A Comparative Study of Students with Different Native Languages

Over the past several decades there has been a continuing increase in the number of nonnative English-speaking students with different ethnic and language backgrounds studying in the schools, colleges, and universities throughout the United States. Previous research results on academic participation and performance of nonnative English-speaking immigrant students have been controversial. This research conducts a comparative study on academic performance of nonnative English-speaking students versus native English-speaking students in a university’s engineering technology programs on Chicago area campuses. The research contributes to the needs for a better understanding of whether nonnative English-speaking students with minority ethnic and language backgrounds perform differently in career-oriented academic institutions. The study is to encourage educational policy makers and practitioners to make efforts in providing learners with various cultural and language backgrounds with equal learning opportunities in a globalized economy.