Redesigning nursing tutorials for ESL students: a pilot study

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Higher Education
• Linguistic Studies

Background:

• Rising enrollment of English as a Second Language (ESL) Bachelor of Nursing (BN) students enhances workforce diversity.
• Higher attrition rates among ESL nursing students are linked to academic failure and English language proficiency concerns.
• Current ESL support models are often supplementary, voluntary, and underutilized.

Purpose of the Study:

• To discuss an integrated tutorial model for first-year Bachelor of Nursing (BN) students with low English language proficiency.
• To examine ESL students' perceptions of the integrated tutorial program's benefits.

Main Methods:

• Development and implementation of targeted tutorials within the first-year nursing curriculum.
• Qualitative examination of student perceptions regarding the integrated support.

Main Results:

• The integrated tutorial model was specifically designed for ESL students with limited English proficiency.
• ESL students perceived the tutorials as beneficial to their learning experience and academic progress.

Conclusions:

• Integrated, curriculum-embedded support is a sustainable model for addressing the academic challenges faced by ESL nursing students.
• This approach can help mitigate attrition rates and improve learning outcomes for a diverse nursing student population.