Transfer Capital or Transfer Deficit: A Dual Perspective of English Learning of ESL College Transfer Students

Abstract

This research addressed a research gap in scrutinizing the language problems of English as a second language (ESL) transfer students (TSs) with regard to the aspects of “transfer deficit” and “transfer capital”, instead of simply labelling the use of English as a “transfer deficit”. One hundred and twenty-four TSs participated in this qualitative study. From qualitative content analysis, three main categories were identified: (a) English competence as transfer capital; (b) English competence as transfer deficit; and (c) transition from deficit to capital. Based on the results, educational practitioners are advised to pay attention to the specific implications of proficiency-based courses, with support measures not limited to essay-writing or referencing skills, but including advanced research writing genres such as the Capstone Project.

Exploring language needs of college transfer students with learning analytics: towards a more equitable experience

“…Other studies have found that some sub-degree programs spend time equipping students with source-based writing skills (Pullen, 2019), which are important to academic literacy, but they do not have enough time to fully polish their language skills (Frodesen, 2015). Foung and Cheung (2022) also reported that students lack the disciplinary vocabulary to learn effectively in a university setting, which is echoed by Wu and Lau (2021). Lin and Yi (1997) believe that these problems become barriers for transfer students to learn effectively in their other courses.…”

“…For example, Wu and Lau (2021) believes that college transfer students are more mature and have greater cognitive power than traditional students, so they can handle the courses in their disciplines well despite their lower language proficiency. Cheung and Foung (2021) re-examined "transfer shock" and concluded that some challenges may actually be advantages. For example, transfer students have the study skills needed to handle course readings they do not understand; they are accustomed to handling such difficult readings in their sub-degree studies.…”

“…There is an interesting contrast between the findings of this study and past studies. Most past studies have highlighted that transfer students lack discipline-specific academic literacy, such as knowledge of discipline-specific vocabulary (Foung, et al, 2022) and writing genres (Frodesen, 2015). They have subsequently developed support systems to help transfer students in these areas.…”

“…Despite their identified weaknesses in English and mathematics, transfer students may perform better than direct entrants in some ways due to the competence they built in community college (see the related discussion by Cheung and Foung (2021) on transfer capital and transfer deficit). It may be possible to examine their learning trajectories in core courses and see how their learning pathways differ from those of direct entrants.…”