From entry to excellence
Exploring relationships between admission pathways, disciplinary areas of study, and EAL international undergraduate students’ academic success in New Zealand
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 7159198 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Xina Jin (0000-0002-0682-0793, Victoria University of Wellington, corresponding author), Rachael Ruegg (0000-0003-2437-3007, Victoria University of Wellington), Averil Coxhead (0000-0003-3392-6961, Victoria University of Wellington) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 75 |
| Pages | 101517 |
| Publication date | 2025-05-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of English for Academic Purposes (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1475-1585 • E-ISSN: 1878-1497 |
| Publisher | Elsevier BV (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1016/j.jeap.2025.101517 |
| OpenAlex | W4409587163 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 28 |
This study aims to identify whether EAL international students’ academic success is related to their university entry pathways and disciplinary areas of study in an English-speaking context. Academic performance records, including Grade Point Average (GPA) scores and percentage of enrolled academic points achieved, of 511 English as an additional language (EAL) undergraduate students over a six-semester period of study were analysed at a university in New Zealand. The results indicated that students who commenced undergraduate studies by passing standardized English tests (e.g., IELTS) outperformed their counterparts in GPA, while those who completed an English for Academic Purposes (EAP) programme showed rapid academic adjustment after one semester of immersive study. Overall, students who were exempt from providing proof of English proficiency due to prior English-medium experience performed the lowest. Although no significant differences were found across disciplinary groups, students in science and engineering fields consistently performed better than their peers in both GPA and academic points achievement rate. Conversely, students in the architecture and design fields performed the lowest among all. The findings suggest that both university entry pathways and disciplinary areas are linked to the divergent academic performance of EAL students, with the relationship between entry pathways and their performance being more pronounced. The study suggests that, in addition to providing continuous academic support, it may be necessary to adjust admission requirements to ensure comparable learning outcomes among EAL international students
Discipline · Excellence · Mathematics education · Medical education · Pedagogy · Political science · Social science · Sociology · Higher Education Learning Practices · International Student and Expatriate Challenges · Medicine · Psychology · Student Assessment and Feedback
International students in English-speaking universities
Why EAP is necessary
Intellectual ability, learning style, personality, achievement motivation and academic success of psychology students in higher education
Internationalization in higher education
Academic language-related challenges at an English-medium university
Effects of pathways into university on the academic success of international undergraduate students
Linguistic and non-linguistic factors impacting EMI academic success
Predicting first-time-in-college students’ degree completion outcomes
The Effects of English Language Proficiency on Adjustment to University Life
A university post-entry English language assessment
What makes a successful undergraduate? The relationship between student characteristics, degree subject and academic success at university
Academic Listening/Speaking Tasks for ESL Students
Academic success from an individual perspective
What drives success in English medium taught courses? The interplay between language proficiency, academic skills, and motivation
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |