L1 & L2 STUDENTS TOGETHER: ONLINE EDUCATION TO THE RESCUE

Veronica Baig, Academic Coordinatorand

Tamara Renkas, Tutor

THE COURSES• English 155: Developing Writing Skills

• Designed for L1 students• 66 L1 students• 15 L2 students

• English 177: English for Academic Purposes• Designed for L2 students

• 31 L1 students• 30 L2 students

• English 189: English for Business• Designed for L2 students

• 25 L1 students• 15 L2 students

OVERVIEW

• Background• Results• Discussion• Conclusions• Questions

1. BACKGROUND• Where did the idea come from?• Common difficulties of L1 and L2 students• Comparing the difficulties• Comparing the abilities• L1 students—who are they?• L2 students—who are they?• The statistics• Asynchronous and online

WHERE DID THE IDEA COME FROM?

• Observation of L1 and L2 students taking the same courses

• Knowledge of classroom teaching situation

• Development of an hypothesis: Both L1 and L2 students can do equally well in an online English course

COMMON DIFFICULTIES OF L1 & L2 TOGETHER

• Most L2 students are nervous when they are in a classroom with L1 students.

• L2 students are less likely to answer questions.

• The fluency of L1 students becomes intimidating.

• There become at least two distinct groups in a classroom.

• It is difficult for a teacher to treat the two groups equally—L1 typically demand more teacher time and teacher talk.

COMPARING THE DIFFICULTIESL1

• Don’t know what they are lacking• Word confusion: e.g. sever/severe• spell words as they hear them:

e.g. “for instants” instead of “for instance”

• Punctuation• Lack of grammar vocabulary• Problem with qualifiers, modifiers,

and parallel construction• Writing organization• Wordiness: e.g. “will’ and the

passive voice• Pronoun agreement

L2

• Nervous about language ability

• Use of awkward constructions

• Word confusion• Problem with article usage• Other issues from L1

interference• Slower reading and

comprehension• Slower writing ability

COMPARING THE ABILITIES

L1

• Confident speaking ability• Idiomatic usage• Wide vocabulary• Knowledge of the

Canadian/western education system

• Understand that there is a writing problem

• Faster reading and comprehension

• Faster writing ability (usually)

L2

• They know what they are lacking

• They understand grammar vocabulary and can apply punctuation rules more accurately

• They are keen to improve—highly motivated

L1 STUDENTS

• Age 16 to 90• Home schooled• Young mothers• Working men and

women• Visiting students• Students with

disabilities• Retirees• Canadian Forces• Prisoners• ESD• Etc.

L2 STUDENTS

• Canada: • Immigrants• Refugees• Francophones

• The rest of the world-international

• L l.5• Entrance standard

• Open admission

• ELA• CLB 6-7

THE STATISTICS• Sept. 2010 to Sept. 2012• Engl 177: All students—4 class sections• Engl 189: All students—4 class sections• Engl 155: 3 class sections (3/10 tutors)• Tutors identify L1 or L2—students do not self-identify

• For all assignments, exams, and final grades:• Means• Maximum and minimum scores• Standard deviations

ASYNCHRONOUS & ONLINE

2. THE RESULTS• Comparison of average scores for L1 and L2 students in

each course• Discussion of highest and lowest scores for L1 and L2

students• Comparison of standard deviations for each set of

students

COMPARISON OF AVERAGE SCORES: ENGL 155

#1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6 #7 #8 exam final gr.0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

Engl 155: Average scores. L1 and L2

L1 av.L2 av.

Assignment

%

COMPARISON OF AVERAGE SCORES: ENGL 177

#1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6 #7 #8 #9 #10 exam final gr.60

65

70

75

80

85

Engl 177: Average scores, L1 and L2

L1 av.L2 av.

Assignment

%

COMPARISON OF AVERAGE SCORES: ENGL 189

#1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6 #7 #8 exam final gr.62

64

66

68

70

72

74

76

78

80

Engl 189: Average scores L1 and L2

L1 av.L2 av.

assignment

%

COMPARISON OF HIGH & LOW SCORES: ENGL 155L1 six different students had the lowest score, eight the highestL2 three different students had the lowest score, six the highest

#1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6 #7 #8 exam final gr.0

20

40

60

80

100

120

Engl 155: Maximum & Minimum Scores, L1 and L2

L1 max.L1 min.L2 max.L2 min.

Assignment

%

COMPARISON OF HIGH & LOW SCORES: ENGL 177L1 seven different students had lowest score, seven the highestL2 six different students had lowest score, nine the highest

#1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6 #7 #8 #9 #10 exam final gr.0

20

40

60

80

100

120

Engl 177: Maximum and minimum scores, L1 and L2

L1 max.

L1 min.

L2 max.

L2 min.

Assignment

%

COMPARISON OF HIGH & LOW SCORES: ENGL 189L1 five different students had lowest mark, three had highestL2 four different students has lowest mark, five had highest

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 100

20

40

60

80

100

120

Engl 189: maximum and minimum scores, L1 and L2

L1 max.L1 min.L2 max.L2 min.

Assignment

%

COMPARISON OF STANDARD DEVIATION: ENGL 155

#1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6 #7 #8 exam final gr.0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Engl 155: Standard deviations, L1 and L2

L1 +1 SDL1 - 1 SD L2 + 1 SDL2 - 1 SD

Assignment

%

COMPARISON OF STANDARD DEVIATION: ENGL 177

#1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6 #7 #8 #9 #10 exam final gr.0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Engl 177: Standard deviations, L1 and L2

L1 +1 SDL1 - 1 SD L2 + 1 SDL2 - 1 SD

Assignment

%

COMPARISON OF STANDARD DEVIATION: ENGL 189

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 100

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Engl 189: Standard Deviations, L1 and L2

L1 +1 SDL1 - 1 SD L2 + 1 SDL2 - 1 SD

Assignments

%

3. DISCUSSION• Discussion of L1 and L2 comparisons• Factors that we think affect the learning outcomes• Addressing the needs of the various students• Resources available to assist students• Do these courses work equally well for each set of

students?

L1 & L2 COMPARISONS (1)AVERAGE SCORES

• The graphs show that the differences between L1 and L2 students are minimal.

• The greatest similarity is for Engl 155 which has the largest student sample.

• For some assignments, L2 students have scored higher than L1 students.

• The scores for the various assignments show that both groups score higher or lower on the same assignments.

• In 2 courses, L1 students score higher then L2 students on the final exam—most noticeable for Engl 177. Length of exam may be a factor.

L1 & L2 COMPARISONS (2)HIGH & LOW SCORES• The results are not skewed because of just one or two

really able students or one or two who found the courses exceptionally challenging.

• The greater the student numbers, the greater the variety of students with high and low scores.

• In 2 courses (155 & 189) the less able L1 students tend to score lower than the less able L2 students.

• In Engl 177, one or more students in both groups scored 0 or very low mark for assignments 9 and 10. Also, the marks in general decrease when students start writing longer essays.

L1 & L2 COMPARISONS (3)STANDARD DEVIATIONS• Engl 155 shows a similar range of scores for all

assignments.• Both 155 and 189 show that the range of scores tends to

overlap—sometimes greater for L1 and sometimes for L2• Engl 177—the range is greatest for assignments 1, 8, 9,

and 10.• This Engl 177 situation to some extent masks the fact that

exam scores are lower than assignment scores.

ADDRESSING THE NEEDS OF L1 STUDENTS

• Explain to L1 students why it helps to understand grammar terms.

• Refer students to appropriate resources e.g. L1 students do not like being referred to L2 resources.

• Repetitive errors, such as comma placement or word confusion—explain the first time, and then show students they have made a similar error. Try to get students to learn to self-correct.

• Show students the difference between formal academic writing and other writing styles. Explain levels of formality in language use and the difference between the spoken and written forms of English.

• Provide opportunities for students to recognize the passive voice.

ADDRESSING THE NEEDS OF L2 STUDENTS

• Use standard grammar terms to explain errors.• Recognize that L2 students may have learned a different

method of essay organization. Explain the differences.• Show awareness of common L2 interference issues.• For repeated errors, e.g. article usage, indicate that there

is an error; steer students to self-correction.• Refer students to specific L2 resources.• Identify errors resulting from listening to spoken language.• Use grammar to explain punctuation errors.

FACTORS THAT WE THINK AFFECT THE LEARNING OUTCOMES• Appropriate choice of course level• Previous language/writing experience• Sufficient study time• Motivation• Ability to internalize and integrate instructor feedback• Willingness to participate fully in the learning experience• Maturity• Self-directed learning• Self-funded or externally funded

RESOURCES AVAILABLE TO ASSIST STUDENTS

• The tutor• The textbook(s)• Course materials: Language support/glossaries• The AU Write Site:

http://www2.athabascau.ca/services/write-site/• English Grammar Handbook• PET (Practical English Teacher)• Concise ESL Support• Academic Writing Resources• Coaching

• Other resources: e.g. OWL

DO THESE COURSES WORK EQUALLY WELL FOR EACH SET OF STUDENTS?

• They can and they do.• Average level of achievement is very similar.• Equally, for students who lack sufficient preparation, either

L1 or L2, the courses prove more difficult.• Difficulties are also related to factors other than language

background.• Online education does allow both sets of students to achieve

their goals while taking the same class at the same time.• A notable difference is the lower average mark for exams for

L2 students.

4. CONCLUSIONS• Online education can work equally well (or poorly) for both

L1 and L2 students in the same “class”.• Performance factors are many and varied.• The reality is that both L1 and L2 students present with a

wide variety of background language skills and abilities.• Instructors can and do address individual language

needs, but they cannot address the other factors that influence success or lack of success. In those situations, moral support and efforts at motivation are all that is possible.

5. QUESTIONS• veronica@athabascau.ca

• tamarar@athabascau.ca