In this paper, I outline the principles behind the development of an English for Academic Purposes pre-sessional programme, using Exploratory Practice as a framework. Through this framework, I argue, we are able to move beyond the issues of deciding what language and skills to teach, and when to do so, towards a more collaborative approach to language learning and teaching. This fits with the overall goal of EAP teaching, which is to meet student end need rather than work through arbitrarily created ‘language levels’. By providing space within the curriculum for ‘puzzlement’ we move towards a ‘praxis of not being sure’ (Meyer & Land, 2005), thus encouraging students to take greater control of their own language learning journey and allowing opportunities for teachers to engage in scholarship within and through the curriculum, the syllabus and their own classroom practices.
This paper discusses two peer learning projects, namely the Joint Presentation Project and YouTube Video Project, involving post-beginner students of Japanese and Japanese year abroad students at the University of Leeds. The discussion will focus particularly on the merits of the projects and some problems arisen. The results of a pilot study in 2015-16 suggested the need to reconsider the role of the teachers, as some students did not contribute to the projects as much as we expected them to do. Thus, the structure and assessment of the projects were revised and the teachers were given more active roles as supporters and facilitators in order to promote the students’ peer learning activities beyond the classroom. Student online feedback at the end of each semester showed that the projects not only increased student opportunities for in-depth communications using the target languages, but also enhanced their cultural and linguistic awareness, as well as their motivation and personal development through the sense of achievement and collaboration. In addition, the issue of unequal contributions to the project observed in 2015-16 seemed to have been resolved to some degree, due to changes in the structure and assessment of the project. However, it was also noted that the timing of the project should be more carefully planned so as not to conflict with other academic commitments.
This study aims to determine whether Spanish dictionaries commit linguistic sexism and what the effect on a non-native subject would be. Linguistic sexism in Spanish (García Meseguer 2001, Portal 1999) and its occurrence are defined, allowing the exploration of the use of masculine/feminine voices and analysis upon different semantic fields in three selected three dictionaries.
Introduction The majority of undergraduate and postgraduate translation programmes include a compulsory translation element as part of the training. In addition to this, training in...
1. INTRODUCTION [1] The Arabic Undergraduate Programme at the University of Leeds involves teaching Arabic to complete ab initio students who know no Arabic when...
Given the rising interest and enrolment figures in Arabic language teaching programmes, the new global technological and security concerns, and the recent shift in understanding the importance of teaching culture in foreign language pedagogy, there has been an inexplicable lack of scholarship on the integration of culture and technology in the teaching of Arabic as a foreign language. Likewise, research into appropriate web-based tools that address the unique cultural context of the Arabic language and into creative teaching materials that can support the integration of culture and technology in the Arabic teaching classroom is lacking too. Existing scholarship on these topics also tends in many cases to be theoretically based and does not explain exactly how to create intercultural communicative competence through experientially embracing the changing world of technological communication in the target culture. A significant part of this everyday communication takes place in colloquial Arabic rather than MSA. However, despite the extensive scholarship on the issue of diglossia and the integration of colloquial Arabic alongside MSA in the Arabic curriculum, there is limited research into effective methods of employing colloquial Arabic in cultural training within the Arabic classroom. If such an employment and integration does not happen, Arabic learners will find it difficult to reach a true intercultural communicative competence.
This paper will look at possible ways the above issues could be resolved by employing certain technological forms of communication and cultural products in the ever-changing contexts of language use. Such a new way of teaching Arabic would require integrating the various discussions and scholarship on the teaching of Arabic, breaking existing boundaries, and promoting a new re-defined role for the Arabic teacher, as well as an increasingly innovative, experiential, and student-centred use of technology, curriculum and web-based tools that could support these changes.
This article is based on my own experience of redesigning the Italian final year language module (ITAL3010) at the School of Languages, Cultures and Societies of the University of Leeds. The changes were introduced in the academic year 2008-9 and the module is still running with the same structure today due to the very positive feedback we continue to receive from our students. At the time of the restructuring of ITAL3010 the Italian unit had been recognised by the University for the excellence of its teaching (with the award of three Faculty Teaching Development prizes since 2004) and had just received an impressive 96% satisfaction rating for its Learning and Teaching in the National Student Survey of 2007. In this very positive context the final year language module represented a problem since in the previous year the External Examiners for Italian had noted that student performance in Italian was lower in language than in ‘content’ modules. The revision of module ITAL3010 therefore became a priority of the Italian unit. In this article I will retrace the steps that together with my colleagues I took to rectify this imbalance and improve the final year students’ performance in Italian language.
Giving a presentation is often one of the more challenging tasks asked of our students and even confident speakers can give a presentation lacking in focus. Presenting in a language other than their mother tongue may cause some to feel overwhelmed. Consequently, students often dedicate most of their time to developing strategies such as preparing detailed notes; memorizing their presentation by heart, and finally, focusing almost exclusively on the content of their presentation as they strive to cover as much information as possible. Delivery often comes as an afterthought to many students with little consideration being given to the pace and timing of their presentation.
While recent research has suggested that using technology more fully in the preparation and practice stages can help to address these issues for students, from a teaching perspective, making decisions about using technology in the classroom can often be a challenge for busy teachers who must select from a constantly changing array of tools and applications. However, if teachers can present a rationale for using technology based on sound educational theories, then this should go some way to alleviating the pressure felt by some to use the latest new tool simply for the sake of it.
By encouraging students to experiment with and incorporate appropriate technology effectively into such a task as presenting, teachers can increase their students’ awareness of the importance of timing, delivery and visual aids. This in turn can lead to increased confidence for non-native speakers of English, and should also lead to a more engaging presentation for the audience. This article offers an overview of some of the theories which can be used to frame the use of technology for education with particular reference to Puentedura’s SAMR model and illustrates how it could be applied in the context of student presentations.
In this piece, I explore the current status of Action Research in the EAP community and suggest some reasons why it is perhaps under-utilised as a potentially emancipatory way for EAP practitioners to become researchers of their own practices and conditions. I frame these reasons as ‘risks’ that teachers investigating their own practices can pose. In order to do this, this article provides an example of my own practitioner research conducted within an Action Research framework on the assessment of writing on an EAP pre-sessional course at one UK institution. I do this not to provide an example of good research but to reinforce my central thesis that conducting research is a difficult, risky but ultimately necessary practice for the EAP practitioner.
This study explores the phenomenon of internationalisation within higher education institutions in the UK and its various effects on the identities of the international postgraduate students at these institutions. I conducted the research through focus groups and interviews with students from the University of Leeds, and extrapolated key themes relating to their particular experiences from the discussions. I argue that it is essential that higher education institutions consider these themes, such as the implications of the label of international student, the desired amount of interaction with UK students, and the motivation to attend a university abroad, when looking towards the future of international study.
