrease. In fact, the majority of students reported that having the videos available did not encourage them to skip class, but rather they used them as a study tool. When we surveyed NESB students and nontraditional students about their attitudes toward this technology, they found it helpful for their learning and for keeping up with the material.

Flipping the classroom in an undergraduate sports coaching course

There are increasing concerns in higher education for the need to move away from the traditional lecture format in order to more effectively prepare students as future leaders. Research in active learning has encouraged many tertiary educators to experiment with the flipped classroom approach that has been used extensively in K-12 educational programs. This descriptive paper outlines the design, implementation, and outcomes of a ‘flipped classroom’ approach that was put into practice in an undergraduate course in Sports Coaching. The students reported that they experienced more constant and positive interactions with lecturers/peers than in other courses. Overall, a high level of commitment to the course was indicated, while group work, discussions, and practical applications were also identified as positive aspects of the course. The most common suggestions for improvement included providing more time for group tasks to allow more interaction between classmates. Responses demonstrated a significant difference ( p < 0.05) in the responses of the 12 female and 23 male students, supporting the literature that females prefer cooperative learning environments. However, no significant difference was noted between those students with English as their first language and non-English speaking background students. The authors conclude that the flipped classroom approach is a very effective teaching and learning strategy that can be employed to enhance the effectiveness of coach education programs.

Academic experiences of international PhD students in Australian higher education: From an EAP program to a PhD program

For the last few decades, Australia has played a pivotal role in the supply of quality education to international students and other educational industries associated with them. In the higher education sector, in particular, international PhD student numbers continue to increase. However, the limited availability of resources for the students and the lack of investigation concerning the students indicate that there is a need for both higher education providers and other related stakeholders to understand and take into account the difficulties and challenges of international PhD students and their implications in the Australian academic context. While learning a new academic culture in a new country, international PhD students meet situations where they have to deal with a range of language problems, cultural differences and personal matters. The study reported in this article explores international non-English speaking background (NESB) students' experiences with university preparation programs and PhD programs and investigates the issues they face at an Australian university with a focus on factors affecting the NESB students' academic experiences. It provides implications for the teaching of postgraduate preparation programs and the supervision of international NESB PhD students at Australian universities.

Development of an electronic role-play assessment initiative in bioscience for nursing students

Devising authentic assessments for subjects with large enrolments is a challenge. This study describes an electronic role-play assessment for approximately 600 first-year nursing students to learn and apply pathophysiology (bioscience) concepts to nursing practice. Students used Microsoft Office PowerPoint® to prepare electronic role-plays both between a nurse and patient, and between two nurses, thus simulating workplace scenarios. Student feedback demonstrated that respondents found this assessment useful for learning pathophysiology, and for applying pathophysiology to a nursing clinical setting. This electronic presentation circumvented issues associated with a traditional oral presentation such as embarrassment and logistics of scheduling groups, and rated well with students of non-English speaking background. The electronic role-play assessment initiative encouraged students to apply their bioscience knowledge to a clinical setting, and allowed students to conceptualise the importance of bioscience within both the nursing degree and the profession.

Globalisation, internationalisation, and language education: an academic program for global citizens

In response to the postmodern globalisation era characterised by porous geographical boundaries allowing ideas, people, services, and goods to move rapidly across borders, many universities in different parts of the world have developed strategies for internationalising their educational programs. While international awareness, intercultural communication skills, and open-mindedness lie at the heart of the goals of international education, different practices for these goals to be achieved have been implemented. Some educational contexts mandate the teaching of English to all non-English speaking background students, while others emphasise the incorporation of issues of cultural diversification into all aspects of the learning curriculum. However, numerous studies claim that both these practices still seem to be relatively problematic and monocultural-chauvinistic. This has led to a question whether an internationalised academic program that attempt to fully respond to the complex ‘landscape’ that globalisation has created exists.This paper presents a case study of how an international/intercultural-communication-focussed program offered by a university in Australia responds to this landscape more adequately. Based on in-depth interviews with two domestic Australian students and two international students on their learning experiences in the program, the paper also showcases the contributory role(s) the students believe the program has played in challenging (for some) ethnocentric perceptions and (for others) self-deprecating perceptions. It is hoped that the study provides internationally-oriented curriculum developers with a (not ‘the’) model for developing an academic program/curriculum that prepares students for living in today's international and intercultural communicative encounters.

Improving NESB Students’ Learning in Communication Through Simulating Social Media: An Australian Case Study

Australian universities are mindful of graduating students who are prepared for the workforce.  A growing trend in organisational communication is the use of digital/electronic media to communicate with stakeholders, and many universities are now adopting pedagogy that simulates professional use of social media.International students who come from non-English speaking backgrounds (NESB) and are new to Australian university study can often struggle with understanding information that is delivered verbally, particularly when delivered under the traditional lecture/tutorial or didactic approach. The use of online communication in the curriculum can improve employability skills and heighten comprehension for NESB students.This paper examines results by NESB students mainly from Chinese universities studying through a collaborative articulated pathway program who have completed the core communication unit between 2010 and 2012. The majority of these students have come from limited English-speaking environments. The paper analyses their results and uses contemporary literature to form conclusions on cognitive capabilities for the NESB cohort when studying this introductory unit on-campus.The student results and the literature analysed demonstrates that NESB students perform better when comprehending and consolidating knowledge delivered through interactivity involving digital communication, primarily e-text-based content that simulates social media. It concludes that electronic communication based on social media model can heighten NESB student engagement and improve employability.

Evaluating the use and impact of lecture recording in undergraduates: Evidence for distinct approaches by different groups of students

Lecture recordings are increasingly used to supplement lecture attendance within higher education, but their impact on student learning remains unclear. Here we describe a study to evaluate student use of lecture recordings and quantify their impact on academic performance. Questionnaire responses and online monitoring of student's access to recordings indicate that ∼75% students use this material, the majority in a targeted manner. In contrast, a small subset of students (∼5%) are highly dependent on recordings downloading every lecture, and viewing the material for long periods, such that this represents a large proportion of their independent study. This ‘high user’ group is atypical, as it contains a high proportion of dyslexic and Non-English Speaking Background students. Despite high usage, lecture recordings do not have a significant impact on academic performance, either across the cohort or with students that use the recordings. Overall, this approach appears to be beneficial, but may reduce lecture attendance and encourage surface learning approaches in a minority of students.

Evidence of English language proficiency and academic achievement of non-English-speaking background students

The increasing number of international students enrolled in Australian universities over the last decade has met with a corresponding concern that many non-English-speaking background (NESB) students experience considerable difficulty in their courses. Consequently, concerns about admission procedures have been raised regarding how English language proficiency (ELP) is determined for NESB students (both domestic and international). In addition to standardised ELP tests, some universities accept other forms of evidence, such as the completion of English-medium courses. This large-scale quantitative study analysed data on 5675 undergraduate and postgraduate students available from one university's database over a three-year period to ascertain if its ELP requirements were sufficient to ensure the academic progress of adequate numbers of these students. The best evidence for potential academic success was found to be standardised tests while students submitting other forms of ELP evidence tended to have more difficulties.

International Students in Independent Schools: The Divide Between Attitude to Mathematics Class and Perception of Classroom Environment

The experience of students with a non-English speaking background (NESB) studying in Australian independent school classrooms is an ongoing concern for administrators of these schools. This paper reports on research by Kilgour and Rickards (2009) into the perceptions these students have of the learning environments of their Mathematics classrooms along with the same students’ attitudes to Mathematics as a subject. Data collected by survey and interview revealed that NESB students have a more positive attitude to Mathematics as a subject than their Australian classmates, but their perception of their learning environment is more negative than their Australian classmates.

Podcasting of health sciences lectures: Benefits for students from a non-English speaking background

<span>Podcasting in higher education is the presentation of study material in digital format that can be downloaded as audio or video files onto a MP3 player or computer. These files can then be accessed anywhere and at any time students choose. The use of podcasting is now widespread amongst undergraduate students, yet their application to the specific needs of students with a non English speaking background (NESB) is largely unknown. The findings of this study are based on a survey of 404 NESB and 708 native English speaking Health Science undergraduate students at the University of South Australia. Ninety percent of NESB students accessed podcasts of undergraduate lectures, with the majority listening to more than 15 podcasts during each semester. The availability of podcasts had limited effect on attendance at lectures. M-learning (mobile learning) was not popular amongst NESB students compared to other students. They preferred to listen to audio recordings of the whole lecture from a computer in conjunction with the </span><em>PowerPoint</em><span> presentation. This study suggests the use of podcasts as a revision tool has obvious benefits as perceived by undergraduate NESB students in terms of their learning in face to face classes and when reviewing and revising complex material.</span>

Examining the Learning Experiences of Secondary Non-English Speaking Background Students in the Mainstream English Classroom

Examining the Learning Experiences of Secondary Non-English Speaking Background Students in the Mainstream English Classroom

Responsive curriculum design in a statistics service unit

Many students have difficulty when first exposed to statistical concepts. In the case of service teaching arrangements where the focus is more on the statistical literacy needs of the profession and concepts need to be developed in short time frames the challenges are even more imposing, particularly if cohorts contain substantial numbers of non-English speaking background (NESB) students. In this paper the results of a responsive curriculum project modelled on the action research paradigm are described. Disparities between the performance of ESB and NESB students are identified and removed using changes to teaching and assessment strategies. A focus on literacy and conceptual outcomes within contexts relevant to the future professional needs of students, and assessment schemes to equitably support these, are seen to improve learning outcomes for all students. Key factors in the improved curriculum are identified and explained.

NESB and ESB students' attitudes and perceptions of plagiarism

Concern about plagiarism by students from non-English speaking backgrounds (NESB) has grown apace with the increased numbers of international students attending western institutions. We present an exploration of student attitudes, perceptions and understandings of intellectual property, particularly plagiarism and copyright, and explore potential differences between NESB and ESB (English speaking background) students. The results indicate that while NESB students are more likely have engaged in plagiarism than ESB students, plagiarism overall is very common and reflects a combination of disrespect for material from the Internet and significant confusion about what actually constitutes plagiarism.

Developing Praxis for a Few Non-English Speaking Background Students in the Class

Developing Praxis for a Few Non-English Speaking Background Students in the Class

Teacher education

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DO INTERNATIONAL NESB STUDENTS NEED AN ACADEMIC LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM

This study examined the academic language skills of international students from non-English speaking background (NESB) at the University of Melbourne. It aimed to determine whether or not they need an academic language development program. The participants were 158 international NESB students of distinct categories. The students' academic language were measured using the Diagnostic English Language Assessment (DELA) test administered before the commencement of their academic study. Scores of the test were compared across categories and correlated across academic language skills. The results from this study suggested that. in general. international NESB students need a language development program to improve their academic writing skill. In addition. it was suggested that the development of the academic writing skill of international N ESB students be accomplished through a program directly related to academic language writing.