Learning Experiences of Foreign Students in ESL Classes

Abstract

INTRODUCTION

This research study examined the learning experiences of the five foreign students in ESL Classes at the Cavite State University Indang-main campus to develop qualitative data collection method using written diaries, structured and unstructured recorded interviews and to use it to explore participants' learning experiences.

METHODS

The five participants were undergraduate BSMT, BSN, BSBM, and BSAT students who were provided ten-day diaries each, after the submission of each day diary, interviews followed immediately. Students' learning experiences were captured while immersed in the course, using a semi-structured video diary. Participants entered the faculty office and sometimes in the classroom at different time points throughout the research study and responded to open-ended questions. Following thematic analysis, students were found to arrive with mixed feelings towards individual and group work and expected learning outcomes. Purposive sampling was used to ensure the deepest possible understanding of the learning experiences, particularly the foreign students in adopting classroom multicultural settings.

RESULTS

The findings provide a base for future investigation into the long-term impact on student development, skill transfer, and transformative learning experiences of international students. The semi-structured recorded interviews /video and a written diary yielded rich data, contributing to the literature by offering a simple, yet effective, qualitative research method that can be implemented in a variety of contexts.

DISCUSSIONS

The results show the learning experiences of the foreign students were the participants acquired the learning by engaging them to the different activities, both individual and by group participation. On the other hand, writing and speaking activity reflected in the data collected that has a huge learning acquisition. Furthermore, the participants of the study needed to give them an opportunity to participate. A thorough study was also recommended in identifying the learning experiences of students so that the school and teachers can assess the feedback on how these learning experiences can be corrected or enhanced. It was also recommended that the next researchers should consider more participants and should not be limited to foreign students, but also naturally born Filipino students because this will give better feedback to the stakeholder’s responsibility in the academic performance of students in general.