Speaking in Tongues: Can International Graduate Students Read International Graduate Admissions Materials?

Abstract

A recent Educational Testing Services report (2016) found that international graduate students with a TOEFL score of 80-the minimum average TOEFL score for graduate admission in the United States-usually possess reading subscores of 20, equating to a 12 th -grade reading comprehension level. However, one public flagship university's international graduate student admissions instructions are written at a 17 th -grade reading comprehension level, or, a 27-30 band on the reading section of the TOEFL. This study seeks to answer the question, "Do U.S. graduate programs compose admissions materials at unreadable levels compared to these programs' minimum reading comprehension levels for international graduate student admission?" Findings reveal average public flagship international graduate student admissions materials are written above 15 th -grade reading comprehension levels, with select flagships composing these materials at 19th grade reading levels. Implications for practitioners and policymakers, as well as areas of future research, are addressed.

Intelligibility is equity: Can international students read undergraduate admissions materials?

“…Ultimately, this study's import—along with Taylor's () foundational work—renders any limitation relatively minor.…”

“…This study aims to best triangulate the readability of each webpage by employing several commonly used readability measures in tandem and then averaging their results using Taylor's (2017aTaylor's ( , 2017b series. These readability measures include the Automated Readability Index (ARI) (Kincaid & Delionbach, 1973), the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level Test (FK) (Kincaid, Fishburne, Rogers, & Chissom, 1975), the Gunning Fog Index (GFI) (Gunning, 1952) and the Simple Measure of Gobbledygook (SMOG) (McLaughlin, 1969).…”

“…Therefore, it seems logical for US institutions to audit their online communication to determine whether or not said communication is intelligible for international students, including communication made available in these students’ native language(s). However, recent research found that international graduate admissions materials posted on the institutional websites of public flagships were written at the 17th‐grade reading comprehension level, unintelligible for even native speakers of English with advanced degrees (Taylor, ). The readability of postsecondary materials—an under‐researched aspect of the postsecondary enrolment process—represents a hurdle for prospective international undergraduate students, however, no extant research has examined how readable international undergraduate admissions materials are, nor has such a study surveyed if international (or domestic) admissions materials have been written in languages other than English.…”

“…posted on the institutional websites of public flagships were written at the 17th-grade reading comprehension level, unintelligible for even native speakers of English with advanced degrees (Taylor, 2017b). The readability of postsecondary materials-an under-researched aspect of the postsecondary enrolment process-represents a hurdle for prospective international undergraduate students, however, no extant research has examined how readable international undergraduate admissions materials are, nor has such a study surveyed if international (or domestic) admissions materials have been written in languages other than English.…”

¿Comprenderán Mis Amigos y La Familia? Analyzing Spanish Translations of Admission Materials for Latina/o Students Applying to 4-Year Institutions in the United States

“…Second, this study will learn whether 4-year institutions in the United States provide a machine translation widget or application on their institutional website so prospective Latina/o students can access admissions materials in their native language or the language spoken by individuals in their social networks, as these freely available machine technologies have been demonstrated to be nearly as accurate as humans when translating English to Spanish (Turner, 2016). Third, this study will reveal at what grade level undergraduate admissions materials are written—in both English and, if translated, Spanish—as recent research has suggested that many postsecondary materials are written above the 14th-grade English reading comprehension level (Taylor, 2017a, 2017b, 2018), although the average U.S. adult reads at the seventh-grade level (Clear Language Group, 2016).…”