“Step Out of the Cycle”: Needs, challenges, and successes of international undergraduates at a U.S. University

Caplan, Nigel A.; Stevens, Scott G.

doi:10.1016/j.esp.2016.11.003

Cited by 27 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…This study attempted to explore the academic and sociocultural experiences of the first cohort of international students in UP and GP programs. Results from this study are consistent with the literature on the challenges faced by international students in U.S. higher education (e.g., Caplan & Stevens, 2017;Perry et al, 2016). Concerning the first research question, students had high expectations regarding their academic and sociocultural experiences in their host country as was demonstrated by the needs analysis survey.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

“…Various challenges faced by UP and GP students came forth in the individual interviews and followup survey results. Some of the major challenges, which are in alignment with the literature (e.g., Caplan & Stevens, 2017;Kuo, 2011;Lin & Scherz, 2014), were related to understanding lectures and completing assignments successfully.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 84%

“…Continuing efforts have been made to understand the challenges that international students go through during their pursuits of academic degrees in Englishspeaking countries. Researchers have reported that international students face both academic and cultural obstacles (e.g., Caplan & Stevens, 2017;Gebhard, 2012;Lin & Scherz, 2014;Perry, 2016). Academic challenges are related to the inability to function effectively in classroom settings.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Academic challenges are related to the inability to function effectively in classroom settings. Recurrent academic issues reported in the literature were related to participation in classroom discussions, limited collaboration opportunities with domestic peers, and lack of clarity in international students' understanding of degree requirements (Caplan & Stevens, 2017;Lin & Scherz, 2014;Perry, Weatherford, & Lausch, 2016). International students also struggle with understanding lectures, and they spend a substantial time and effort when reading academic texts and completing writing assignments (Kuo, 2011;Lin & Scherz, 2014).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Needs, Expectations, and Experiences of International Students in Pathway Programs in the United States

Elturki

Liu

Hjeltness

et al. 2019

jis

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This research assesses the first cohort of pathway students’ needs and their academic and sociocultural experiences at a U.S. university. A needs analysis survey, individual student interviews, and a follow-up survey were used for data collection. Understanding lectures, completing assignments, and building social relationships with domestics were among the challenges faced by pathway students due to linguistic and cultural barriers. An additional unique challenge for this particular population of international students centered around the fact that undergraduate and graduate students tackle discipline-related courses while still refining their English skills. Additional support services to help students in pathways academically and socio-culturally are crucial.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 84%

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Needs, Expectations, and Experiences of International Students in Pathway Programs in the United States

Elturki

Liu

Hjeltness

et al. 2019

jis

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Despite being aware of the importance of English oral communication skills for successful teaching and learning in an increasingly globalized academic environment [13], as well as for effective interaction in multinational professional groups [14], Russian university EFL teachers face a lot of difficulties, when they teach professional communication skills to the students of non-linguistic majors. One of their most challenging tasks is to provide significant and sustainable improvement in dialogue-building skills needed for discussing professional issues in English.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Raising a New Generation of Professionals: Revising the Principles of Teaching Foreign Languages to Non-Linguistic University Students

Ananyina¹,

Abramova²,

Makarova³

et al. 2020

Proceedings of the “New Silk Road: Business Cooperation and Prospective of Economic Development” (NSRBCPED 2019)

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Current global economic processes bring into focus strengthening international cooperation, developing transparent partnerships, and establishing professional exchange. This leads to the necessity to narrow the gap between higher professional education and the requirements of business and economic environment. National educational models need to intensify the shift from knowledge-based teaching to developing truly competitive competences, with special focus on foreign language communicative competence. This paper presents the results of teaching quasi-professional group communication in English to the students of non-linguistic university majors. The aim of the research was to analyze the experience of forming soft skills and educational competence through English language communication between the students of economy and international relations from two Russian state universities. The authors used the method of comparative analysis of formal structured survey results, and the methods of statistical data processing. The preliminary survey revealed that the respondents suffered from foreign language anxiety, were not ready to communicate with many people at once, and preferred free discussions to regulated professionally valuable polylogue. In order to overcome the communication barriers the authors designed and tested an experimental alternative teaching methodology. The preliminary research results lead to the conclusion that raising a new generation of professionals with soft skills and educational competence required by the new Russian economy is hardly possible without extending the range of teaching tools and changing approaches to teaching nonlinguistic university students how to use a foreign language for professional communication.

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Needs Analysis and Syllabus Design for Language for Specific Purposes

Baştürkmen¹

2018

The Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics

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Needs analysis and language for specific purposes (LSP) courses are inextricably intertwined. LSP courses aim to help learners function linguistically within a particular academic, professional, or workplace environment, and the course syllabus is based on analysis of the needs of the learners in relation to such environments. The analysis of learners' needs is thus a key process in the design and ongoing revision of the LSP syllabus. Such is the importance of needs analysis that it is generally seen as the defining characteristic of LSP. This entry discusses the importance of needs analysis in LSP, identifies trends in the practices and methodologies used, and examines how the results of needs analysis can be used to inform the design of the LSP syllabus. Although needs analysis is often viewed as essentially procedural, it is not without theory, nor is it devoid of controversy and debate. The final sections discuss the role of theory and issues in needs analysis.

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“Step Out of the Cycle”: Needs, challenges, and successes of international undergraduates at a U.S. University

Cited by 27 publications

References 16 publications

Needs, Expectations, and Experiences of International Students in Pathway Programs in the United States

Needs, Expectations, and Experiences of International Students in Pathway Programs in the United States

Raising a New Generation of Professionals: Revising the Principles of Teaching Foreign Languages to Non-Linguistic University Students

Needs Analysis and Syllabus Design for Language for Specific Purposes

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