ERIC Number: EJ960747
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2012
Pages: 22
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0305-4985
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Differing Perspectives of Non-Native Speaker Students' Linguistic Experiences on Higher Degree Courses
Hennebry, Mairin; Lo, Yuen Yi; Macaro, Ernesto
Oxford Review of Education, v38 n2 p209-230 2012
We report a small-scale study investigating the perceptions of postgraduate students who are non-native speakers of English and those of academic staff with regard to those students. Previous research has focused only on the former and identified a number of linguistic and cultural challenges these students face in adapting to Anglophone institution environments. A sample of 43 students in one department at a Russell Group university were surveyed and a sub-sample interviewed. Six members of academic staff were interviewed and some observed in their teaching. Findings suggest that, despite the high linguistic admission requirements set by the university, this group of students faced a range of difficulties in all four language skills but particularly in skills needed for oral interaction in seminars. Students and staff provided differing accounts of the source of these difficulties and students expressed a desire for better integration with native speaker students. There were also differing accounts regarding the amount of linguistic support students should receive, particularly with regard to proofreading written work. The study suggests a need for further research of this comparative kind potentially leading to recommendations for additional support for students and staff development. (Contains 3 notes and 4 tables.)
Descriptors: Second Language Learning, Language Skills, Native Speakers, English (Second Language), Graduate Students, Student Attitudes, Surveys, Interviews, Difficulty Level, College Admission, Admission Criteria, Social Integration, Proofreading, Writing (Composition), Academic Standards, Scores, Cultural Background, Cultural Differences, Questionnaires, English for Academic Purposes, Second Language Instruction, Language Proficiency
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: United Kingdom
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: Test of English as a Foreign Language
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A