University of Southampton School of Medicine The effect of English language skills on academic performance of medical students on a widening access course Sally Curtis Carolyn Blundell Linda Turner

University of Southampton School of Medicine The reason for this study

University of Southampton School of Medicine Test 1Test 2Test 3 Spearman’s correlation test (rho values) 0.608**0.563**0.590** Correlation of initial attainment and test scores ** p< Method English language test given 3 times during the year – correlated with previous standard of English

University of Southampton School of Medicine ** p< Method Test correlated with current standard of English

University of Southampton School of Medicine Correlation of examination performance and test scores

University of Southampton School of Medicine Improvement in English language test scores

University of Southampton School of Medicine Distribution of differences in English language test scores E1 E2

University of Southampton School of Medicine Student perceptions Using a scale of 1 – 5 1 = no improvement 5 = greatly improved Semester 1 mean (median) score Semester 2 mean (median) score E12.56 (3) E23 (3)3.5 (4) “Since starting the BM6 programme do you think your language skills have improved?”

University of Southampton School of Medicine “Do you think you would have benefited from English language support?” YesNoDid not answer E13112 E2544 Student perceptions

University of Southampton School of Medicine Conclusions English language skills did not predict performance in BM6 examinations Language skills appear to improve during the course especially in E2 students Optional tutorials in English language skills would be welcomed by all students

University of Southampton School of Medicine Acknowledgements With thanks to the BM6 05/06 cohort