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Conversational Language Proficiency among International Students at the University Level
Personal Hypotheses versus Actual Practice
- Source: ITL - International Journal of Applied Linguistics, Volume 113, Issue 1, Jan 1996, p. 245 - 262
Abstract
A common assumption is that international students in English-speaking countries have well-developed competence in academic language, but have deficiencies in conversational language. This assumption is in contrast to the situation among limited English speaking children (CUMMINS, 1989). If true, this lack of conversational language is a problem; even if international students do not plan to reside in an English-speaking country after their studies are complete, the status of English today as a world language means that professionals in many fields need to be able to interact with colleagues on an informal basis.
© 1996 John Benjamins Publishing Company