Language Barriers in the University of Illinois Urbana ... - ideals

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Garcia, Roeder, Saleh, BTW 250-D2_06-03 6 The questionnaire used for the survey falls into four groups. (1) The background and nationality information of the student. (2) Student’s experience of language barrier and the possible causes. (3) The effectiveness of the current resources/facilities. (4) General comments. Discussion The prevalence of language barriers In general, most of the international students faced some degree of language barriers. Of 41 students surveyed, 17 students admitted that they sometimes do have trouble communicating with Americans, either friends or professors. However, it seems that the problem of language barrier is not too overwhelming, because majority of the students responded that they rarely or never have problems in their communication with Americans. In fact, only 2 students revealed that they often faced difficulty communicating with Americans. Our surveys also disclosed that students from Korean and Japan are more likely to face language barriers than students from Singapore and India. The causes of language barriers The causes of language barriers are complex. From our survey, we managed to identify several common causes for language barriers. The most common factor is the majority of students are not familiar with the American English accent; seventeen students of the sample fall into this group. The second main reason is American English uses phrases and idioms that they do not understand. The differences between the structure of English and the student’s first language might lead to a language barrier as well. Seven students revealed that the structure of English is completely different from their first language. In addition to the factors above, of 41 students in the sample, 2 students pointed out that Americans speak too fast, in general. Several students are unsure about the exact causes of language barriers as it could encompass a variety of factors. Overall, the result of the survey is quite consistent with the research made on the causes of language barriers.
Garcia, Roeder, Saleh, BTW 250-D2_06-03 7 The effect of language barriers on learning process Though the problem of language barrier is not very prevalent in this university, it does affect the learning process in some way. Of 41 students in the sample, 12 students admitted that their proficiency in English has slightly affected their academic performance. Another six students revealed that their academic performance is quite affected by the language barrier. A majority of these students are from Korea. Our survey also showed that the academic performances of the students are especially suffered in courses such as rhetoric, business and technical writing and some other core courses, depending on the major of the students. The fairness of the TOEFL Our university evaluates the admission of international students based on the TOEFL test in addition to other general admission factors. It is generally assumed that with the requirement of 213 on the TOEFL test, the students admitted will have fairly good command of the language and will suffer less from language barriers. In fact, this is relatively true as our survey has showed. However, our survey also found that judging one’s language proficiency based solely on the TOEFL test may not always be accurate. The students reveals that there are flaws in the TOEFL test such as lack of oral tests, too much emphasizing on the vocabulary and listening over the structure of English and is also an unsuitably long test. The effectiveness of resources and facilities Our survey showed that majority of the international students are not aware of the resources and facilities offered by the university, besides the courses like rhetoric and ESL which aims at English language learning. Only a very small fraction of students know about the resources such as Writers Workshops, Intensive English Learning Program and Adoption Program, which they get to know through internet, instructors, friends, campus handbooks or advertisements. Survey 2 Analysis Purpose
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Language Barriers in the University of Illinois Urbana ... - ideals

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