A Positive Intervention: Personal Responsibility Among First-Year, L2 University Students

Abstract

Adjusting to English-medium instruction in higher education can be one of the most challenging obstacles that students face when they have previously been educated through another language, in this case Arabic. In writing courses, in particular, students have difficulty coping with language demands, which sometimes leads them to rely on classmates with stronger English language skills. Instead of viewing such a strategy as counter-productive to the learning process, students at times blame external factors as an explanation of the behavior. This situation led communication faculty at an English-medium institution to design a positive intervention in the form of a workshop. The purpose of the workshop was to encourage students to take personal responsibility for their education during the first year of their studies. An emphasis was placed on the resulting consequences of taking personal responsibility: an increase in positivity, self-image and self-confidence; the assumption being that these outcomes could enhance learning and reduce transition-related challenges. In this paper, two iterations of the workshop (face-to-face and online) will be evaluated by discussing the design, the strengths and weaknesses of both workshops, and data gathered from students’ responsibility journals. Finally, recommendations and suggested future areas of research are presented.