Retention strategies for ESL nursing students: Review of literature 1900-99 and strategies and outcomes in a small private School of Nursing with limited funding

Journal of Multicultural Nursing & Health, Summer 2000 by Klisch, Mary Lou

Having a specific ESL Advisor has been a rich and mutually fulfilling experience for students as well as for the advisor. Students report that they benefitted from having one person to whom they could relate, a person who cared about them, knew them well, and was familiar with their individual and common concerns. The advisor experienced immense personal satisfaction by assisting ESL students to achieve their goals, and learned a great deal about the culture and strengths, as well as the difficulties that these students brought to the nursing school setting. The following example illustrates this point.

Three Vietnamese-American nursing students were in the advisor's office, seeking feedback on a group paper they were writing. When they were ready to make their revisions, they asked if they could use the advisor's computer. As was their custom, they sat on three chairs facing the keyboard, and inserted their disk. What followed was most astounding to observe as the three students, working together as one unit, edited their paper with nearly no verbal exchange. One person would make a change, and then the other two would enhance it or change it further, until they produced a much stronger product. This was an admirable and amazing example of "cooperation vs. competition/importance of group vs. individual", common Asian-American cultural values.

II. English Language Enhancement

Communicating effectively in a second language has been identified as a major challenge facing ESL nursing students. Strategies used at this school which are aimed at assisting students to meet this challenge included assessment of language proficiency for the nursing program, language assistance throughout the program, and measures taken by faculty to decrease test bias and facilitate test-taking by ESL students.

SPEAK: An Assessment Test of Language Proficiency

The English speaking proficiency of prospective students was assessed prior to the student's acceptance into the School of Nursing. Prospective students were given the SPEAK (Speaking Proficiency English Assessment Kit) Test, available from Educational Testing Service, Princeton, NJ. This test provided a valid and reliable assessment of the English speaking proficiency of people who are not native speakers of the language. The SPEAK test was administered and scored by an organization affiliated with the campus called the American Cultural Exchange (ACE). Students who do not pass the SPEAK test on the first attempt were offered 1-1 tutoring from the ACE, and were allowed to take the test up to three times. Tutoring was available in accent reduction, pronunciation, and fluency of speech.

On going Language Tutoring

After they passed the SPEAK Test, ESL nursing students were encouraged to participate in individual or group English language tutoring, provided by the ACE, on a short-term or on-going basis. The goal of tutoring was to improve their English comprehension, speaking, and writing.

Language Partnerships

Interested ESL students were paired with volunteer English as First Language nursing students. These pairs met a few times per month for lunch to talk casually. The goal was to increase the ESL students' communication comfort. and to give native speakers an opportunity to get to know an ESL student on a 1-1 basis.