IELTS Research Reports

A multiple case study of the relationship between the indicators of students’ English languagecompetence on entry and students’ academic progress at an international postgraduate university11 CONCLUSIONThis study has explored how NNES students are selected for admission to taught postgraduate Masterscourses in a single UK HEI and followed the progress of a group of NNES students whose Englishlanguage proficiency was identified as borderline on entry. The study took place against a backgroundof public concern about the effects of increasing internationalisation upon academic literacy anddegree standards in the UK.The accompanying literature is limited but the findings support an earlier UK study in demonstratingthat academic admissions staff employ complex selection rationales in which English test scorescontribute but do not ultimately determine ultimate choices. Academic staff took into account anarray of factors and circumstances in reaching a judgement of an applicant’s potential to succeed atMasters level study. Schools differed in selection practices and the methods and criteria employedto assess an applicant’s English language ability. Some Schools preferred English test scores whileothers employed assessment by specialist linguist staff. No single method or set of practices appearedto be more reliable than any other at identifying students who posed the greatest academic risk dueto borderline English language proficiency. However, this finding requires confirmation with a largerscale study. There was some evidence that high demand for places on a specific programme couldresult in higher test score entry requirements and limit the intake of NNES students with borderlineEnglish language abilities.The main concern amongst academic staff centred on writing standards, particularly in connectionwith the Masters thesis that students complete at the end of the programmes. The trajectories ofstudents with borderline English language indicated that the writing skills of this group continuedto cause concern. Over half of the group were required to revise and represent their theses and thewriting abilities of just less than half were reported as adversely affecting the workload of their thesissupervisors. Supervisors of students who passed their theses on first submission also reported adverseeffects upon their workloads. These findings and the general concern about writing standards suggestthat the problem may extend beyond the small borderline student group which was the focus of thecurrent study. If so, it calls into question the reliability of methods for assessing the writing abilities ofNNES students on entry.A limitation of the current research is the lack of evidence from students whose entry test scoressatisfy but do not exceed entry requirements. Future research should examine the writing abilities ofall NNES students on taught Course Masters programmes to ascertain the scope of the problem. Thecase study approach employed in the study warns against generalising these findings to other HEIs.However, there are similarities with an earlier UK study. There are opportunities for comparative casestudy research in contrasting settings such as urban locations, the undergraduate level and where thereare different compositions of national groups, to test and develop the findings further.ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSWe wish to thank the British Council, IELTS Australia and University of Cambridge for granting usthe opportunity to carry out this research.We are grateful to the Course Directors, lecturers and Registry staff of Cranfield University who gaveup their time to contribute to the study and, in particular, to Chris Binch for his help reviewing theexamination scripts.IELTS Research Reports Volume 11177