Changes in University Students’ Perceptions towards a Two-Week Summer English Immersion Program

Abstract

The present research examined how university students perceived a 2-week summer English immersion program organized and designated by Chinese teachers of English in a highly prestigious university in Beijing and whether their perceptions changed during the period. Data included 208 surveys and 19 informal interviews in week 1 and 207 surveys and 19 interviews in week 2 (the participants were largely the same in both weeks). Analyses of the data showed that in both weeks, most students considered the courses interesting and liked most of them for similar reasons (e.g., being interesting and having much participation), that the program improved students’ English abilities in listening, speaking, reading and writing as well as overall English proficiency, and that the program enhanced students’ interpersonal communication ability, confidence in using English, knowledge of the culture of English-speaking countries, interest in and motivation to learn English. The results also revealed that the participants tended to become more positive about the program, have a more comprehensive view of the program and assess it more objectively toward the end of the program. Evidently, the program helped the students in various aspects. To better help students, it is useful to do needs analyses prior to the program so that more acceptable courses and activities can be designed and offered.Keywords: perception, change, immersion program

Investigating Student’s Perception of Learning at an English Immersion School in Indonesia

“…(2008) investigated 534 Hispanic English learners from 28 elementary schools in the USA claimed that English immersion program helped students develop their oral proficiency effectively. At university level, Liu, Hu, and Peng (2017) investigated how 208 Chinese students perceived a two-week English immersion programme. The results of the study show that in both weeks, the majority of students found the courses interesting and liked the majority of them for similar reasons (e.g., being interesting and having a lot of participation), that the program improved students' English abilities in listening, speaking, reading, and writing as well as overall English proficiency, and that the program improved students' interpersonal communication ability, confidence in using English, and knowledge of the culture of English.…”