title: Assessing students' English language proficiency during clinical placement: A qualitative evaluation of a language framework.
abstract: The increase in nursing students for whom English is an additional language requires clinical facilitators to assess students' performance regarding clinical skills, nursing communication and English language. However, assessing language proficiency is a complex process that is often conflated with cultural norms and clinical skills, and facilitators may lack confidence in assessing English language. This paper discusses an evaluation of a set of guidelines developed in a large metropolitan Australian university to help clinical facilitators make decisions about students' English language proficiency. The study found that the guidelines were useful in helping facilitators assess English language. However, strategies to address identified language problems needed to be incorporated to enable the guidelines to also be used as a teaching tool. The study concludes that to be effective, such guidelines need embedding within a systematic approach that identifies and responds to students who may be underperforming due to a low level of English language proficiency.
authors.affiliation: Academic Language and Learning, Office of the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Education and Students), University of Technology, PO Box 222, Lindfield, Sydney, NSW 2070, Australia. Electronic address: Caroline.sanmiguel@uts.edu.au.
authors.forename: Caroline
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: San Miguel
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Health, University of Technology, PO Box 222, Lindfield, Sydney, NSW 2070, Australia. Electronic address: Frances.rogan@uts.edu.au.
authors.forename: Fran
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Rogan
mesh_terms: D001315:Australia; D002983:Clinical Competence; D003142:Communication; D018864:Cultural Diversity; D004508:Education, Nursing, Baccalaureate; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D006801:Humans; D019303:Multilingualism; D010865:Pilot Projects; D013338:Students, Nursing
keywords: Clinical facilitators; Clinical language assessment; Communication skills; Culturally and linguistically diverse students; English as an additional/second language; International students; Nursing students