The role of language proficiency in academic success: perspectives from a New Zealand university

Abstract

The paper reports on a 3‐part investigation of the part played by language proficiency in the academic experiences and study outcomes of undergraduate students at an English‐medium university with a linguistically and culturally diverse student population. The first part of the study was a predictive validity analysis of the relationship between performance on a post‐entry diagnostic assessment (known as DELNA) and subsequent grade point average and fail rates of students from different disciplinary backgrounds after the first and second semesters of language study. The second part of the study uses samples of performance on the writing component of DELNA to elicit feedback from Faculty members, again from different disciplines, regarding the linguistic qualities of students’ writing and its impact on the grades they assigned to their work. Finally, using a more qualitative approach, the role of the language is explored via detailed accounts of the study experience elicited from seven undergraduate students, all from non‐English‐speaking backgrounds. Findings reveal that English proficiency makes an important but complex contribution to the study experience but, for a range of reasons, this is not always reflected in academic outcomes.