What happens to ESL students' writing after three years of study at an English medium university?

Abstract

The number of international students coming to study in Australian universities has increased exponentially in the past decade, mirroring trends in other English speaking countries. For the majority of these students, English is an additional language. The motivation for studying in an English medium university is presumably not only to gain a degree but also to improve English language proficiency. Studying in an English-medium university provides these students with a rich immersion environment. However, research on whether these students' English proficiency does improve has to date been scarce, and has generally examined students' gains after a relatively short duration (e.g., 12 weeks)...