Horses for Courses

1. Horses for Courses Fitting square pegs in square holes

2. September 2005 – the context • The arrangements between universities are not always clear • Students cannot always access courses they wish to – unrealistic expectations • English and American Studies allow very few Erasmus students on their programmes • Level of English can be inadequate • Many E.S. at the ULC registration exercise

3. Our response • To create more bespoke courses for E.S. • We already had: credit-rated - • Tandem (more of which later) • Ethnography for International Students • EAP course • And generally – • Cambridge Preparation classes (fee-paying) • In-sessional Classes (but for non EU students)

4. New courses developed • Creative Writing • Business English • British Society seen through Film – a course for international students, with language support

5. Questionnaire • When in doubt, devise a questionnaire • Results were not very surprising – but some useful information came through • New courses suggested – • Media Studies (television, press) • British Cultural Studies • And one important point made – no ‘Erasmus ghetto’.

6. Tandem Learning – how we differ… • Credit – rated • Very large programme (1st semester 180 students) • French, German, Spanish, Italian • Target Population – E.S., LEAP students but increasingly specialist language students • Enquiry based element in second semester • Consistently excellent student feedback

7. Benefits of Tandem Learning • One to one peer tuition • Promotes independent learning • Electronic component (part of U of M 2015 agenda) • Most importantly for E.S., integration into British student society

8. Other Forms of Tandem Learning • L. Pal – for Arabic, Chinese and Japanese students of English and their English partners • An asymmetrical scheme • V-pal – an MSN/Skype Tandem for Italian, German and Japanese • Electronic Tandem project with Barcelona (September 2006)

9. Integration of Foreign Students • Tension between students attending bespoke courses and their being part of the wider educational community • It was ever thus – even in the 60s, with few foreign students on European campuses, they tended to congregate • Our own students abroad often experience the same isolation and indifference • Tandem programmes make a huge contribution • Integration of non UK native English speakers in British culture classes is another way forward • Ethnography classes also helpful

10. Multilingual FL classrooms • Increasingly diverse MFL courses – we can no longer presume homogeneity • Invitation to target language teaching • Encouragement to adopt international standards, criteria, examinations – such as the CEF; DALF; GI examinations; DELE • Awareness of cultural issues that we perhaps were less open to in the past • A need to understand how speakers of other languages address the TL – their needs & problems

11. In conclusion • We have discussed some of the challenges • There are enormous benefits also - • Diversity is fun! – for teachers & students • Our foreign students bring qualities some of our own students lack (work ethic, desire to communicate, maturity) • Most important of all: tolerance, understanding, perhaps even friendship, between people of very different backgrounds