Factors influencing the performance of English as an Additional Language nursing students: instructors' perspectives

The increasing number of immigrants in Canada has led to more nursing students for whom English is an additional language (EAL). Limited language skills, cultural differences, and a lack of support can pose special challenges for these students and the instructors who teach them. Using a qualitative research methodology, in-depth interviews with fourteen EAL nursing students and two focus group interviews with nine instructors were conducted. In this paper, the instructors' perspectives are presented. Data acquired from the instructors suggest that the challenges experienced by EAL students and instructors reside in a lack of awareness and support at the institutional and structural levels rather than solely on capacities of individual EAL students or instructors. From this study, identification of supportive activities for nurse educators and education sector decision makers emerged.