The effect of language proficiency on approaches to learning and satisfaction of undergraduate accounting students

Employing the approaches to learning theoretical framework, this
study examines the effects of language proficiency on overall
student satisfaction with a unit of study mediated by approaches
to learning accounting. Survey data was gathered from
undergraduate second year accounting students from an
Australian and an Ethiopian universities using the Biggs, Kember,
and Leung [(2001). The revised two-factor study process
questionnaire: R-SPQ-2F. British Journal of Educational Psychology ,71 (1), 133–149] Revised Two-Factor Study Process Questionnaire.
Language proficiency of the students was measured using English
language background as a proxy. The results confirm previous
studies that students who have relatively high (low) English
language proficiency are likely to adopt a deep (surface) approach
to learning compared to their counterparts; and also that high
(low) language proficiency is associated with more (less) overall
satisfaction with a unit of study. In some cases, a surface approach
might be linked to greater student satisfaction when the level of
the language proficiency is low although this is not a desirable
outcome.