ERIC Number: EJ1024982
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2013
Pages: 11
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0304-3797
EISSN: N/A
Testing Foreign Language Impact on Engineering Students' Scientific Problem-Solving Performance
Tatzl, Dietmar; Messnarz, Bernd
European Journal of Engineering Education, v38 n6 p620-630 2013
This article investigates the influence of English as the examination language on the solution of physics and science problems by non-native speakers in tertiary engineering education. For that purpose, a statistically significant total number of 96 students in four year groups from freshman to senior level participated in a testing experiment in the Degree Programme of Aviation at the FH JOANNEUM University of Applied Sciences, Graz, Austria. Half of each test group were given a set of 12 physics problems described in German, the other half received the same set of problems described in English. It was the goal to test linguistic reading comprehension necessary for scientific problem solving instead of physics knowledge as such. The results imply that written undergraduate English-medium engineering tests and examinations may not require additional examination time or language-specific aids for students who have reached university-entrance proficiency in English as a foreign language.
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, English (Second Language), Second Language Learning, Language Proficiency, Statistical Significance, Physics, Engineering, Engineering Education, Reading Comprehension, Undergraduate Students, Science Tests, College Science, Language of Instruction, Higher Education, Test Construction, Problem Solving, Self Evaluation (Individuals), Aviation Education
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Austria
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A