By: Armin Gerhard, Associate Director, Intensive English Language Center (IELC), June 1994, ext. 3232
International students whose native language is not English pose a special problem in academic advising. Their needs are different from those of American students because of their incomplete mastery of the English language. Consequently, they require careful guidance, based on the advisor's awareness of the specific concerns outline here.
Based on their proficiency in English (between 500-529 on the TOEFL), some Intensive English students are enrolled only part-time in Intensive English, with concurrent part-time enrollment in academic classes. Students in this category who have transfer credits are advised by the department of their major. Students with no transfer credit continue to be advised by the Intensive English Language Center. Once they have achieved the minimum required level of English proficiency (530 for undergraduates and 550, or higher depending on major, for graduate students), they are generally eligible for full-time academic status. However, these are only minimum requirements and students whose scores are not substantially higher than these are often not yet ready to compete with native speakers of English in courses requiring much reading and writing. Consequently, they may not do well in English 101, Communication 111, or any other course with extensive reading, writing and speaking assignments.
Students' scores on the subsection of the TOEFL should be carefully noted because these can have a significant bearing on their chances for success in academic courses. A student may have a TOEFL score above 530 but may have a disproportionately low Listening Comprehension score, for example. Such a student is likely to have greater difficulty in lecture courses. A significantly lower score on the Structure and Written Expression section may indicate a need for a course in this skill area. A low Reading Comprehension and Vocabulary section score may call for enrollment in UC 160 (Reading and Study Skills). Any of the above deficiencies may also indicate a need for part-time enrollment in Intensive English before a student has a fair chance of competing with native speakers in the academic classroom.
Undergraduate international students may fulfill the WSU English proficiency requirement in one of four ways:
Undergraduates who are in one of the four categories above should sit for the English Placement Test given by the English Department. Their score on the test will determine whether they should be placed in English 013, 015, 100 or 101. Students still in Intensive English are not eligible for any of these classes.
Not all foreign students are science and engineering majors, and it may be more difficult to find courses to complete the schedules of non-science or engineering majors. Nonetheless, courses that meet some of the special needs of foreign students in their initial semester of academic enrollment can be found in PE, Dance, Art and Music.
