Abstract
University students in Sri Lanka who have completed their primary and secondary education in their mother tongue face challenges when they enter universities where English is the medium of instruction. Existing literature indicated a dearth of in-depth empirical studies examining the learning challenges faced by English as a Second Language (ESL) students in English-Medium Instructional (EMI) university contexts and limited approaches to support them. This study aimed to introduce a novel transdisciplinary intervention approach, named Therapeutic Scaffolding (TS), to explore students’ learning challenges in-depth and to evaluate the efficacy of TS in mitigating the challenges and enhancing their academic performance.
The methodology employed an action research design with a qualitative approach. The participants were a language teacher (the researcher), a content teacher, and a group of nine volunteer ESL students. The language teacher provided the students with TS for one academic semester, with the content teacher offering additional support as required. Data was collected using semi-structured interviews, student assignments, and teacher reflective notes on the students’ progress made over the period.
The findings revealed a significant ‘diversity’ of student learning challenges encompassing various types, levels of manifestation, and levels of control. Additionally, the study identified a ‘reciprocity’ among these learning challenges with interconnections and interdependencies observed. Furthermore, the research demonstrated a substantial positive influence of TS in mitigating students' learning challenges, enhancing their academic performance, and establishing a supportive platform for the students for multifaceted learning, including guided, reflective, experiential, peer, and self-directed learning.
The research implications emphasise the necessity of systematic investigation, careful examination, and strategic intervention by teachers and students to address the diverse and interconnected learning challenges faced by students. The original contribution of the study lies in the development, implementation, and evaluation of TS as a novel transdisciplinary intervention approach aimed at conducting a comprehensive investigation of learning challenges and providing support for ESL students. Moreover, being an innovative scaffolding model, TS emphasises the dynamic role that the teachers and students should play in collaboration, particularly within the discourse of student learning challenges. Eventually, the research carries both theoretical and practical significance, redefining the roles of university teachers and students across disciplinary and hierarchical boundaries.