International students hoping to study at a UK university must complete a pre-sessional EAP course if they do not meet the English language entrance requirement of their chosen degree programme. In this article, I shall discuss pre-sessional courses in the context of English Language Teaching. I shall also evaluate pre-sessional courses on the basis of how well they improve outcomes for international students at UK universities.
Read more: Pre-sessional English for Academic PurposesEnglish Language Teaching (ELT) refers to teaching English as a second language. This means that (i) students are taught through the medium of English, and (ii) students are immersed in English outside the classroom. Various approaches to ELT have come and gone over the years. The traditional grammar-translation approach required students to translate written text. This was replaced with the audio-lingual approach, where students repeated language verbatim from recordings. Nowadays, all ELT courses adopt the communicative language teaching (CLT) approach. As the name suggests, the focus is on what the students can do in the target language.
English for Specific Purposes (ESP) is the branch of ELT concerned with teaching English for particular contexts or career paths (e.g. business, aviation and healthcare). The overall approach remains the same for each variety of ESP; only the vocabulary and possibly the grammar points change. English for Academic Purposes (EAP) is a sub-branch of ESP, where students are introduced to the conventions of academic English (i.e. how to prepare for lectures, participate in seminars and to write academic essays). EAP is nevertheless couched within the CLT framework mentioned above.
There are two types of EAP course: in-sessional and pre-sessional. In-sessional courses run during term-time and are studied alongside regular degree programmes. These courses can include both small-group seminars and one-to-one feedback sessions. Pre-sessional programmes (PSP) typically last five to ten weeks and take place before the start of the academic year. PSP courses are aimed at international students who do not meet the English language entrance requirement for their chosen degree programmes. The existence of PSP courses allows universities to attract international students who would otherwise not be able to enroll.
There are two aims for PSP courses: (i) to improve general English Language Proficiency (ELP), and (ii) to introduce students to academic expectations of UK Higher Education (HE). The dual purpose of EAP courses presents a dichotomy. If tutors focus exclusively on developing general ELP, they run the risk of neglecting academic study skills. If, however, tutors focus exclusively on academic study skills, their students may not make substantial gains in general English. In my own experience, these priorities often come into conflict. In the space of a 5-week or a 10-week preparatory course, there is little time to cover all necessary areas of general English as well as all relevant study skills.
The transition from school to university can prove a difficult time for any new student. This transition is, however, even more distressing for international students. These students face additional challenges in terms of (i) academic adjustment, (ii) social factors, and (iii) English language proficiency (ELP). First, academic adjustment refers to how international students adapt to expectations of a new culture. This includes navigating culture shock, cross-cultural differences as well as differences in classroom interaction. Students’ academic adjustment has implications for their motivation, their sense of purpose and their academic satisfaction.
In terms of social factors, many international students have an idealistic viewof contact they will make with local people. In other words, they believe that UK will present many opportunities for cultural enrichment and cross-cultural exchange. Unfortunately, this is not often the case. Instead, many international students are left disappointed. They report wanting more opportunities to experience UK culture and to interact with local people. Research has shown that many international worry about their relationships with home students while studying abroad. This is likely to impact negatively on their academic experience, as well.
I have explained how international students face adjustment challenges while studying in UK, in terms of academic expectations and social factors. However, English language proficiency (ELP) is perhaps the biggest area of concern for these students. In terms of ELP, international students struggle with subject-specific vocabulary, understanding lectures / seminars and writing academic essays. Research has shown that ELP is the single most important factor when determining an international student’s final grades. Moreover, low levels of ELP have been linked to depression. For these reasons, it is vital that pre-sessional courses prove effective.
However, research seems to indicate that the effectiveness of pre-sessional EAP courses is modest. For example, Shaw and Liu investigated features of formal writing in students enrolled on a pre-sessional EAP course at a UK university. The researchers found that, over time, the students’ writing ‘became less like speech and more like conventional academic written English’. Terraschke and Wahid point out, however, that this improvement in written style did not correspond to a similar improvement in linguistic accuracy or complexity. In light of the above findings, we cannot make sweeping statements about the linguistic benefits of PSP.
Completing a pre-sessional EAP course is no guarantee of future academic success. The international students who perform best academically are typically those who meet the minimum language entry requirements of their programme of study in the first place. In other words, students who complete pre-sessional courses are nevertheless a linguistically weaker cohortthan direct-entry international students. This conclusion is echoed by Thorpe et al., who report that students who complete a pre-sessional EAP course do notably poorerthan students who had already reached the required level of ELP.
It is clear that PSP courses are not very effective when it comes to improving international students’ ELP. However, these courses have other drawbacks. First, there are not many opportunities for contact with the host culture. Second, students do not have access to support mechanisms such as induction week, ‘buddying’ and mentoring schemes. Third, there are two priorities for a pre-sessional EAP course: (i) to improve general language proficiency, and (ii) to prepare students for academic study. Focusing on (i) at the expense of (ii) will not help students to improve their academic writing. However, focusing on (ii) at the expense of (i) will not help students to make the linguistic gains they need.
International students can, however, benefit from PSP in other ways than just language. Nomnian reports case-study findings from 7 Thai students enrolled on a pre-sessional course in UK. Most participants showed an increase inconfidence to participate in the discussions with classmates. Similarly, Terraschke and Wahid compared perceptions of students who had completed a pre-sessional EAP course with those who had not. Interview data show that the pre-sessional EAP course helped students to gain study skills and learning strategies. Conversely, the students who had not completed the EAP course seemed to struggle to understand how they could improve their writing or their reading speed.
The UK Government is keen to attract international students. Universities are also keen to attract them (since these students pay at least twice as much in tuition fees as home students do). International students face considerable challenges when adjusting to life at UK universities. The biggest concern among these is English language proficiency (ELP). Research shows that ELP determines academic success more than other factors do. With this in mind, the role of pre-sessional EAP courses should be clear. These courses seem to be modestly successful when it comes to improving students’ awareness of academic expectations. However, research shows that PSP are not particularly successful at improving students’ overall language proficiency. I conclude that ELP should be made a higher priority for pre-sessional EAP courses.