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English proficiency and academic success in international postgraduate education

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Abstract

In the Netherlands internationalization of higher education may lead to an increasing use of a foreign language-for example English-as the medium of instruction. This may raise the issue whether learning in a foreign language affects academic performance, given the language problems international students are faced with when studying abroad. The present article reviews research in this field and presents a study into the academic achievement of 90 Indonesian engineers. These subjects took a one-year English-medium postgraduate course at the International Institute for Hydraulics and Environmental Engineering in Delft. Language proficiency was measured by TOEFL and academic success was defined as the average score on seven written examinations. A most remarkable finding is the observation of a cut-off point in the relationship between English proficiency and academic success. This has led to the hypothesis that there is a range of TOEFL scores within which a better command of English increases the chance of being academically successful. The lower and upper limits of this range may vary according to academic discipline or may even be institution-specific. Additional findings are presented as well as implications and directions for further research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Educational Development Unit, Faculty of Philosophy and Humanities, Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands

    A. A. Vinke & W. M. G. Jochems

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  1. A. A. Vinke
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  2. W. M. G. Jochems
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Vinke, A.A., Jochems, W.M.G. English proficiency and academic success in international postgraduate education. High Educ 26, 275–285 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01383487

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