The silent struggle: experiences of non-native English-speaking psychology students

Achieving greater diversity among postgraduate cohorts and practicing psychologists is important for serving Australia's equally diverse population. Increasing representation of linguistically and culturally diverse undergraduate students provides an opportunity to work towards greater diversity among psychologists. To achieve this representation, non-native English-speaking psychology students (NESPS) should be recruited and retained throughout undergraduate and postgraduate study. However, non-native English speakers encounter significant obstacles in coursework, where language proficiency is central to success. Identifying academic barriers to progression and targeted writing and social supports are key to diversifying psychology student cohorts.

A qualitative approach was used to explore the experiences and needs of NESPS in psychology courses. The study involved semi-structured interviews with six participants identifying as non-native English-speakers from India, Indonesia, and Pakistan.

Reflexive Thematic Analysis was employed and generated five themes including misconceptions about psychology, a perceived lack of diversity in postgraduate selection panels and course content, a perceived lack of community for international students studying psychology, and proposed services such as discipline-specific writing support.

The findings indicate that undergraduate coordinators should develop a community for NESPS, offer a discipline-specific writing centre, and promote diverse representation on postgraduate selection panels.