| The purpose of this qualitative research is to explore how online nonnative English-language (NNEL) doctoral students attending American colleges overcome barriers in order to persist in college graduate online programs. By understanding which and how factors influence the way NNEL students who attend American online graduate courses cope with their barriers, American colleges may create more effective programs to encourage the graduate NNEL students to employ proper coping mechanisms to complete their graduate programs. Tinto's (1975) theory on student retention and Oberg's identity theory are the basic theoretical frameworks. The literature review includes the benefits of distance education, the benefits of internationalization of education, the challenges of doctoral students, the impact of cultural and psychological factors on foreign students' retention, retention theories, the English-language writing barriers that foreign online students face, and how graduate online English-language learner (ELL) students succeed in their graduate journeys despite their challenges. The case-study design should satisfy the standards of qualitative research, such as internal validity and trustworthiness. The data-collection procedures are interviews, reflective essays, and online surveys. By using thematic analysis, the data were transcribed, coded, and grouped by common themes. This study intended to contribute to the research community and, further, to the global society; therefore, the quality of the study is based on the discipline of the researcher to work under the formal research process and the need to follow an accepted scholarly writing protocol when reporting the basis, findings, and conclusions of the study. |
