In recent years, university-based Intensive English Programs (IEPs) have expanded to serve the growing population of international students who wish to earn their degrees at U.S. universities. Many of these IEPs have shifted their focus to assist these academically bound international students by functioning as a bridge to enrollment in American undergraduate or graduate degree programs. Accordingly, it has become increasingly important to investigate and better understand how such programs are serving this student population. This dissertation explores how one university-based IEP is preparing its academically bound international students for their subsequent academic studies. In order to gain greater insight into students’ experiences throughout the college-going process, current and former students were interviewed about the ways in which this IEP facilitated their admittance to, enrollment in, and academic readiness for success in university degree programs. Additionally, interviews with instructors and administrators, observations of IEP courses and advising sessions, and student test score and academic record data were all analyzed to gain a more holistic understanding of the processes these students undergo in the pursuit of their academic goals. This study draws upon Lave and Wenger’s (1991) theory of situated learning as a theoretical framework to examine the academic socialization that international students studying at a university-based IEP experience throughout the college-going process. The findings from this study revealed that in addition to English language instruction, university-based IEPs with academically bound student populations must also provide their students with the college choice support and academic readiness skills necessary to achieve their goals. By conducting an in-depth analysis of one university-based IEP, this dissertation offers concrete implications that IEP administrators and instructors can enact in order to better support their students throughout the university applications and admissions processes, while providing these students with the linguistic and academic skills necessary for ultimate success in their undergraduate or graduate degree program. / CITE/Language Arts

Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2013. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The purpose of this study was to gain more insight with regards to the comprehensibility of the revised Afrikaans undergraduate application form (see Form B in Excerpt 2) of the Stellenbosch University (SU), especially in comparison to the previous version of 2011 (see Form A in Excerpt 1), to be able to guide document designers with designing a better form. Answers to the following question were searched for: Do prospective students regard the revised Form B as more understandable than the previous Form A? The revised form was changed by a team of experts, as requested by the SU, in order to make the form more understandable. There were 140 male and female, white and coloured grade 11 respondents of both Vredendal High and Vredendal Secondary. This study was launched in light of the South African Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 that took effect on 1 April 2011. In terms of section 22 of this Act, documents must be written in plain and simple language, because consumers have got the right to information that they understand (2008:32). Plain language is practical attitudes about the meaning of good written work, the goal of that and what benefits the reader the most. It is also our intellectual understanding of the way in which people read, the questions readers ask about a document, and readers’ reaction towards various forms of document design (De Stadler, 2012:3). Three parts of the two versions of the SU’s Afrikaans undergraduate form was used, specifically the cover, the program and personal information, and the responsibility of the prospective student. The forms were judged according to its comprehensibility, design and logic order by using a between-group design after respondents had to fill in the parts of the form by using fictional information on an information page. With that, respondents also had to underline words in the form they didn’t understand and fill in a questionnaire. Most of the information was statistically processed. To be able to make comparisons between the forms, a twee-way-variance-analysis was done with alternative form/gender and form/race as independent variables. By using the data collected, it became clear that respondents didn’t like a specific version of the form more than the other version. It also became clear that respondents had huge problems filling in both forms. Even though respondents perceived the form’s comprehensibility, design and logical build-up in the same way, more respondents left out questions in Form B. This, against what we would have anticipated, means that respondents made better sense of Form A. It can even mean that, in contrast to their experience, respondents made more sense of the design and logical build-up of the questions in Form A, compared to the questions in Form B. This result is not a good outcome for the team of experts who made the changes to the revised form. It may be, however, that the SU didn’t allow the team to make enough changes, and because of that the forms are not really perceived as different from one another. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die doel van hierdie ondersoek was om meer insig te kry oor die verstaanbaarheid van die hersiene Afrikaanse voorgraadse aansoekvorm (Vorm B in Bylae 2) van die Universiteit Stellenbosch (US), hoofsaaklik in vergelyking met die vorige 2011-weergawe (Vorm A in Bylae 1), sodat ’n verbeterde vorm daargestel kan word. Op die volgende vraag is daar antwoorde gesoek: Beskou voornemende studente Vorm B as meer verstaanbaar as Vorm A? Die hersiene vorm is deur ’n taakspan, wat opdrag van die US gekry het, verander met die doel om meer verstaanbaar te wees. Die proefpersone was 140 manlike en vroulike, wit en kleurling graad 11-leerders van beide Hoërskool Vredendal en Vredendal Sekondêr. Die ondersoek is geloods in die lig van Suid-Afrika se gepromulgeerde Verbruikersbeskermingswet 68 van 2008 wat vanaf 1 April 2011 in werking getree het. Volgens hierdie wet moet besighede tekste skep in verstaanbare taal, want verbruikers het die reg tot inligting in gewone en verstaanbare taal (2008:32). Verstaanbare taal is “[p]raktiese houdings oor wat goeie skryfwerk is, wat die doel daarvan is en wat in die beste belang van die leser is. [Dit is ook die v]erstandige aannames oor hoe mense lees, die vrae wat lesers te stel het oor enige dokument, [en] lesers se reaksies tot verskillende vorme van dokumentontwerp” (De Stadler, 2012:3) Drie gedeeltes van die twee weergawes van die US se Afrikaanse voorgraadse aansoekvorm is in die ondersoek gebruik, spesifiek die voorblad, program- en persoonlike besonderhede, en verantwoordelikhede van die voornemende student. Die vorms is ten opsigte van verstaanbaarheid, ontwerp en logiese orde beoordeel deur ’n tussengroepontwerp te gebruik nadat proefpersone die genoemde gedeeltes van een vorm aan die hand van fiktiewe inligting in ’n inligtingsbladsy moes gebruik. Tesame hiermee moes hulle ook moelike woorde in die vorm onderstreep en ’n vraelys invul. Die meeste van die inligting is statisties verwerk. Om vergelykings te kon tref tussen die vorms, is twee-rigting-variansie-analises gedoen met alternatief vorm/geslag en vorm/ras as onafhanklike veranderlikes. Uit die data wat versamel is, blyk duidelik dat deelnemers nie ’n voorkeur vir een spesifieke weergawe gehad het nie. Dit is ook duidelik dat deelnemers ernstige probleme gehad het met die invul van beide vorms. Alhoewel deelnemers se ervaring ten opsigte van die vorm se verstaanbaarheid, uiterlike ontwerp en logiese ordening dieselfde was, het deelnemers meer antwoordvelde in Vorm B as Vorm A oopgelos. Dit kan, teen die verwagting in, beteken dat deelnemers Vorm A makliker of meer verstaanbaar as Vorm B gevind het. Dit kan selfs, in teenstelling met hulle ervaring, beteken dat deelnemers meer sin van die uiterlike ontwerp en logiese ordening van die vrae in Vorm A as die vrae in Vorm B kon maak. Hierdie resultaat is dus nie ’n goeie uitkoms vir die span wat die vorm moes hersien nie. Dit mag egter wees dat die US die ontwerpers nie toegelaat het om genoeg veranderinge aan die hersiene vorm aan te bring nie, en daarom verskil die vorms nie genoeg van mekaar nie.