LSP in the UK & medical language teaching in Manchester

LANGUAGES FOR SPECIFIC PURPOSES IN THE UNITED KINGDOM

Benoît Guilbaud, University of Sussex, UK

TYDEN CJV, MASARYK UNIVERSITY, 27/01/2017

@BENGUILBAUD

TODAY’S SESSIONS➤ Morning session:

• Languages for Specific

Purposes in Higher

Education (UK initiative)

• Medical language teaching

at the University of

Manchester

• Throughout: group work on

key issues in LSP pedagogy,

course design, teaching

challenges

TODAY’S SESSIONS➤ Afternoon session:

• Report on two case studies:

• Improving collaboration

using online discussion

forums

• Collaborative vocabulary

building for LSP courses

using mobile technology

• Throughout: discussions

around possible uses and development of above case studies

ABOUT ME➤ Teaching Fellow in French, UK

• Manchester Metropolitan University (2007-2012)

• University of Manchester (2012-2016)

• University of Sussex (2016-present)

➤ Taught medical French, French for law & business

➤ Research interests: L2 pedagogy, ed tech, LSP

➤ Co-organiser of LSPHE conference

ABOUT YOUIn a few words…

➤ Which courses do you teach

on?

➤ Which levels are covered?

➤ In which ways are they

specific?

➤ What are the main challenges?

➤ Which areas would you like to

improve on in the future?

UK HE CONTEXT➤ Decline in number of students

studying languages in HE as a degree course

➤ Number of students studying languages in HE in a non-specialist capacity on the rise

➤ (Source: UCML/AULC survey on IWLPs, 2012-2016)

➤ In 2014, HEA summit looking at key issues in IWLP & LSP

➤ Apparent increase in demand for language courses on specific purposes?

➤ LSP revival?

STARTING POINT➤ 2015 conference presentation

“What’s so special about LSP?”,(Guilbaud, Kantus & Tual, 2015)

➤ Surveyed UK institutions through AULC mailing list to gauge interest in taking part in an LSP meeting

➤ Over 20 institutions responded

➤ Received sponsorship from DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) to organise an event on LSP

LSPHE➤ Organisation of “Languages for

Specific Purposes in Higher Education” (LSPHE) conference

➤ Developed into a yearly event

➤ Now part of the AULC as a Special Interest Group (SIG)

➤ Raising the profile for LSP in the UK, generating interest

➤ Promoting good practice in language teaching, showcasing existing LSP provisions

➤ Reaching out to EU (despite Brexit)

LSPHE 2015➤ University of Manchester,

Friday 11th September 2015

➤ Triple focus on management,

course design and teaching

practice

➤ 43 delegates

➤ 8 presentations (1 non-UK)

➤ 1 workshop

LSPHE 2015➤ Conference highlights:

“Rebooting LSP”(Nick Byrne, LSE)

“Institutional headache”(Mark Critchley, Durham)

➤ Points for discussion:

Tutors’ (lack of) specialist knowledge

anxiety? (Coates & Thoresen (1976)

Specific / general balance?

Approaches to skill-based teaching?

Networks: need for links and support!

LSPHE 2016➤ University of Cambridge,


➤ Focus on task-based learning

➤ 50 delegates

➤ 11 presentations in total,

with parallel sessions

➤ Keynote speaker: Jean-Jacques

Richer (Université de

Bourgogne, France)

LSPHE 2016➤ Conference highlights:

“Incorporating text types and culture in TBL for LSP” (J.J. Richer, Université de Bourgogne)

“Scoring LSP tasks” (Prof. Christian Krekeler, Hochschule Konstanz HTWG)

➤ Points for discussion:

Incorporating TBL (Nunan, 2004)

Task-based language assessment (Ellis 2003, Wigglesworth 2008)

Teaching LSP to beginners

NEW IN 2017➤ New website: LSPHE.org

News about the conference

Archives (programmes,

slides, references)

Resource sharing section

Other conferences on LSP

Contribute!

➤ Twitter account:

@LSPHEconference

LSPHE.o

rg

LSPHE.o

rg

LSPHE.o

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@LSPHEconference

#LSPHE2017

LSPHE 2017➤ University of Oxford,


➤ Local committee members:Tania Batelli-KnealeVéronique DavisEsmeralda Frances-Martinez

➤ Conference themes:

teaching practice & methodology developing students’ skills curriculum design assessment ICT training, teacher’s role and skills

➤ Call for papers is out!

GROUP ACTIVITY➤ In your groups, complete

activity 1 on the handout

provided.

Discuss three to five of the

10 questions provided.

Your group will then share

their answers with the

other participants

MEDICAL LANGUAGE IN MANCHESTER AN EXAMPLE OF LSP PROVISION IN THE UK


➤ “MBChB with European Studies

programme”

➤ 5-year integrated programme

➤ French, Spanish and German, B1 entry

➤ ≃170 students in total (10% of Medical

School)

➤ Largest medical language provision in

the UK

➤ Graduates practising abroad, working at

Médecins Sans Frontières, etc.


➤ ≃ 2 hours per week for 4 years

➤ Up to two self-arranged 4-week placements

in L2 country

➤ One 4-month compulsory Erasmus

placement in year 5

➤ Classes in the day in years 1-2, in the

evening in years 3-4

➤ External speakers once per semester

➤ Anglo-French Medical Society (AFMS)

conference each year

➤ Skype-based exchange scheme (E-Tandem)


➤ Skill-based internal examinations

➤ External examinations:

Diplôme de Français Médical B2

Diplôme Avancé de la Langue

Française C1

Certificado Básico de Español de las

Ciencias de la Salud Level B2

Certificado Superior de Español de

las Ciencias de la Salud Level C1

Goethe Zertifikat Level B2

Goethe Zertifikat Level C1

SAMPLE SKILL-BASED SYLLABUS (YEAR 1)

Week #1 Anatomy Week #6 Treatment prescription

Week #2 Pain and symptoms Week #7 Pharmacology

Week #3 History taking Week #8 Hospital structure

Week #4 Clinical examination Week #9 Healthcare systems (1/2)

Week #5 Diagnosis Week #10 Healthcare systems (2/2) + revisions

GROUP ACTIVITY➤ In your groups, complete activity 2 on

the handout provided.

In your groups, design a 10-week

syllabus for an imaginary LSP course

of your choice, including assessment

Present your work to the rest of the

participants

CHALLENGES➤ Motivation and retention

➤ Lack of literature and external exams in

some languages (esp. German)

➤ Mix of language abilities, including

native speakers

➤ Lack of medical expertise from tutors,

and lack of access to experts

➤ Timetable constraints / commute to

teaching hospitals: suggested Skype

sessions

➤ Financial viability

GROUP ACTIVITY➤ In your groups, complete activity 3 on

the handout provided.

In your groups, think of a difficult

classroom situation (draw from your

experience). Write it out in detail.

Another group will have to come up

with a solution and will then act out

the situation and its resolution.

Benoît Guilbaud, University of Sussex, UK

TYDEN CJV, MASARYK UNIVERSITY, 27/01/2017

@BENGUILBAUD

THANK YOUVERY MUCH