Experiences with an English taught semester in Medicine at the University of Oslo

1. Experiences with an English taught semester in Medicine at the University of Oslo Mr. Sverre Bjerkeset, Administrative International Coordinator Professor Babill Stray-Pedersen MD, PhD former Head of the 9th Semester Committee Professor Borghild Roald MD, PhD former Educational Dean

2. Background • Teaching exclusively in Norwegian seriously limited student exchange • Increased internationalization - a University and Faculty strategy • Structural factors: The Norwegian “Quality Reform”

3. Aim of project • Make the Faculty more attractive for students and teachers from outside the Nordic countries • Increase the number of exchange agreements with quality universities, especially in English speaking countries • Increase students’ and teachers’ competence in English • Internationalization at home

4. Why the 9th (of 12) semester? • Students in their 5th year of study are relatively confident in their professional development • Students then have a growing knowledge of the health care system in their own country • The theme of the semester (Reproduction. Mother and Child) has important global features • Logistical reasons: Curriculum compatibility with partner universities

5. 6 year MD program

6. Challenges in the preparatory phase • Funding • Faculty Board decision • Preparing the teaching • Specially organized, intensive English courses for teachers • Translation of teaching material • Acquisition of updated teaching/material in English • Study tours for teachers to English speaking universities and hospitals • Visits of academic staff from partner universities • Obtaining exchange agreements with universities in English speaking countries

7. Challenges in running the semester • Teaching in English is more demanding for the teachers • Communication with patients may be difficult • A certain number of exchange students is required to make the semester work naturally, ideally 20-30% of the class

8. Organization of the semester • Compulsary for all Norwegian students and teachers • All plenary teaching is conducted in English • All learning material is in English • Small group teaching (PBL and clinical small group teaching) is carried out in either Norwegian or English

9. Organization of the semester - continued • Exchange students are preferably accompanied by Norwegian students in the clinical duty • Norwegian students are responsible for translating or summarizing if it is not possible or appropriate to speak in English • Students can choose the language of the exams (Norwegian or English)

10. Student evaluation • Undertaken at the end of each semester • The main tendency is positive • Overall satisfaction: Norwegian students: 64-85% Exchange students: 77-100% • Exchange students are generally more positive than Norwegian students • Except language related issues, complaints from Norwegian students are the same as in other semesters

11. External evaluation by the Faculty of Education, UiO in 2004 • Norwegian students: teachers’ ability to convey knowledge and the pedagogical planning suffer • Other factors than the quality of teaching determine the exchange students’ overall opinion • 50% of teachers and 66% of Norwegian students report that they have improved their English language skills

12. External evaluation by the Faculty of Education, UiO in 2004 - continued • Little coherence between students’ evaluation of the arrangement and their English competence • Strong coherence between teachers’ self evaluation of language skills and how well they think the teaching works and their comfort with this teaching • Criticism from teachers towards the handling of certain organizational and practical matters in the initial phase • Teachers reports that the teaching is less nuanced, detailed. Teaching context feels more constrained

13. A few facts • Increase in number of exchange agreements • Substantial increase in number of exchange students (to and from partner universities for minimum 3 months): Incoming: 99/00: 10 04/05: 67 Outgoing: 99/00: 6 04/05: 50

14. Concluding remarks • Norwegian is the main teaching language in the Oslo medical curriculum • No indicatons that the quality loss in the 9th semester is such that teaching in English can not be justified • Teaching in English is a challenge, but the practical obstacles are largely overcome and the semester now runs quite smoothly • The Faculty Board has recently decided that the 9th semester shall be taught in English on a permanent basis