English Language Proficiency and Its Relationship with Academic Performance and the Nurse Licensure Examination

Abstract

Background: Studies have shown that various factors influence students’ success in nursing school and the Nurse Licensure Examination (NLE). Such factors should be studied as foundations of the nursing programs. Problems with proficiency in the language used by the instructor to teach curricular courses may be considered a barrier to effective learning and academic success.Purpose: This study ascertained the influence of English language proficiency on the academic performance of students in professional nursing courses and the NLE.Methods: This study employed a retrospective descriptive correlational study design. Secondary analysis of existing research data sets of 141 nursing students in one nursing school in the Philippines was performed. Pearson’s r was used to determine the correlation between variables.Results: Findings showed that there were significant correlations between academic performance and the Verbal Ability subscale of the Nursing Aptitude Test (p=0.003) and the three English courses included in the nursing curriculum (p=0.000). There were also significant correlations between the NLE ratings and Verbal Ability (p=0.000) and the three English courses (p=0.000).Conclusion: English language proficiency is an important factor in determining the academic and licensure success of nursing students. Nursing schools must ensure that approaches in improving students' English language proficiency must be well integrated into the undergraduate nursing program.

Academic Performance and the Role of Self-directed Learning, Self-esteem, and Grit among Nursing Students

“…The works of Fajar et al (2019) among nursing students in Pakistan, Alshammaria et al (2018) among nursing students in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Alos et al, (2015) among nursing students in the Philippines assessed teacher, student, home, and schoolrelated factors that affect the academic performance of nursing students. Type of high school attended, senior high school strand, English language proficiency, stress, and academic factors were also demonstrated to be associated with the academic performance of Filipino nursing students (Oducado & Penuela, 2014;Oducado et al, 2020;Malaga & Oducado, 2021;Oducado & Estoque, 2021).…”

“…Meanwhile, studies have shown that academic or intellectual and non-academic factors influence students' academic performance (Oducado & Penuela, 2014). These variables should be investigated as foundations of the nursing programs (Oducado et al, 2020). A systematic review by Mthimunye & Daniels (2019) identified many significant predictors of nursing students' academic performance to include but not limited to demographic factors, preadmission qualifications, emotional intelligence, self-control, and resilience.…”

Online Learning in Nursing Education During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Stress, Satisfaction, and Academic Performance

“…Students' experiences and academic performance in the new learning platform need evaluation. The students' academic performance is a key indicator of quality education (Oducado et al, 2020). Examining the impact of online learning on the students' academic performance is critical to evaluate the curricular changes (Amir et al, 2020).…”

English Language Usage and Academic Achievement Among Nursing Students: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…Academic achievement refers to performance outcomes of the educational process that occurs at school, college, and university, which can be characterized by the student's cumulative grade point average (GPA) ( Spinath, 2012 ). Several studies from various fields, including nursing, indicated that English language proficiency was associated with college students’ overall academic achievement ( Martirosyan et al, 2015 ; Mthimunye & Daniels, 2019 ; Nasirudeen & Xiao, 2020 ; Oducado et al, 2020 ; Salamonson et al, 2008 ; Tenney et al, 2019 ) and a predictor of future academic success ( Dev & Qiqieh, 2016 ) and licensure success ( Oducado et al, 2020 ). However, some nursing studies indicated that English language usage was not associated with academic performance ( Gajewski, 2022 ; Zheng et al, 2014 ), which indicated that the literature shows inconsistent findings.…”