3. Variables for students of English profile: USB 3-year careers

Abstract

This paper is part of a larger research project about the entry requirements of English programs for 3-year career students at Universidad Simón Bolívar, Sartenejas. This paper particularly focuses on the selection and justification of the variables included in the profile. The process of variable selection was two-fold. First documentary research on the profiles of foreign language learners and national and international university students was conducted. Then, a pilot study of descriptive and exploratory nature was developed in order to refine the variables. As a result, the complexity of the process of foreign language learning requires the development of a broader profile of the student, where it is considered as a biopsychosocial individual and not just from a linguistic perspective.