Learner identified
essentials for
tertiary success (L2)
Clesol 2014
Mary Fisher & Mhairi Mackay
Wintec, Hamilton, NZ
Overview
Main Categories
• Survey
• Student-identified ‘essentials for tertiary success’ with
suggestions to the next cohort to help them help
themselves.
• Student suggestions for improvements to their English
programme and also recognition of its benefits.
• Student attitudes that demonstrate aspects of essentials
for tertiary success.
Facts and Figures
Course
Nursing
IT
Business
English language
#
7
4
3
2
Course
Cookery
Engineering
Science and technology
Sports science
#
1
1
1
1
Media Arts
1
Uncategorised
1
Country
China
Colombian
Filipino
Kiribati
Indian
#
13
2
1
1
1
Country
Tongan
Indonesian
Burma
Uncategorised
#
1
1
1
1
Figure 1 courses and countries
Facts and Figures
ok
well-prepared
Survey 1
4 20%
2 10%
Survey 2
6 27%
2
9%
Survey 3
5 24%
concerned
happy
very worried
confused
4
5
5
6
20%
25%
25%
30%
6
3
5
5
27%
14%
22%
22%
4
6
5
6
19%
28%
24%
29%
excited
8
40%
2
9%
5
24%
interested
7
35%
6
27%
7
33%
tired
good
satisfied
4
2
20%
10%
6
7
27%
32%
12 57%
2
9%
4 19%
Students’
feelings at
the start,
middle and
the end of
2013.
(Students
could
choose one
or more
box.)
70% didn’t know anyone in their classes
80% were taking some subjects new to them
Facts and Figures
Beginning of
semester 1
Beginning of
semester 2
Listening
30%
56%
Speaking
40%
20%
Reading
15%
12%
Writing
15%
12%
Which
language
skill do you
think you will
need to be
strongest in
for your
study this
term?
Practical identification of
issues
• Video has been cut to allow ppt to be sent by email-apologies
Big lectures can be a shock: "It can be very, very difficult
to understand some medical words.”
Prepare yourself
• It is very difficult and for me I always printed the lecture
PowerPoint before the lecture. I spent maybe two hours
to study it because if I couldn’t do that, I don’t
understand anything. And also after lecture I studied it
too. Try to remember everything.
Take control
• What I do normally if I’m not understanding
what’s in the class, when everyone goes at the
end I can ask the teacher, “Do you have a few
minutes?”
“Can I ask you about what you mentioned before?”
This means I’ve got the correct message from her.
So that’s what I suggest coz sometimes a teacher
would jump about and I’m not quite processing
quickly enough so I check what I’m understanding.
Anticipate-take control
• Video has been cut to allow ppt to be sent by email-apologies
“I’ll understand some more….it’s better than if I
don’t preview.”
Check carefully
Use time wisely
It takes us longer
• I used 2 days to discuss with my classmates just to try to
think what the tutor is talking about-what they want for the
assignment- its just 250 words but….
• Very difficult. I think for us probably to speak for me… I
sleep at one o’clock in the morning and I wake up at six
o’clock in the morning. We don’t have enough time to do
nothing, just study, study.
It’s normal to feel frustrated
• … at the beginning of the study I had the same feeling,
what is the tutor talking about…I couldn’t catch up with
them.
• I didn’t have any stress, it’s not my major, I was just doing
that study to improve my English but that feeling made
me feel frustrated…
• All the classmates were kiwis and they felt so relaxed,
and sometimes the tutor told a joke and hahaha, but for
me there was no response at all.
Practical identification of
issues-speaking
• Video has been cut to allow ppt to be sent by email-apologies
The other learners advised that this soon becomes less of an
issue. The advice was:-never mind –just ask.
“Don’t worry about your English-it gets better!”
Keep working at it
• I feel comfortable now with how to understand people or
anything like that, but my pronunciation I feel I need to
improve as well, because I’ve had lots of comments from
people, what did you say …they don’t understand the first
time I said to them.
Take English classes
• I got some, what you call it, self-confidence again after I
joined with the Language course.
• Mary taught us how to debate and using the correct
sentences, the stronger sentences, that is really important.
• …how to move intonation up and down and things like
that, that gave important knowledge …
• I learnt how I can improve my speaking and also try to
understand what the people are saying, especially the
kiwis… you know (laughter)
Recognise your strengths:
Presentations
• We have done presentations in English class so… …we
already have quite good skills about how to do a good
presentation, such as the good structure, eye contact, the
communication. But kiwi students are just not caring…
the difference is the mark you get!
• “I think we can be better than kiwis.”
Is language such a big issue?
• If your grammar is not very good but your idea is
good, you’ll also have quite high marks. But if
your grammar is perfect and your idea is very,
very poor- sorry.
L2 students NEED academic
writing training
• I think it’s helpful. I also have Chinese classmates in the
mainstream course, they didn’t have this kind of paper
study before and I think sometimes they felt confused
about how to write a reflection, how to write an essay,
how to write a report. So maybe they didn’t know how to
write the sentence, the whole structure, the whole
concept about this writing, that’s my experience.
Group work is an important
issue
• The video talked about the problem of 1 mark for all
participants etc
• Video has been cut to allow ppt to be sent by email-apologies
The students also identified that a lecturer/tutor can help:
- By encouraging contact if there is trouble.
- By suggesting or insisting students choose a group with
someone from another country to get a variety of
opinions and experience.
Group work issues
• But its really hard if we’re in groups mixed with
them (kiwi students). Coz if you give your
opinion they just ignore it.
• I think the first main point is we need to really
clearly understand what the tutor wants us to
do. At the moment we are really confused.
Working with kiwis: an initial
challenge
• I can remember nobody wanted to work in a group with
me.
• I do think if we’re doing things in a group they won’t
choose the international students that’s what they
reckon …because they’re sort of not open and they have
to put more effort to understand us.
• They’ve not really invited us in the first place but they’re
still open to us if we show that we’re willing to work.
Group work and study:
suggestions
• Group study is very important…in the
mainstream course there is a lot of group work
that are group assignments. I think in the DEAL
(English) class we could do more practice for the
group study, so that we can be used to this kind
of style.
Group work= assignments in a group
Group study: how we try to
solve issues
• So I think the group study is very helpful so
sometimes we have group study. We talk to
each other and we share opinions and we can
have a lot of different ideas. So I think
understanding the topic is the first thing we can
do using a group.
The group the students choose can study together
very well.
Managing the workload
• Video has been cut to allow ppt to be sent by email-apologies
- Works well, students identify that they get good results
- Note the increased independent approach to solving study
issues. For example, these students are applying feedback
models.
Learner-identified essentials for L2
success in a tertiary environment
• Psychological
• Academic
• Social
Psychological
• Preparedness
• Confidence based on English language preparation for
study in NZ
• Development of the ability to recognise strengths and
build self-confidence in a challenging environment
• Ability to take responsibility and control AND
recognition that there is often no need to go it alone
• Acceptance that feeling different and frustrated will
occur and cause stress
Academic
• Get prepared through suitable English classes
• Continually preview and review information and
tasks
• Check understanding
• Discuss
• Think and value own ideas
• Know where the grades come from
Social
•
•
•
•
•
•
Use group study techniques
Build- and be part of- a supportive network
Control time as much as possible
Discuss
Let go of bad experiences
Take control by asking for assistance appropriately
Build a new identity as an L2 learner in a NZ tertiary
institution –positively!
So what?
What should institutions, language centres and individual concerned
teachers be doing to help?
Suggestions:
• Provide opportunities for networking and study group formation
(programme/course level, teacher level)
• Provide opportunities for same language/nationality/culture groups
to evolve support groups and build liaison with management
(institutional level)
• Support/communicate with EAL/ESP language programmes before
and probably also concurrent to mainstream subject study
(institutional and individual teacher level)
• Include/extend an internationalised academic writing support centre
or service (institutional level)
• Consider policies and practices to break intangible barriers within
classes-or alternative assessed tasks (Programme/course level,
teacher level)
Your responses and ideas?
Pay attention
to difficulties
and successes
Talk to
students
Aim to reduce
difficulties
and support
successes
Talk to all
concerned
parties
Talk again
Review
• mhairi.mackay@wintec.ac.nz
• mary.fisher@wintec.ac.nz