Overcoming ESL/EAL Challenges while in Nursing School… Part 1

Recently the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) issued a press release stating that it had issued a passing standard recommendation for the Michigan English Language Assessment Battery (MELAB) exam.  That release and a phone call from a non-native English speaking student got me thinking about some of the requirements placed upon and challenges tossed at English-as-a-second-language (ESL) and English-as-an-alternate-language (EAL) students.

Granted, I have often joked that as a native Oklahoman I sometimes feel like I’m speaking a different language whenever I speak with some of my colleagues.  For example, if I told a friend in New York that I was going to have a fried crawdad sub, coke, and a side of slaw for lunch, he might not understand what I’m talking about unless I called it a crayfish hoagie, coleslaw, and pop.  However, since I’ve never even traveled off this continent, I can only imagine the shock that ESL/EAL nursing students might face when they find out that:

• They must cite the author’s research about the cyte.
• The insurance was invalid for the invalid.
• Phenex nutritional therapy was prescribed for the baby named Phoenix.
• They must bow down to tie a bow in the patient’s shoelaces.
• When they take a patient’s blood pressure, they do not take the results to an actual location.
• Bandages should always be wound around a wound.

The English methods of spelling and pronunciation, the rampant use of homonyms and  homophones, and tons of irregular verb conjugations and more are just a few of the challenges that ESL/EAL students encounter—and that’s BEFORE they enter nursing school.  Tests like the MELAB, TOEFL, and IELTS are frequently used in the nursing school admissions process in order to ensure that an applicant’s English language proficiency is up to par in order to handle the rigorous coursework and communication she’ll encounter in nursing school.  The challenge with these exams is that they test primarily for conversational English abilities and not the higher academic level of English proficiency that allows applicants to understand theories or abstract ideas, ones that might not have finite rules.  Anyone familiar with Bloom’s Taxonomy will understand that this division of language comprehension parallels the challenges in failing level NCLEX® questions that test new grads’ ability to recall and recognize facts and understand ideas (like grammar rules), and in passing level questions which allow for critical thinking and conceptual reasoning.  It is for this reason and more that the NCSBN has demonstrated that there is a relationship between NCLEX performance and English proficiency (or lack thereof).

Now that you’re able to recognizing (and maybe empathize) with some of the challenges faced by ESL/EAL students, you’ve taken the first step in aiding them towards success in nursing school and on the NCLEX.  My next entry for Educators in Nursing will include ways in which we can work together for the benefit of these students.  Stay tuned, and in the meantime, if you have any specific concerns you’d like to see addressed, feel free to submit them below or email them to Amanda.Pape@kaplan.com.

Continue reading part 2 of the article, here.