Success factors for English as a second language university students’ attainment in academic English language proficiency: exploring the roles of secondary school medium-of-instruction, motivation and language learning strategies

Abstract

Displaying a strong competence in English as a second language (L2) is a major advantage for university graduates in personal development and career advancement. There are limited studies that have explored how the implementation of English-Medium-Instruction (EMI) in non-Anglophone universities can affect students’ academic English proficiency. This mixed-method study explores how both the learners’ variables (motivation and L2 learning strategies) and the medium-of-instruction policy implemented at secondary and university settings can contribute to students’ success in academic English learning at a bilingual university in Hong Kong. The findings of a large-scale questionnaire reveal that the effect of medium-of-instruction in students’ secondary school education is not a significant predictor of students’ academic English language proficiency at university. The findings suggest that university students who previously attended secondary schools which adopt medium-of-instruction other than English tend not to be disadvantaged in improving their academic English proficiency. Institutional factor (i.e. provision of EMI lectures at university) and learners’ variables, including students’ L2 strategy use and motivation, are statistically significant predictors of the student’s English language proficiency. The implications for higher education policy in Hong Kong and worldwide will be discussed.

Strategy Use, Cultural Intelligence, and English Language Proficiency of Undergraduate Saudi Students

“…The findings indicate that metacognitive and cognitive strategies were ranked as being the highest used strategies linked to proficiency. This finding agrees with Tai & Zhao's (2022) results indicating that the use of cognitive and metacognitive strategies predicted higher success in English learning among university students in Hong Kong. Conversely, studies on other cultures named other types as being the most used, such as social strategies in China (Ma & Abdul Samat, 2022), compensation strategies in Thailand (Zou & Arab World English Journal www.awej.org ISSN: 2229-9327 42 Supinda, 2022), and affective strategies in Turkey (Tezcan & Deneme, 2016).…”

“…Contrary to many previous studies, this study found no effect of gender or school background on strategy use or the results of the CQS. The decreasing effect of school background on the development of English language proficiency at the university level was similar to the findings of Tai and Zhao (2022) on students in Hong Kong. It is also very promising given the fact that the Saudi government schools were under improvement in the past two decades to catch up with private and international schools and earlier studies such as Aburizaizahet al ( 2016) noted that graduates at that time did not reflect that because the improvements haven't been fully implemented.…”

“…This research design is widely used in studies on LLS and its relationship to language achievement and other variables (e.g. Al-Buainain, 2010;Alhaisoni, 2012;Alhaisony, 2017;Bećirović et al, 2021;Dahmash, 2023;Javid et al, 2013;Muniandy&Shuib, 2016;Radwan, 2022;Riazi, 2007;Tai & Zhao, 2022;Tang & Tian, 2015) and also in studies of cultural awareness and intelligence and its relationship to language learning (Karadag, 2020;Rachmawatyet al, 2018).…”

“…Most studies used Oxford's (1990) Strategy Inventory of Language Learning (SILL)which is described by Ellis (1994) as the most comprehensive instrument in this line of research. LLS was explored in China (Liu & Rao, 2023;Ma & Abdul Samat, 2022;Tang & Tian, 2015;Zou &Supinda, 2022), Hong Kong (Tai & Zhao, 2022), Taiwan (Huang, 2018), Malaysia (Muniandy&Shuib, 2016), Iran (Karbakhsh& Safa, 2020;Sadeghi & Soleimani, 2016;Taheri et al, 2019), and Turkey (Tezcan&Deneme, 2016). The scope of those studies included different contextual and individual factors, but a recurring finding is a positive correlation between language proficiency and strategy use.…”

“…For example, Zou andSupinda (2022) related strategy use and development in language proficiency among Chinese students in Thailand in a cross-cultural educational context, and Ma and Abdul Samat(2022) with Chinese undergraduate students in flipped English classrooms. Tai and Zhao (2022) focused on factors that predict success in university-level English language proficiency by comparing secondary school background, motivation, and language learning strategies. Their results showed that previous school instruction was not relevant and that motivation and the use of LLS were linked to increased language proficiency.…”