What did they expect? Exploring a link between students’ expectations, attendance and attrition on English language enhancement courses

Abstract

This article reports on and discusses the findings of an investigation carried out to explore the expectations of an English language enhancement course (ELEC) held by a group of undergraduate students at an Australian university. For the study, a mixed-methods approach was utilised, with two instruments: a survey with a combination of closed-and open-ended questions and semi-structured interviews. The research was guided by the following three questions: (1) What do the students expect to learn on the course? (2) How are they developing their expectations?(3) Are the students' expectations being met? The literature concerning student expectations foregrounds the complexity and multi-faceted nature of the concept, the satisfaction of which can impact on student engagement, satisfaction, performance, retention and attrition. Findings show that the participants' expectations of the course content and teaching staff were largely met; nonetheless, a lack of class attendance was noted throughout. Expectations were reported to have been developed largely through consultation with previous students of the course (43 per cent) and information materials provided by the university (42 per cent). The article concludes with a discussion regarding the implications of the findings for universities and education providers both in Australia and abroad.

Undergraduates’ personal circumstances, expectations and reasons for attending university

“…This demonstrates the importance of providing academic and pastoral support for students who have a language barrier. Lobo and Gurney (2014) found that the majority of students on an English enhancement course claimed they would have still attended it even if it was not compulsory. Therefore, it is likely that ESL students make good use of these resources.…”

“…social opportunities, campus activities, etc.). The reasons why a student chooses to attend university may affect their academic engagement and learning outcomes (Phinney et al 2006), while their expectations may affect their performance, attendance, likelihood to drop out and overall satisfaction (Lobo and Gurney 2014). In the United Kingdom (UK), student satisfaction has important implications for the National Student Survey (NSS) (Richardson, Slater and Wilson 2007), which is a census that collects final year undergraduate students' opinions of their learning experience and overall satisfaction (The National Student Survey website http://www.thestudentsurvey.com/about.php).…”

Implementing a university-wide credit-bearing English language enhancement programme: issues emerging from practice

“…Finally, discipline-specific content tends to defuse initial resistance as students see that the course is oriented to their chosen fields and is not a generic language programme. Lobo and Gurney's (2013) survey of the University's ELEC students found that over two-thirds would have taken it as an elective even if it was not compulsory.…”

“…Some may not see the relevance of language study to content study. A further concern for university administrators operating in the competitive international education market is that negative student perceptions may result in lower international enrolments (Lobo and Gurney 2013). Conversely, it might be argued that such a programme demonstrates the institution's commitment to assisting EAL learners.…”

Meeting Diversity in Esl Classroom: A Pedagogical Model for a Globalized Milieu

“…al. , 2011 or English Enhancement Courses (Lobo & Gurney 2014) from which the current study differs as it compares the host country as well as international students" expectations from a mandatory English course which is taught by the host country"s instructors.…”