Non-native English-speaking Students Research Articles

Linguistic Accommodation in English-Medium Instruction: Investigating Adjustments by Non-Native English Speakers

This study explores how non-native English-speaking students and teachers accommodate each other linguistically in EMI classrooms. The research explores the features of these strategies, including language simplification, visual aids, code-switching, and non-verbal cues, in terms of their frequency and types to identify how they impact communication/learning.Structured questionnaires were used to collect data from 200 students and 50 teachers. The study found that both students and teachers used simplification in language and visual aids to show what was being discussed.These are also well-documented, underscoring their importance in multilingual classrooms.The Pearson correlation analysis in Table 2 suggests significant positive correlations between the use of simplification and non-verbal cues language proficiency scores, which reveals that more proficient learners can employ these strategies better.This article highlights the importance of linguistic accommodation in EMI. It offers suggestions for targeted intervention programs as well as professional development to improve successful educational outcomes through English medium instruction.

Non-native English-speaking (NNES) students’ English academic writing experiences in higher education: A meta-ethnographic qualitative synthesis

This meta-ethnography synthesises 26 qualitative studies published since 2000 to explore factors shaping NNES students' English academic writing experiences in higher education. The findings reveal that students' writing experiences are significantly influenced by their prior educational backgrounds, current learning contexts, self-perceived writing capabilities, and the strategies they employ to navigate various writing challenges, including a lack of preparedness, insufficient institutional support, and inadequate academic and linguistic competence. The findings also indicate that students' adaptive strategies, such as the use of cognitive, meta-cognitive, and social strategies, play a crucial role in mitigating academic writing deficiencies. The findings underscore the need for higher education institutions to implement more responsive and inclusive support systems that address the cognitive, linguistic, and affective dimensions of students' academic writing endeavours. Drawing upon the findings, a conceptual framework is developed, providing a holistic view of factors mediating students' writing experiences and offering theoretical and practical implications for enhancing educational practices and policies to better support these students’ academic endeavours.

Effectiveness of peer-assisted teaching of medical English skills to non-native English-speaking medical students.

Peer-assisted learning has been shown to be constructive in numerous aspects of undergraduate medical education. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of peer-assisted teaching of medical English skills to non-native English-speaking students. A medical English conversation course was conducted at Damascus University by a group of students. Targeted participants were intermediate level fellow students from the same program. A longitudinal study was carried out between 1 st to 31 st March 2019 to assess changes in self-assessment of English language skills among course participants. Pre- and post-course appraisal involved a review of previous experience with medical English language, a self-assessment of five English language skills, and an objective measurement of medical English knowledge. In addition, participants were requested to respond to a set of statements related to the importance and the usefulness of peer-assisted teaching of medical English skills. Paired-sample Student t-test was used to compare pre- and post-course appraisal results. 42 students attended the course and completed pre- and post-course appraisals in full. Data analyses showed a statistically significant increase in participants' confidence in speaking medical English in public ( p<0.001) and using English in various medical settings (presenting and discussing cases, writing clinical reports, interviewing patients and reading English medical texts). Objective measurements of medical English knowledge confirmed a significant increase in participants' knowledge of methods of administration of therapeutics, knowledge of human body parts in English and familiarity with English medical abbreviations. Most participants agreed that peer-education was effective in teaching medical English skills to non-native English-speaking students and in increasing their confidence when using English in real-life medical scenarios. The present study highlights the effectiveness of peer-assisted teaching of medical English skills to non-native English-speaking medical students. Further validation is required and should compare the effectiveness of traditional versus peer-assisted teaching approaches.

How international doctoral students' fields of study, proficiency in English and gender interact with their sense of making progress in English academic writing abilities.

This study investigates how non-native English-speaking (NNES) doctoral students self-assess their English academic writing (EAW) abilities. A total of 255 international NNES students, hailing from 49 different countries and speaking 48 mother tongues, voluntarily participated in our study. They were enrolled in 65 PhD programs at 14 universities across Hungary during the 2021-2022 academic year. To address our research aim, we developed a survey using a 6-point Likert scale, following the guidelines of Dörnyei and Dewaele (2022). The survey focused on self-assessing their abilities to write academic texts in English. The analysis results indicate that students lacked confidence in their EAW abilities at the beginning of their PhD studies but exhibited increased confidence at the current stage. The results also highlight the influence of gender and English language proficiency on EAW self-assessments. Additionally, senior PhD students demonstrated greater confidence in field-specific lexical knowledge compared to their first-year peers. This study highlights the fact that NNES novice writers lacked the necessary EAW skills upon entering their PhD programs, making it challenging for them to start doctoral-level writing immediately. This underscores the need for comprehensive support that encompasses both enhancing English language proficiency and providing academic writing assistance.

TEACHERS’ PERCEPTION ON THE IMPACT OF USING FIRST LANGUAGE TOWARDS ENGLISH CLASSROOM

The investigation of teachers' viewpoints on non-native English-speaking students is the main topic of this study. Nevertheless, there is still uncertainty regarding the efficacy of implementing first language instruction in English classrooms. The purpose of this study is to better understand the viewpoints of instructors on the usage of native tongues in English classrooms. The research methodology included qualitative data collection, with the objective of acquiring a broad spectrum of information. The English teachers at Santi Witya Serong School in South Thailand are the study's participants. The findings shows that teacher was sometimes using Thai language as an instruction in English classroom but most of the instruction is on English as their targeted language. The results demonstrate that teachers noted that first language implementation increased students' desire to learn English, gave them a chance to better understand challenging concepts in the language, and inspired them to ask bold questions that clarify linguistic elements. In an English-speaking classroom, student interaction and communication can become quite difficult, particularly when there is a tendency for the students to have poor English language skills. Using the first language in the target language classroom can increase students' enthusiasm and eagerness to study regardless of their background level and can be seen as a sign of respect for those who still require help learning English. It is noteworthy that although having a classroom where all of the language used is English is good for the students, it is also vital to pay attention to the state of the students.

Investigating challenges in thesis writing for non-native MA students of English: The case of second-year MA students of English in Algeria

The present study aims to investigate the challenges that non-native English-speaking students face when writing a thesis. In order to explore this issue, a quantitative research method was used, by means of a survey questionnaire, which addresses MA students of English in three universities in Algeria. Consequently, in order to find out the challenges they face when writing a thesis, a questionnaire was designed and administered as the main instrument of the study. The total number of participants was 120 second-year MA students. The data was analyzed statistically using the SPSS program. The findings show that second-year MA students face challenges in writing a thesis, such as citing references and following the academic guidelines while the discussion section of a thesis is considered the most difficult part to write during this process.

Effectiveness of peer-assisted teaching of medical English skills to non-native English-speaking medical students

Background: Peer-assisted learning has been shown to be constructive in numerous aspects of undergraduate medical education. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of peer-assisted teaching of medical English skills to non-native English-speaking students. Methods: A medical English conversation course was conducted at Damascus University by a group of students. Targeted participants were intermediate level fellow students from the same program. A longitudinal study was carried out between 1st to 31st March 2019 to assess changes in self-assessment of English language skills among course participants. Pre- and post-course appraisal involved a review of previous experience with medical English language, a self-assessment of five English language skills, and an objective measurement of medical English knowledge. In addition, participants were requested to respond to a set of statements related to the importance and the usefulness of peer-assisted teaching of medical English skills. Paired-sample Student t-test was used to compare pre- and post-course appraisal results. Results: 42 students attended the course and completed pre- and post-course appraisals in full. Data analyses showed a statistically significant increase in participants’ confidence in speaking medical English in public (p&lt;0.001) and using English in various medical settings (presenting and discussing cases, writing clinical reports, interviewing patients and reading English medical texts). Objective measurements of medical English knowledge confirmed a significant increase in participants’ knowledge of methods of administration of therapeutics, knowledge of human body parts in English and familiarity with English medical abbreviations. Most participants agreed that peer-education was effective in teaching medical English skills to non-native English-speaking students and in increasing their confidence when using English in real-life medical scenarios. Conclusions:The present study highlights the effectiveness of peer-assisted teaching of medical English skills to non-native English-speaking medical students. Further validation is required and should compare the effectiveness of traditional versus peer-assisted teaching approaches.

An ELF-Oriented Corpus-Based Analysis into the EMI Lecturers’ Use of Spatial Deixis across Two Different Teaching Media

In the last two decades, English-Medium Instruction (EMI) has fast increased in non-Anglophone universities, with the result that non-native English speaker (NNES) lecturers are increasingly using English as a lingua franca (ELF) to interact with their NNES students in the classroom. As such, EMI represents “a prototypical ELF scenario” (Smit 2017, 387). This paper identifies and describes language variations that occurred in EMI lecturers’ talk in a comparable corpus of six EMI engineering lectures taught in two different teaching modalities: in-person and virtual synchronous classrooms. By means of a corpus-based methodology, this study particularly focuses on lexical spatial deixis as it allows the lecturer to direct students’ attention towards a common referent so as to ensure students’ comprehension and participation (Hyland 2005). The findings indicate that the use of proximal deictics differs according to the context, with interactional and pedagogical implications beyond EMI.

Functional Analysis Diagrams in Science and Technology Education

With the world currently facing an escalating environmental crisis and major virus disease outbreaks, the need to significantly grow the STEM workforce ranks has never been more urgent. The authors propose a novel teaching methodology involving functional analysis diagrams (FADs) as an educational aid. The paper presents a method to quantitatively assess the effects of the proposed intervention in an educational setting alongside a pilot study conducted in a South Korean secondary school with non-native English-speaking students (n = 39). The written assessment results indicate that the FAD-assisted method can have a measurable effect and have the potential to assist students with lower scores in English. This pilot study’s results suggest that FAD models of engineering systems can enhance knowledge transfers in technology and engineering education. Experimental validation using the proposed method was shown to be feasible and would require a moderate-sized sample (n ≥ 168) for a future full-scale study.

Resisting Native-Speakerism in International Learning Exchange Between North Korean Refugee Students and American University Students

This study showcases an International Learning Exchange (ILE) program between North Korean (NK) refugee students in South Korea and American university students from the US. ILE programs connect two or more linguistic/ cultural groups for intercultural awareness, which provide authentic communicative environments. However, the prevalent use of English and research focus mostly on non-native English-speaking students reflect the ideology of native-speakerism embedded in ILE programs. The purpose of this study was to develop an ILE program that resists native-speakerism and to investigate its influences on native as well as non-native English-speaking students. Adopting a case-study approach, data were collected from video-taping, fieldnotes, student documents, surveys, and interviews. Findings show how the authors designed and implemented a principle-based ILE program. The responses of NK students show their growing motivation and communication ability. The responses of American students show their critical reflections on their native-speaker identities. This study offers insights into designing ILE programs based on multilingualism and translanguaging.

Lebanese University Non-English Speaking Students Experience with E-Technology-Driven Lectures Delivered in the English Medium of Instruction: Students’ Perspectives

The study’s objective was to investigate the challenges virtual online learning has on the English Foreign Language (EFL) students studying their primary course majors in the English Medium of Instruction (EMI) at the Lebanese University. The study aimed to explore the unprecedented implication brought on by COVID-19 on the immediate substitution of face-to-face in-class instruction to the synchronous virtual classroom. The study was concerned with students' overall attitude towards distance learning, the implications they may have faced that would have contributed to their lack of online attendance, challenges, and how confident they acquired the course content in its entirety. Lebanese university students from various faculty majors participated in the study. One hundred thirty-three students took part in the quantitative questionnaire with 22 question item statements to determine the hypotheses of this study. The data presented were analyzed regarding the profile of the Lebanese university student. The findings indicate that students favor face-to-face in-class learning over online learning. The results further highlight that the instructors dominate the lectures, students are either disqualified or are not initiating discussion or eliciting course-related questions, and their learning experience is interrupted by their lack of computer proficiency, motivation, or economic marginalization. In conclusion, the findings stipulate that in E-learning, students lacked learning autonomy, motivation, and commitment towards the course major of study delivered through a virtual classroom. In parallel to the findings, the study provided implications, limitations, and future directions.

Reproduction of Educational Disadvantage? Examining the Bachelor’s Degree Attainment, College GPA, and Graduate Degree Plan of Non-Native English-Speaking Students

ABSTRACT Using data from the Wabash National Study of Liberal Arts Education, this study examined non-native English-speaking (NNES) students on selected college experiences and outcomes. The results suggested that NNES students were less likely to have close relationships with faculty and satisfying relationships with peers. They also experienced greater difficulties in making friends and worked for longer hours compared to other students. However, NNES students tended to have higher college GPA than their peers. Additionally, there was no significant difference between NNES students and their peers in bachelor’s degree attainment and graduate degree plans.

A mixed-method inquiry into Arabic-speaking students’ experiences with English academic writing at the undergraduate level

ABSTRACT The challenges facing non-native English-speaking students (NNESSs) in adapting to the conventions of academic writing at the tertiary level in English-medium institutions have been widely canvassed in scholarly research. Nonetheless, there does not appear to be a great deal of research that investigates the experiences of Arabic-speaking students with English academic writing across the disciplines at undergraduate level. This mixed-method study aimed to fill in this gap by utilizing three data collection methods: focus groups, an online questionnaire, and semi-structured interviews. The findings suggest that Arabic-speaking students’ experiences with English writing are shaped by several factors. Such factors include past language learning experiences, the lack of clarity around discipline lecturers’ academic writing expectations, linguistic differences between Arabic and English, and the impact of IELTS.

In my professor’s eyes: Faculty and perceived impoliteness in student emails

AbstractImpoliteness in student emails to faculty can have negative consequences. However, the nuances of perceived impoliteness by faculty with different language backgrounds have not been thoroughly studied in the literature. This paper explores how emails written by non-native English-speaking students are perceived impolite by faculty depending on social identity variables such as native speaker status, gender, and seniority. Participants (n = 152 faculty) read six emails and rated their perceptions of the emails on a questionnaire. The items on the questionnaire were about lack of face enhancement, use of face threat, acknowledgment of imposition, and not giving a choice in complying with requests. Results suggest that in their perceptions of the lack of face enhancement, senior faculty seemed to be more tolerant than their junior counterparts. Further, non-native speakers of English were found to be more tolerant of the lack of acknowledgment of imposition. However, no significant association was observed between the social identity of the faculty and their perception of face threat nor between social identity and giving a choice in complying with requests. The paper has implications for raising the awareness of the faculty and students about their potential biases in academic correspondence.

Does Volunteering in a Language Learning Centre Help Non-Native English Speaking Students' Emotional Well-Being?

Does Volunteering in a Language Learning Centre Help Non-Native English Speaking Students' Emotional Well-Being?

Non-Native English Speakers and the Development of Socially Responsible Leadership During College

Non-Native English Speakers and the Development of Socially Responsible Leadership During College Jiajun Liu (bio), Shouping Hu (bio), and Ernest T. Pascarella (bio) Developing leadership capacity for college students is a fundamental goal of higher education institutions (Astin & Astin, 2000). Contemporary perspectives consider leadership development of college students to be a process toward equity, social responsibility, and positive changes to the community (HERI, 1996). This process values the importance of understanding oneself and working with others for college students from all backgrounds. Further, promoting socially responsible leadership among college students is increasingly important with the ongoing pandemic and the growing awareness of racial injustice. At the same time, colleges and universities have been striving to meet the needs of diverse student populations. Since conveying ideas and working in teams are integral in leadership development, language background can be an important factor shaping college students' leadership capacities. In this study, we were interested in the leadership development of non-native English-speaking (NNES) students. NNES students are likely to be Students of Color, immigrants, or born in the US but speak another language at home (Liu et al., 2019; Nuñez et al., 2016). These students are receiving increased attention given their growing numbers in educational systems. According to the U.S. Census Bureau (2020), about 1 in 5 US residents speaks a language other than English at home. To date, there remains a dearth of knowledge regarding the leadership development of this student group. This presents a challenge to postsecondary educators and practitioners in their effort to meet the needs of these students. As such, the research question guiding our study was: Is being a non-native English speaker related to student leadership development during college? LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT AND NNES STUDENTS Perspectives on leadership development have evolved over time (Astin & Astin, 2000). Early research at the college level examined the attributes of student leaders (Astin, 1993). Later, scholars advocated for exposing all students to socially responsible leadership as a process for acquiring the values and perspectives necessary for leading positive changes. As such, leadership development should not focus on a select few [End Page 218] but on all who desire to work with others and make changes (HERI, 1996). More recent studies have explored the influence of student demographics on leadership development. Dugan et al. (2008) found that women had higher scores than men on socially responsible leadership. Hu (2011) examined high-achieving low-income students and found that scholarship awards can motivate students to engage during college and, hence, gain desired leadership development. Duckworth (2002) suggested that family values and cultural networks could influence the leadership involvement of international students. For NNES students, coming from a different language background can influence how ideas are communicated and understood. Additionally, NNES students tend to be less engaged during college due to family responsibilities and financial constraints (Nuñez et al., 2016), suggesting that they may experience difficulties in developing leadership capacity. The present study explored this possibility. CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK This study drew on linguistic capital and the social change model (SCM) for theoretical guidance. According to Bourdieu (1977), the dominant language in a society is imbued with symbolic capital—that is, linguistic capital. Individuals speaking the dominant language possess communicative codes that can help them better access legitimate resources. For those who do not speak the dominant language, their ability to gain desired resources and outcomes can be limited. Linguistic capital is related to other forms of capital. More linguistic capital can help an individual gain other forms of capital, such as social capital. The SCM conceptualizes socially responsible leadership as inherently connected with making changes to benefit the common good (HERI, 1996). It includes eight core values: consciousness of self (awareness of one's values and beliefs), congruence (consistency between actions and thinking), commitment (motivation and passion to serve), collaboration (team effort to achieve common goals), common purpose (ability to work with shared goals and values), controversy with civility (being able to accept different viewpoints and discuss the differences openly with civility), citizenship (connections to community and society through leadership activities), and change (adaptation to the changing environment while maintaining group values) (Dugan et al., 2008). In this study...

Grammatical Cohesion in Argumentative Essays by International EAP Learners in New Zealand

The challenges encountered by non-native English-speaking students in writing cohesive essays have been canvassed in scholarly research. However, cohesion problems in essays written by international English for Academic Purposes (EAP) learners in the New Zealand context do not appear to be addressed adequately. This may pose a challenge for educators when trying to unpack the issues these learners encounter in written discourse and how best to address such issues. Therefore, this paper aims to investigate grammatical cohesion in EAP learners' argumentative essays. The main instrument for this study was a sample of 37 argumentative essays written by international EAP learners at a tertiary institution in New Zealand. The study utilized AntConc software for analyzing instances of reference and conjunctions in the data. Frequencies of ellipsis and substitution were analyzed manually. The findings show that learners employed a variety of grammatical cohesive devices in their writing. The learners prominently used references and conjunctions. However, limited use of substitution and ellipsis was obvious in the essays, which seems to suggest that learners need further training on grammatical cohesive devices and how to employ them in written discourse.

Is language a 'right' in U.S. education?: unpacking Castañeda's reach across federal, state, and district lines.

Castañeda v. Pickard (648 F.2d 989, [5th Cir. 1981]) was a significant legal case in the history of educational policy for non-native English-speaking students in the United States. The case established a three prong ‘test’ for programs for those students, including the right for students to have an educational program based on sound educational theory; resources and personnel to properly implement the program; and evaluation of the effectiveness of the program. After 40 years of interpretation of the Castañeda case, the issue of language rights for non-native English speakers in United States public schools continues to be debated by scholars and interpreted through various legal statutes and case holdings. This article examines the Castañeda case and its recent interpretations in the literature as applied to non-native English-speaking students. We use a theoretical lens of orientations in language planning (Ruíz 1984) and language policy text as reported by Lo Bianco and Aliani (Language planning and student experiences: Intention, rhetoric, and implementation, Multilingual Matters, 2013). We then discuss the socio-historical context of the case and position it with respect to the 1974 seminal case of Lau v. Nichols. Using the state of Florida as an example, we next describe the complex language ecology of local and state language policies and how those relate to Castañeda and inhibit progress for bilingual students in Florida. We conclude with caution to academics and advocates who work on behalf of language minoritized students in the United States, with implications for international scholars.

Does Volunteering in a Language Learning Centre Help Non-Native English Speaking Students’ Emotional Well-Being?

Does Volunteering in a Language Learning Centre Help Non-Native English Speaking Students’ Emotional Well-Being?

Challenges to Internationalisation of University Programmes: A Systematic Thematic Synthesis of Qualitative Research on Learner-Centred English Medium Instruction (EMI) Pedagogy

As many universities in non-Anglophone countries have committed to internationalising their academic programmes, more content courses in Arts and Sciences are being taught in English. When content courses are taught in English in a country where English is not the first language, this is called English Medium Instruction (EMI). Using specific country cases, previous studies have confirmed that an EMI course can pose many challenges to the learning of course content by students. To date, there have been few attempts to examine these challenges through a large-scale qualitative prism, which would be useful for gaining new insights in order to inform policy as well as classroom interventions. In this systematic thematic synthesis we have aimed to identify the obstacles to implementing learner-centred pedagogy in EMI tertiary programmes, focusing on student perspectives. The Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) and Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Studies (COREQ) were used to appraise and synthesise 40 empirical articles. The articles included 1769 participants in 20 non-Anglophone countries and jurisdictions. The participants were both local and international non-native English-speaking students enrolled in EMI courses. The synthesis yielded 46 descriptive themes stratified into six analytical domains. The suggested domains are meta/linguistic, instructional, meta/cognitive, socio-cultural, affective, and institutional obstacles. They suggest that students in different regions faced quite similar challenges in their EMI courses. The challenges consist of inadequate use of English by students and lecturers, and a lack of student-centred pedagogy, particularly in teacher–student and student–student interactions. The findings of most learner-centred EMI studies revealed that the main challenges came from English comprehension (the first three suggested domains); fewer studies included factors related to the learning environment (the last three domains). This review can inform university administrators, teaching staff and researchers engaged in internationalising higher education and aid in designing appropriate EMI programmes that offer better learner-centred educational experiences.