Does the writing of undergraduate ESL students develop after one year of study in an English-medium university?

Abstract

English language skills are often listed by employers among key attributes needed for employment and there is a general dissatisfaction with English standards, especially writing skills, following graduation (e.g., Healy & Trounson, 2010; Rowbotham, 2011 in the Australian context). In the case of ESL students, research on whether English proficiency improves after studying at an English-medium university has to date been scarce, and has generally examined students' gains after a relatively short duration. The current study examined students' ESL writing proficiency following a year's study in an Australian university. The study used a test-retest design. A range of measures was used to asses..