An initial examination of themes surrounding english writing education at an international branch campus

The research question this paper aims to answer is, how and to what effect do internationalizing American universities and IBCs help their L2 English-speaking students transition from high school writing to standard American college writing, and what challenges still remain? To answer this question, the paper first provides a review of literature on internationalization in college writing programs, both U.S.-specific and globally. This review brings to light several themes within literature in this field, which are used to guide both the review and discussions to come later in the paper. The paper then analyzes the results of a study conducted by surveying students at the University of Utah Asia Campus (UAC). The survey asks about student experiences transitioning from the English writing experienced in Korean high schools to the English writing in an American college classroom. Once again, a qualitative analysis of survey responses identified a set of themes common among student answers. Finally, a comparison of the themes from both the review on recent scholarship and the responses to the student survey helps to locate both successful program design as well as lingering challenges or gaps between program goals and student realities. The paper concludes with a summary of its findings and suggestions for future research studies on this topic.