Examining Community College Students’ Progression Through the English as a Second Language Sequence

Abstract

Objective: Although immigrant students placed in English as a Second Language (ESL) sequence at community colleges are a growing student population, there is a dearth of research focused on these students in college. This study provides descriptive estimates of community college students’ progression through the credit-earning ESL sequence and disaggregates the findings by Generation 1.5/2.0 status. As community colleges seek to better support students whose primary language is not English, this study provides some of the first empirical evidence on who is placing where and how long it takes students to progress through the ESL sequence. Method: This study uses transcript data from a community college in California that enrolls a large proportion of students in the ESL sequence and estimates a Cox proportional hazards model with time to completing English 101 as the dependent variable. Results: Most Generation 1.5/2.0 students who take the ESL placement test start three levels or below college-level English. Furthermore, Generation 1.5/2.0 students attempt and complete English 101 at a lower rate than international students. Results from the Cox proportional hazards model show that international students are more likely to complete English 101 than U.S. citizens at any given point in time. Among the Generation 1.5/2.0 subsample, female permanent residents are more likely to complete English 101 than citizens. Conclusion: The findings suggest a need to reassess the ESL placement process so that all students placed in ESL are able to successfully progress toward college-level English.

ESL programs at U.S. community colleges: A multistate analysis of placement tests, course offerings, and course content

“…Many ESL programs offered only separate skills‐based coursework, which may place EL students in courses with decontextualized, remedial pedagogies (Grubb & Gabriner, 2013). Although researchers have generally advocated shortening ESL program sequences (e.g., Park, 2019; Patthey‐Chavez et al, 2005), we believe that simply shortening ESL sequences is not the answer. Rather, we believe that the competing demands of providing language instruction and pathways to the wider college need not be exclusionary.…”

“…However, none of the states averaged as many ESL program levels as did California (Rodriguez et al, 2019). Nevertheless, lengthy ESL course sequences have been shown to be detrimental to graduation rates (e.g., Park, 2019; Patthey‐Chavez et al, 2005), and lengthy ESL course sequences could create a “demoralizing” and “stigmatizing” (p. 427) experience for U.S.‐educated ELs. Furthermore, the financial burden of multiple semesters of ESL coursework likely contributes to ELs’ lower persistence.…”

“…Much of the current research argues for shortening ESL course sequences. Research by Park (2019), Hodara (2015), and Rodriguez, Bohn, Hill, and Brooks (2019) discuss the negative impact of lengthy ESL course sequences on at least some EL subpopulations. All three studies also highlight the existence of lengthy ESL course sequences, including findings by Rodriguez et al (2019) that 70% of California ESL programs had five or more levels.…”

“There’s So Much That We’re Doing”: How Florida College System Institutions Address Basic Needs Insecurity Among Students

“…For example, community college students, who commonly work for pay, struggle to engage with their campuses while balancing their school and work demands simultaneously (Marine Nin & Keeton, 2020; Price & Tovar, 2014). Further, community colleges are becoming more globalized institutions, with an increasing number of international and undocumented students who must overcome hurdles related to immigration and English as a second language (Anayah & Kuk, 2015; Park, 2019; Salinas et al, 2019).…”