Object in View

Abstract

The literature on international student participation in Anglo-Western universities is predicated on an assumption of underachievement. Reductive understandings prevail with English language competence and cultural background highlighted. Drawing from a case study of group work in a first-year module in a management course at an internationalizing university in the United Kingdom, this article explores students’ perceptions of the impact of English language competence on participation. The case study, which aimed at a holistic understanding, adopted an activity theoretical framework for modeling participation and for analyzing focus group data. Four educational objects were identified with the construct “object in view” employed in recognition of the plurality of the object. The in-depth analysis focused on the object. Although focus groups traversed a range of topics, English language competence was widely discussed. However, the analysis suggests that the extent English language was perceived as an issue was relative to the object in view.

Investigating the Challenges of Teamwork for 1st Year Undergraduate Engineering Students

“…A study conducted by the University of Exeter in 2020 sought to understand international students' participation in teamwork and the main barriers that impact team cohesion and success (Straker, 2020). The main outcome suggested that English language competence was the main barrier.…”

Student Perceptions of the Place, Mode, and Teacher Contribution to Teamwork within Undergraduate Chemical Engineering

“…They found that while international students experience a series of issues common to both international and domestic students, their experience was compounded by specific challenges related to communication styles and cultural/linguistic barriers. Straker [23] cautions against reductionist approaches that focus purely on English language deficits in international students. The pandemic has also impacted the participation of many international students (e.g., at Australian universities), as they were restricted to online learning and teamwork through border and campus closures [24].…”