169 - A Study on the Performance of ESL Students in Anatomy and Physiology Courses

Poster Board Number: 169
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Odd poster #s – first hour
Even poster #s – second hour

Co-authors:

Polly Husmann - Indiana University School of Medicine-Bloomington; Valerie O'Loughlin - Indiana University School of Medicine-Bloomington

Abstract Body : The United States is one of the most common destinations for international students (IIE-Project Atlas-2022) Among international students there is also a huge number of students whose primary language is not English (aka ESL students) coming to pursue their dream career. Various articles have mentioned that language is one of the barriers to students' success (Mhlongo and Masango 2020, Olson 2012). A study by Langtree et al. (2018) mentioned that non-ESL students in 1^st year nursing programs got significantly higher grades than ESL students in Anatomy and Physiology (A&P) courses, however, very little work has been done in this area. Thus, this study aims to investigate ESL students' academic performance in basic anatomy and physiology courses at Indiana University.

After getting IRB approval (Protocol-19703), Basic Human Anatomy (Anat-A215) and Basic Human Physiology (PHSL-P215) data from Fall 2013 to Fall 2022 was received from institutional analytics. All incomplete ‘I’ grades were removed from the analysis and the rest of the letter grades were categorized as A, B, C, D, F, and W. Grades were then compared between ESL and non-ESL students. The overall performance of ESL and non-ESL students in both anatomy and physiology was compared, as well as their performance in the two classes separately. The final sample included 12,431 students. While examining overall performance, ESL students have a higher percentage of B grades and withdrawal (W) compared to non-ESLs who have higher percentages of A and C grades. This was true for Anatomy, Physiology, and both courses combined. When looking into their performance as they are taking courses in the early years of university (i.e., Freshmen/Sophomore) vs in later years (i.e., Junior/Seniors), we noticed that the students who take courses in the later years of the university are performing better, with an increasing percentage of A grades as well as decreased Withdrawal and Failing (F) percentages. Yet ESL students have higher ‘B’ grades and withdrawal compared to non-ESL students even in the later years of their degree.

Evaluation of these data will help us to understand the performance of ESL students in A&P classes. Furthermore, this will also help instructors to be aware of additional hurdles these students have to go through, and advisors might also suggest ESL students take these courses in the later years of their degree.