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The English-as-a-second-language (ESL) community college student population has increased notably in the past decade, but a decreasing number of these students are completing courses, programs, or degrees (Erisman & Looney, 2008). These students come to college with unique background experiences, and once in college, deal with challenging linguistic, academic, and social integration issues. Though they are not linguistically homogenous, and they do not have a common purpose, ESL students share the common goal of attending community college to learn to speak English (Szelényi & Chang, 2002). Course completion is a primary measure of progress toward that goal, and is therefore an issue of concern for both ESL students and community colleges, which continue to be the access point for language-minority students progressing into higher education (Laden, 2004). The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors that predict in-term persistence of community college ESL students. A mixed methods research design consisting of two phases was utilized, and participants in this study were ESL students enrolled in a large community college in south Florida. Phase 1 students completed the Community College ESL Student Questionnaire (CCSEQ), which collected demographic data and data on entry characteristics, academic integration, and social integration. Discriminant and descriptive analyses were used to report the data collected in Phase I. Phase 2 students were a matching cohort of completing and non-completing students who participated in semi-structured interviews at the end of the term. Data collected in the interviews were analyzed thematically, using a constant comparative method as described by Glaser and Strauss (1967). Students’ self reported demographic data, background characteristics, goal commitment, and integration factors on the CCSEQ showed no significance between the students who completed the term and the students who did not complete the term. However, several differentiating themes emerged from the interview data, which indicated differences in goal commitment and integration between the two groups. The focus of non-completers on getting good grades rather than completing the course, and the commitment of completers to the goal of finishing the class in order to go forward, both raise questions for future research studies.

The major function of education is to prepare youth to be successful. Each country has its own unique educational system, and individuals leaving their own country to study expect to acquire a quality education in another country. United States’ college programs, including exchange student programs, attract students from aboard who want to pursue their bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral degree. However, these students come from countries around the world where the use of the English language might be limited. Providing effective language programs to support international students whose native language is not English has become an important concern in the international educational exchange process. This study adds to the understanding of the ESL students’ perceptions of ESL programs offered by the universities in the United States. More specifically, the overall objective of this study was to analyze ESL students’ learning experiences and their perceptions of ESL program at Mississippi State University. The results of this study suggest that (a) female students were more satisfied with the ESL program than male students, (b) age was not significantly and meaningfully associated with participants’ perceptions of the ESL program, (c) there was a moderate association between the ESL students’ perceptions of the ESL program and their experiences in using English as a second language, and (d) female students were more satisfied in using technology for learning English as a second language than male students.

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