Language proficiency and the international postgraduate student experience
type: CreativeWork
description: In an increasingly competitive environment, with reduced government funding, full fee-paying international students are an important source of revenue for higher education institutions (HEIs). Although many previous studies have focused on the role of English language proficiency on academic success, there is little known about the extent to which levels of English language proficiency affect these non-native English speaking students’ overall course experience. There have been a wealth of studies considering the importance of adaptation to these students' academic success, but few studies on the relationship between adaptation and course satisfaction. Student satisfaction and loyalty behaviours have also been established as the main consequences of students' study experiences, with important strategic implications for HEIs as students become ever more discerning in their choice of institution. Although some higher education research has focused on the antecedents to student satisfaction and loyalty, this is an under-researched area, particularly in relation to international students. These gaps in the research were addressed through the development of a structural path model to test the influence of English language proficiency on desired institutional outcomes of satisfaction and loyalty, and the extent to which international students’ successful adaptation to their academic, social and cultural environments affects those desired outcomes. The moderating influence of a number of pre-entry attributes were also considered on the path relationships. Nine hypotheses were posited and tested with data collected from a survey conducted on 135 Masters students in one UK business school. Results were first subjected to factor analysis before the hypothesised model was tested with a structural equation modelling approach using AMOS software. The findings support five of the hypotheses, providing empirical evidence that English language proficiency plays a significant role i…
abstract: In an increasingly competitive environment, with reduced government funding, full fee-paying international students are an important source of revenue for higher education institutions (HEIs). Although many previous studies have focused on the role of English language proficiency on academic success, there is little known about the extent to which levels of English language proficiency affect these non-native English speaking students’ overall course experience. There have been a wealth of studies considering the importance of adaptation to these students' academic success, but few studies on the relationship between adaptation and course satisfaction. Student satisfaction and loyalty behaviours have also been established as the main consequences of students' study experiences, with important strategic implications for HEIs as students become ever more discerning in their choice of institution. Although some higher education research has focused on the antecedents to student satisfaction and loyalty, this is an under-researched area, particularly in relation to international students. These gaps in the research were addressed through the development of a structural path model to test the influence of English language proficiency on desired institutional outcomes of satisfaction and loyalty, and the extent to which international students’ successful adaptation to their academic, social and cultural environments affects those desired outcomes. The moderating influence of a number of pre-entry attributes were also considered on the path relationships. Nine hypotheses were posited and tested with data collected from a survey conducted on 135 Masters students in one UK business school. Results were first subjected to factor analysis before the hypothesised model was tested with a structural equation modelling approach using AMOS software. The findings support five of the hypotheses, providing empirical evidence that English language proficiency plays a significant role i…
author: Weaver, M
language: en
date published: 2016-03
date modified: 2026-07-24T06:30:54Z
provider: Nottingham Trent University
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: Nottingham Trent University