The symposium investigates the links between academic language proficiency and academic achievement in higher education among international students and home students. International students do not enjoy the same level of academic success as home students and are at a greater risk of failure. Similar issues have been reported for home students from less traditional backgrounds (so-called 'first generation students'), since large differences in language and literacy ability have been found among L1 students. L2 and L1 students thus appear to have many problems in common, as academic language is a special register that has to be learned by everyone. The symposium will focus on (i) the definition of academic language proficiency as a construct; (ii) both global and specific measures for assessing academic language proficiency; (iii) the influence of individual learner variables on academic language proficiency; (iv) academic language proficiency as a predictor of academic achievement; (v) the effect of a remedial language program. Addressing these issues is crucial not just for identifying students at risk and providing practical remediation, but also for a full understanding of language learning development at advanced levels. Symposium organizers: Folkert Kuiken and Ineke Vedder (University of Amsterdam). Featured speaker: Danijela Trenkic (University of York).
Room 1 AILA 2021 aila2021@gcb.nlThe symposium investigates the links between academic language proficiency and academic achievement in higher education among international students and home students. International students do not enjoy the same level of academic success as home students and are at a greater risk of failure. Similar issues have been reported for home students from less traditional backgrounds (so-called 'first generation students'), since large differences in language and literacy ability have been found among L1 students. L2 and L1 students thus appear to have many problems in common, as academic language is a special register that has to be learned by everyone. The symposium will focus on (i) the definition of academic language proficiency as a construct; (ii) both global and specific measures for assessing academic language proficiency; (iii) the influence of individual learner variables on academic language proficiency; (iv) academic language proficiency as a predictor of academic achievement; (v) the effect of a remedial language program. Addressing these issues is crucial not just for identifying students at risk and providing practical remediation, but also for a full understanding of language learning development at advanced levels. Symposium organizers: Folkert Kuiken and Ineke Vedder (University of Amsterdam). Featured speaker: Danijela Trenkic (University of York).