Sociocultural Factors That Influence Migrant Students’ Academic Performance in an English Language Teaching Program: Voices from Abroad

Authors

Marlon Vanegas Rojas, Universidad Católica Luis AmigóFollow
Santiago Hoyos Giraldo, Universidad Católica Luis AmigóFollow
Edwar Andrés Martínez Espinel, Universidad Católica Luis AmigóFollow
Brayan E. Gómez Anaya, Universidad Católica Luis AmigóFollow

Abstract

This qualitative research explains how sociocultural factors influence the academic performance of a group of migrant students enrolled in the English Language Teaching Program at Universidad Católica Luis Amigó. Three data collection techniques were implemented for the development of this project. First, a semi-structured interview with open-ended questions was conducted for each participant. Interviews were recorded and then transcribed for analysis purposes. Before the interview, participants were delivered a consent form and a biodata format to be filled. Second, six participants were invited to write a week-long narrative describing their experiences in the target cultural scenario. Third, a focus group was set up with five students selected at random out of the thirteen participants. Major results indicate that students who perceive a higher level of family support are more likely to achieve their academic goals. Besides, migrant students who report fewer difficulties to adjust to the host culture, have greater opportunities to succeed academically. In addition, migrant students’ previous academic experiences have an important impact on their adjustment process to the university context. This study concluded that migrant students’ academic performance is a dialogical and reciprocal relationship among different sociocultural factors.

Keywords

Migrant Students, Academic Performance, Family Support, Intercultural Adjustment, Academic Adaptation

Author Bio(s)

Marlon Vanegas Rojas holds a Master in Education from Universidad de Antioquia, Psychologist from Universidad de San Buenaventura, Bachelor of Arts in Teaching Modern Languages: English and French from Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana and a Teaching Certificate in American Culture and English Language from the University of Wisconsin, La Crosse. Correspondence regarding this article can be addressed directly to: marlonvanegas@gmail.com.

Santiago Hoyos Giraldo holds a Bachelor degree in Teaching English as a Foreign Language from Universidad Católica Luis Amigó. He is currently undertaking a Bachelor degree in Political Science at Universidad de Antioquia. He is also a candidate to pursue a Master's degree in Education for Diversity from Universidad de Manizales. Correspondence regarding this article can also be addressed directly to: santyhoyos@gmail.com.

Edwar Martínez Espinel holds a Bachelor degree in Teaching English as a Foreign Language from Universidad Católica Luis Amigó. Correspondence regarding this article can also be addressed directly to: eamartinez_360@hotmail.com.

Brayan E. Gómez Anaya holds a Bachelor degree in Teaching English as a Foreign Language from Universidad Católica Luis Amigó. Correspondence regarding this article can also be addressed directly to: brayangomezanaya@gmail.com.

Acknowledgements

We want to say thank you to the university for its support in this endless process called research. Thank you so much to teachers who in one way or another have been interested in supporting the development of our project. Finally, thank you to our families because of their patience and love.

Publication Date

10-7-2018

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.

DOI

10.46743/2160-3715/2018.3350

Recommended APA Citation

Vanegas Rojas, M., Hoyos Giraldo, S., Martínez Espinel, E. A., & Gómez Anaya, B. E. (2018). Sociocultural Factors That Influence Migrant Students’ Academic Performance in an English Language Teaching Program: Voices from Abroad. The Qualitative Report, 23(10), 2337-2356. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2018.3350