Another Look at the Language Difficulties of International Students

Autor/inn/en	Zhang, Yanyin; Mi, Yinan
Titel	Another Look at the Language Difficulties of International Students
Quelle	In: Journal of Studies in International Education, 14 (2010) 4, S.371-388 (18 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1028-3153
DOI	10.1177/1028315309336031
Schlagwörter	English (Second Language); Second Language Learning; Foreign Students; Surveys; Interviews; Intellectual Disciplines; Foreign Countries; Difficulty Level; Academic Discourse; Writing Difficulties; Language Tests; Questionnaires; Student Attitudes; Second Language Instruction; Australia; China + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? English as second language; English; Second Language; Englisch als Zweitsprache; Zweitsprachenerwerb; Survey; Umfrage; Befragung; Interviewing; Interviewtechnik; Geisteswissenschaften; Ausland; Schwierigkeitsgrad; Discourse; Diskurs; Schreibstörung; Language test; Sprachtest; Fragebogen; Schülerverhalten; Fremdsprachenunterricht; Australien
Abstract	International students encounter language-related problems in their academic studies. Specific problem areas have been identified and possible underlying causes have been explored. The present study investigates the impact of two variables--length of study and academic disciplines--in relation to the problems. The findings from a survey and interview of 40 Chinese students at 8 Australian universities reveal that though listening and speaking pose a lot of difficulties for the majority of the informants, the difficulties are confined to the first 2 years, and they do not seem to affect the academic study of those informants in linguistically less demanding courses. Reading does not seem to be a problem area but writing does, across academic disciplines, defying the 2-year mark. These findings call for a more balanced and nuanced understanding of the language difficulties experienced by international students. (Contains 3 tables, 6 figures and 7 notes.) (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10