The English Language Difficulties that International Students Experience in Australia - Literature review Example

The English language difficulties that international students experience in Australia Name: Institution: The English language difficulties that international students experience in Australia. Introduction Globalization has made English language listening and speaking of great importance. English has developed and become a global language. It has developed and become the primary language of politics, business communication, academia, science and administration in addition to being the dominant language of popular culture and advertising. Earlier research indicates that a high percentage of international students particularly from Asia experience difficulties in using English. Therefore, they encounter serious learning difficulties as well as lack confidence in taking proactive roles and speaking in classrooms. The objective of the study is to explore the learning difficulties that international students in Australia experience because of the grounded weaknesses in the prior learning experience of the learners. Literature review Different empirical studies have examined the ESL students' difficulties and concern while taking during oral discussions. The studies mainly focused on international students who are studying the English language in the countries that English is the native language. For instance, Fulcher (2003, P. 67), examined the perceptions of ESL students at four different universities about the challenges they face in English speaking and listening skills. The study found that most students were concerned with class discussions and oral presentations, but experienced little difficulty with small-group discussions. Kim (2006, p. 480) on the other hand, examined existing consistency between the required language skills for engagement and skills that ESL learners found challenging to learn. The results showed that most non-native English speakers required continual target language support even long after admission to graduate programs. However, the two studies did not state the primary causes of the challenges that learners experience. Liu & Jackson (2008, p. 77), using a quantitative research method studied perceptions of Asian graduate students. The study was on the required speaking and listening skill levels in their courses as well as challenges they experience in attaining the expectations. Confirming the findings of Ferris, the study carried out by Kim shown that most students were concerned with being involved in class debate in addition to leading class discussions. It is significant to note that quantitative procedures despite their advantages, has limitations too. The measures used in the quantitative procedures might not only be written but also developed for limited cohorts and cultures, therefore might not be ideal for international students. This is because they are made of various heterogeneous subgroups. Furthermore, quantitative methods because of prior assumptions have not only predetermined response areas but pre-coded responses that are limited. Therefore, this approach might fail to capture the human experience, particularly the complex nature of coping strategies and distress. The aforementioned limitation are well addressed by qualitative methods. this is because qualitative methods are not only flexible but also encourage reporting of actual experience of the difficulties that international students face with English language. Additionally, there have several qualitative studies to elaborate and clarify the themes that are highlighted in conducted quantitative procedures (Evans & Morrison, 2011, p.198). Unlike the above studies that adopted the quantitative approach, a qualitative study was conducted by Morita (2002, p. 302). He examined how students were expected to speak during oral presentations in two TESL program graduate courses. The study suggested that both native and normative speakers become apprenticed in all the oral academic discourses via continuous negotiations with peers and instructors. A qualitative study on the international students and particularly those carried out in Australia, identify the problems the students face while coping with English language-both conversational English and academic English. The difficulties are experienced in relation to writing and speaking. The mentioned are evident in the international students themselves. Of all the academic and social problems and issues facing international students in Australia, culture shock, social difficulties, different learning styles and homesickness are related to difficulties in English. Richards (2006, p. 90) in his study explored difficulties international students in Australia experience at the university. The researcher surveyed both the local staff and international students' perceptions of different difficulties. Both students and staff emphasized language as the primary source of difficulties in both learning and teaching. The students portrayed lack of confidence in English use. They have insufficient understanding of the English spoken by the lecturers. They are also unhappy about their performances in oral, particularly in the presence of Australian colleagues. Another concern is on the use of colloquial language, interpretation problem, and writing difficulties. Richards (2006, p. 89) concluded that language issues remained unsolved problem that international students face. Another qualitative study on the Australian universities conducted by (Fraser, 2000b, P. 91), indicated that academic staff reported that international students, particularly those from the non-English speaking nations were incapable of contributing effectively in the tutorial discussions. Furthermore, because of poor grammar in their written works, it was always challenging not only to read but also assess their work. A qualitative study by Evans (1997, p.43) indicated that international students from non-speaking English countries have problems with pronunciation. Poor pronunciation causes occasional is understanding. Hence, sentences and words should be repeated because of serious pronunciation errors. Furthermore, non-native aspects such as stress might make English native speakers to face difficulty in processing and comprehending the speech of non-native speakers. It is important for learners to aware be of the fact that improving their pronunciation might have great significance. The mentioned is because pronunciation supports other aspects of language for example spelling, grammar, listening comprehension, and reading. For example, some learners experience confusion or problems of spelling about the vowel they should use with words such as ahead, hate, hat, and hard among others. The mentioned confusion occurs the expectation of the learners is to find one-to-one correspondence between spelling and sound. therefore, the problem is because of the misinterpretation of the English language spelling system, but not from difficulty associated with pronunciation of the language sounds. On the other hand, Liu & Jackson (2008, p. 79) in their findings pointed out that the first language sound pattern of the learner is transferred into the target language. The mentioned aspect can lead to foreign accents. Mispronunciation of English words by non-native speakers is a reflection of the rules' influence, intonation, stress, and the sound of the first language. For example, Ferris (1998, p. 13) investigated the production rhythm of English language among the non-native speakers. The study concluded that transfer of learners' first language had effects on the production of the English language, for example alternation of stress within a phrase. In respect to the mentioned, Ferris (1998) pointed out that the native language sound system can influence the pronunciation of the learner of the target language in three different ways. First, if there is a new sound in the second language that is lacking from the sound inventory of the learners' first language. Secondly, the learners not able to perceive or produce the sound. Thirdly, if the rules used for combining sounds into words of the native language is different from that of the target language, the learner is likely to experience problems. This study is great significance to future studies that would try to find strategies of teaching English as a second/foreign language. Various scholars in Hong Kong have conducted research on the language problems that university students experience. Bygate (2001, p. 16) investigated first year students from eight different disciplines on their awareness of significance of the English language as the determinant of academic success, particularly in environments where English remains the medium of communication. Providing a bigger picture of the problems that undergraduate face with English language, Bygate. (2001) concluded that language problems centered on the productive skills of speaking and writing. Additionally, the problems centered on acquiring specialist vocabulary, but not on other aspects of language. Evans & Morrison (2011, p. 200) conducted another qualitative research where ESL who have been studying for about 10 years took part in speaking improvement course. The course mainly focused supra-segmental pronunciation features such as intonation, stress and rhythm. The collected samples were rated based on the degree of accentedness and comprehensibility order. The study proved that ESL could improve on their pronunciation with continuous reading. In their study examined language problems that first year Cantonese-speaking students face. The findings showed that a high percentage of the students experienced difficulty when studying different subject contents with English as the medium. Echoing the findings of Ferris (1998), Evans & Morrison (2011, p. 70) pointed out that the problems of their subjects mainly centered on academic speaking, particularly pronunciation, grammar and fluency in addition to academic writing. To give further illustration on the language related difficulties, the researchers further focused on four students from different disciplinary, social and educational backgrounds. The objective was to personalize and illustrate their first-year English language experience at the engineering university. Using qualitative approach, that is semi-structured interviews, the survey revealed that students face four major challenges during their first year in the university: comprehending lectures, understanding technical vocabularies, attaining appropriate style, and meeting disciplinary and institutional requirements. Another study was conducted to examine the problems that Chinese students experience with English language when they join Australian universities. Gillham (2005, P. 90) used semi-structured interviews. The interviews were conducted on either Chinese or English based on the preference of the interviewee. Each interview session lasted for about 45 minutes. The interviewee was requested to detail their English speaking experience during classroom activities. Each interview focused on the difficulties that the students experienced as undergraduate students in Australia. Despite, using a pre-determined structure, the researcher asked probed questions in order to achieve better understanding of all the issues. The interviews were not only recorded but also transcribed. In cases where the interview was conducted in Chinese, an English version was created in entirety. In retaining the tradition of qualitative research, the interview transcripts were read several times before being annotated with descriptive phrases and comments. Merriam (2009, p. 19) calls the mentioned process an open coding. The descriptive phrases and comments were then clustered, and put into broad ideational categories. Different scholars have different names for custering procedure. Strauss and Corbin (2008, p. 67) call the categories as core categories and thematic units. The purpose of the categorization is to capture the recurring patterns in the collected data. The findings indicated that lack of vocabulary remained the main barrier for spoken communication in international students. In the same study, some participants reported that they always think of the grammar items for grammatical accuracy in their utterances. Under the mentioned circumstances, the students learned grammatical knowledge works as a monitor or an editor. Nonetheless, the mentioned strategy failed, particularly in terms of speaking. This is because there is no time to think on what one is going to say. In conclusion, the study was specifically designed to contribute to the knowledge on the problems that second language speakers experience with the English language. The various linguistic problems for example, lexical, grammatical, and phonological problems presented above is an indication that second language acquisition is complex for adult learners. One of the reasons for the mentioned case is that learners of English as a second language not only participate in speaking task but also face the necessary demands of processing the given task. Language education practitioners as well as researchers that performing in undeveloped foreign language impose burden to the attention of the second language learner. The mentioned makes the learner to prioritize on other aspects of performance such as grammatical accuracy and ignore fluency. Furthermore, gaps in the lexical knowledge making it challenging for international students studying English as a second language not to attain fluency. It is also evident that it is challenging for a learner to take part in higher level, and strategic aspects of effective communication without mastery of language. The mentioned is mostly possible if learners working memory is full of non-automated, and lower level of second language processes. Lastly, second language learners are more vulnerable to negative evaluation and criticism compared to other subjects. this is because there are high chances of them making mistakes while using the language. Therefore, speaking practice can assist in exposing the gaps found in, grammar, pronunciation, and vocabulary of the international students, hence gradually improve their oral fluency of the English language. References Bygate, M. (2001). Speaking. In R. Carter & D. Nunan (eds.), Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 14-20. Evans, S. (1997). Teacher and learner roles in the Hong Kong English language classroom. Education Journal 25, 43-61. Evans, S., & Morrison, B. (2011). Meeting the challenges of English-medium higher education: The first-year experience in Hong Kong. English for Specific Purposes, 30, 198- 208 Ferris, D. (1998). Students_ views of academic aural/oral skills: a comparative needs analysis. TESOL Quarterly, 32, 289-318. Fraser, H. (2000b). Literacy vs oral communication skills for ESL learners. In Literacy Link, Newsletter of the Australian Council for Adult Literacy. Fulcher, G. (2003). Testing second language speaking. Pearson Education Limited. Gillham, B. (2005). Research interviewing: The range of techniques. Maidenhead, England: Open University Press. Kim, S. (2006). Academic oral communication needs of East Asian international graduate students in non-science and non-engineering fields. English for Specific Purposes, 25, 479-489. Liu, M., & Jackson, J., (2008). An exploration of Chinese EFL learners’ unwillingness to communicate and foreign language anxiety. Modern Language Journal, 92, 71-86. Merriam, S. B. (2009). Qualitative research: A guide to design and implementation. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Morita, N. (2000). Discourse socialization through oral classroom activities in a TESL graduate classroom. TESOL Quarterly, 34, 279–310. Richards, J. C. (2006). Developing classroom speaking activities: From theory to practice. Guidelines, (RELC, Singapore), 28, 3-9. Strauss, A., & Corbin, J. (1998). Basics of qualitative research; Techniques and procedures for developing grounded theory. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Read More