English-language acculturation predicts academic performance in nursing students who speak English as a second language

• Published in: Research in nursing & health Vol. 31; no. 1; pp. 86 - 94
• Main Authors: Salamonson, Yenna, Everett, Bronwyn, Koch, Jane, Andrew, Sharon, Davidson, Patricia M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hoboken Wiley Subscription Services, Inc., A Wiley Company 01.02.2008; Wiley; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Subjects: Academic achievement; academic performance; Acculturation; Adolescent; Adult; Analysis of Variance; Biological and medical sciences; Clinical Competence; College students; Cultural Diversity; Education, Nursing, Baccalaureate; Educational Measurement; English as a second language; English language; Exploratory factor analysis; Factor Analysis, Statistical; Female; Health participants; higher education; Humans; Linear Models; Linguistic aspects; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Miscellaneous; Multilingualism; Needs Assessment; Nursing; Nursing education; Nursing Education Research; Prospective Studies; Public health. Hygiene; Public health. Hygiene-occupational medicine; Regression Analysis; Residence Characteristics; Risk Assessment; Students; Students, Nursing - psychology; Students, Nursing - statistics & numerical data; Surveys and Questionnaires - standards; Australia; Performance evaluation; Human; Prediction; Student; nursing education; English; Acculturation; Nursing; Higher education; Language; Education; Professional practice; Predictive factor; Performance; academic performance; Nurse
• ISSN: 0160-6891; 1098-240X
• DOI: 10.1002/nur.20224

Students who speak English as a second language (ESL) face considerable challenges in English language universities, but little is known about the relationship between English‐language acculturation and academic performance. A prospective, correlational design was used to validate the English Language Acculturation Scale (ELAS), a measure of the linguistic aspect of acculturation, and to determine the relationship between English‐language acculturation and academic achievement among 273 first‐year nursing students. Exploratory factor analyses demonstrated that the ELAS was a valid and reliable measure (α = .89). When ELAS scores were examined in relation to students' grades, students with the lowest ELAS scores also had the lowest mean subject grades, highlighting the need to place greater emphasis on identifying English‐language acculturation among ESL students. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Res Nurs Health 31:86–94, 2008