Inter CampusAcademic EnglishA CASE STUDY

Suzanne Healey

The University of Greenwich

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BECOMING TEACHABLEA businessman went to a Zen master in search of

enlightenment. He went impatiently, tapping his feet, looking at his watch. The master finally walked in and offered him a cup of tea. The man took the cup and looked at the old man critically: he wanted wisdom, not tea. The master started to pour the tea, and he poured, and he poured…The cup overflowed, spilling tea. The man jumped up, angry: ‘What’s the matter with you, old man?’

The master smiled: ‘Your mind is like that cup, already full. Only an empty mind can be taught.’ (1)

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OVERVIEW OF LANGUAGE LEARNING PURPOSES

• Mid XXth: to READ• Late XXth: to GET BY on holiday or to

communicate verbally• Early XXIst: for SPECIFIC PURPOSES

CAN ONE LEARN a LANGUAGE WITHOUT FACE-TO-FACE CONTACT?

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1, 2, 3…

• 3 Campuses

• 162 students

• 2 x 10 week terms

• 40/60 hours face-to-face

• 9 – 9 availability of LC Mon-Fri

• Unlimited email access

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DEFINITIONS

• EAP is a branch of English for Specific Purposes

• Linguistic and non-linguistic Study Skills

• INTERNATIONAL

• Not educated in English

• Includes EU and Erasmus students

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LEARNING COMMUNICATIONLANGUAGE TEACHING

ELT ELT ELT

EMTMOTHER TONGUE

EFLAS a FOREIGN LANGUAGE

ESLAS a SECOND LANGUAGE

GENERAL ENGLISH

PRIMARY, SECONDARY, ADULT, TERTIARY

E.S.P.

E.A.P. ACADEMIC

E.S.T. SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY

E.B.E. BUSINESS ECONOMICS

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SKILLS

• SPEAKING• WRITING• GRAMMAR• CRITICAL

THINKING

• LISTENING• READING• ENGLISH FOR THE

INTERNET AGE• LEARNER

INDEPENDENCE & STUDY SKILLS

(4)

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ENGLISH LANGUAGE SUPPORT

• Pre-sessional EAP courses• In-sessional EAP courses

How is student success determined?When are students ready to enter

academic departments?Study by Jayanti Banerjee & Dianne Wall

of Lancaster University, UK (2)

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COURSE DESIGN

• Approach aims to meet the needs of particular learners

• Design is based on Research, tutors’ experience and theoretical models

‘I keep six honest serving-men.(They taught me all I knew)Their names are What and Why and WhenAnd How and Where and Who’ Kipling (3)

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AIMS

• IMPROVE CULTURAL AWARENESS

• DEVELOP ACADEMIC LANGUAGE SKILLS

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OBJECTIVES

• BRIDGING FACE TO FACE TUTORING AND LANGUAGE CENTRE SESSIONS

• KEEPING STUDENTS’ MOTIVATION BETWEEN FACE TO FACE SESSIONS

• HELPING ACHIEVE CONTINUOUS PROGRESS

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C.A.L.L. INSTRUCTIONS: (COMPUTER ASSISTED LANGUAGE LEARNING)

• EXIT the main login menu• TYPE IN THE LETTERS win• PRESS RETURN• DOUBLE CLICK the symbol WIDA student

programme• DOUBLE CLICK THE yellow folder• DOUBLE CLICK ON demodata• CHOOSE one of the activities.

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LOW-LEVEL TECHNOLOGY

• COURSE DETAILS AVAILABLE IN INFORMATION PACKS

• LANGUAGE CENTRE MAKES CDROMS, DVDs, VIDEO &AUDIO CASSETTES AVAILABLE for pronunciation and fluency practice

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E-MAIL AND PAPER COMMUNICATION

• JUNE: INDIVIDUAL STUDENTS’ REQUESTS FOR HELP

• END OF JUNE: GENERAL E-MAIL TO ALL STAFF AND STUDENTS GIVING DETAILS OF CLASSES

• AUGUST: PRINTING LEAFLETS• SEPTEMBER: international orientation

and INDUCTION PROGRAMME talks

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SAMPLES forms of address

• To whom it may concern• Respected mam• Dear Madam/Sir• Dear Miss/Mrs Healey/Healy• Dear Suzanne/Susan/Suzane• Good afternoon, Suzane• Hello• Hi/ Hi, Prof• No form of address

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SAMPLE CLOSING LINES

• I am wating for your reply• Regards/ (with) Kind regards/ Best regards• Thanking you, your’s faithfully• Many thanks/ Thank you (for your cooperation)• Thanks for the information• Thank you so much/ very much• I will be thankful to you• Yours sincerely• Cheers

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EVALUATION 1W

EE

K N

UM

BE

R

•1 16

•2 19

•3 22

•4 14

•5 18

•6 17

•7 12

•8 12

•9 10

•10 9

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EVALUATION 2

• LANGUAGE CENTRE ATTENDANCE

• SELF-CORRECTED EXERCISES

• HOMEWORK HANDED IN FOR MARKING

• INDIVIDUAL E-MAILS

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EVALUATION 3

CAN WE CLAIM EFFECTIVE PRACTICE?

• ARE WE REACHING ENOUGH STUDENTS?• ARE MOST NEEDY LEARNERS LEFT OUT?• IS ‘ACADEMIC ENGLISH’ TOO GENERAL?

WHAT ARE ALTERNATIVES?

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E-PORTFOLIOS

• ‘A COLLECTION OF AUTHENTIC AND DIVERSE EVIDENCE, DRAWN FROM A LARGER ARCHIVE, THAT REPRESENTS WHAT A PERSON HAS LEARNED OVER TIME..’

a@simongrant.org (April 2006)

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REFERENCES

1. THE TOLTEC WAY: Susan Gregg, St Martin’s Griffin New York 2000.

2. JOURNAL OF ENGLISH FOR ACADEMIC PURPOSES VOL5 No 1, Elsevier 2006

3. ENGLISH FOR SPECIFIC PURPOSES: Tom Hutchinson and Alan Waters, C.U.P.1987

4. ENGLISH FOR ACADEMIC PURPOSES: EAP NOW! Kathy Cox and David Hill, Pearson Longman 2004

5. HOW TO USE THE INTERNET IN ELT: Dede Teeler with Peta Gray, Longman 2005