Published by De Gruyter Mouton

Volume 3 Issue 1

Issue of Language Learning in Higher Education

Contents
Journal Overview

Publicly Available October 17, 2013

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October 17, 2013

Bridging passion and profession: Supporting agency and investment in multilingual university writers

Marlen Harrison, Maiju Uusipaikka, Annika Karinen, Tanja Räsänen, Diana Raitala, Reetta Ellonen, Hanna Huumonen, Otto Tuomela

Page range: 1-25

Abstract

Throughout the last two decades, scholarship discussing learner development and autonomy has expanded from viewing the learner as one who possesses intrinsic or extrinsic motivation to a performer who to varying degrees invests as an agent in the learning process, particularly when able to pursue her or his passions. With this expansion in mind, the authors sought to look back at the trajectory of their experiences in a second language communication and composition course in order to more deeply understand the roles of agency and investment in their own and fellow classmates' learning. As such, this research examines the role of project-based learning activities that attempt to bridge the learners' personal passions and professional interests. Seven student-researchers reported via written narrative how such a bridging approach in the multilingual writing environment supported learner investment and agency. Student responses speak to the need for a stronger sense of connection among their disciplinary studies, personal interests, and even instructors, and highlight the ways in which investment and agency are associated with ideas about learner affect, learner identity, learner autonomy and language acquisition.

October 17, 2013

Understanding the learning experiences of postgraduate Latin American students in a UK context: A narrative approach

Gwyneth James

Page range: 27-41

Abstract

Researching the learning experiences of postgraduate students requires a different type of qualitative research to enable access to areas of their lives which may well remain hidden with more conventional methods of research. Narrative inquiry as both method and methodology allows such access. In this article, I focus on the use, appropriateness, philosophical underpinnings, discovered complexities and implications for my own teaching practice of the use of narrative inquiry in my current doctoral research. Focusing on Latin Americans, as the literature is surprisingly silent concerning such students' experiences in a UK context, I want to gain a deeper insight into what it is really like to have previously been a professional and to now be a postgraduate international student in the UK. My hope, therefore, is to gain a more comprehensive understanding of these students through their experiences to allow their voices to be heard. It is also expected that these experiences will shed light on how this understanding can be used in my syllabus and approach to teaching (see Dewey 1938/1997). As a practitioner researcher using narrative inquiry, reflexivity is key: when researchers are in the field, “they are never there as disembodied recorders of someone else's experience. They too are having an experience, the experience of the inquiry that entails the experience they set out to explore” (Clandinin and Connelly 2000: 81).

October 17, 2013

Languages for specific academic purposes or languages for general academic purposes? A critical reappraisal of a key issue for language provision in higher education

Christian Krekeler

Page range: 43-60

Abstract

The debate about the subject specificity of university language tuition has been going on for decades; it has mostly been discussed in the context of English for Academic Purposes. This paper considers the case for disciplinary specificity with regard to languages other than English. Few, if any, developed curricula, syllabuses, suitable textbooks or other teaching materials are available for other languages. When designing such a Language for Specific Academic Purposes (LSAP) course, university language teachers often have to start from scratch. The task is particularly challenging for university language teachers who are not specialists in the subject discipline. This paper reviews the debate and also undertakes a critical reappraisal of the key points. The main argument against subject specificity is based on the assumption that there is a common core of language features used in a range of academic contexts and that it is useful and indeed sufficient to familiarize students with these. The second argument concerns the feasibility of LSAP teaching whereas the third and final argument revolves around the question whether university language teachers are sufficiently qualified to teach LSAP courses. In the second part of the paper, the focus is on the steps involved in LSAP course design, using the example of a German for Accounting course. The paper concludes that non-specialist university language teachers need a pioneering spirit to teach LSAP courses in a non-English context – and time.

October 17, 2013

Student writing standards: A descending spiral or a bold new direction?

Margaret McKinney, Ruben Comadina Granson

Page range: 61-87

Abstract

Many academics speak of a “literacy crisis” when referring to student writing standards, often pointing the finger of blame at an overall increase in social networking. The resulting tendency has been for language teachers in higher education to take a corrective, or even remedial, approach to writing fluency. This paper examines blogging as an approach which complements and adds value to the traditional method of submitting an assignment to a lecturer for grading. Examples from English and Spanish language courses on an International Business and Management programme at the Faculty of Economics and Business of the University of Groningen in the Netherlands will be used to illustrate how writing for social media can create a cycle of motivation which enables students to take control of their own writing process and standards, hence becoming their own goal-setters, correctors and remediators.

October 17, 2013

“Come and sit here next to me”: Towards a communicative assessment of oral language skills

Kris Buyse

Page range: 89-107

Abstract

As Van den Branden (2007) has pointed out, since communicative approaches have been setting the agenda in language teaching in Belgium, the assessment of oral language competence has shifted its focus from form (i.e. accuracy of vocabulary, grammar, pragmatics) to communicative language proficiency (successful use of language in meaningful situation-based activities rather than the mere mastery of linguistic structures). The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) lists a set of assessment criteria (Council of Europe 2001, 2009, 2011), on which national agencies for curriculum development such as SLO in The Netherlands have based rating grids (as exemplified in CITO/SLO 2010). However, our analysis of a series of grids published online or in book form, together with a corpus of over 100 rating grids used in Belgian language education, shows that it is extremely difficult to focus on both form and communicative output in a single flexible grid; and it is equally difficult to combine in the same grid key concepts of current assessment practice – formative as well as summative, analytic as well as synthetic. We begin by summarizing the demands of current language teaching and assessment and go on to present the conclusions of our analysis of rating grids. We then propose a user-friendly grid for the assessment of oral language competence that is adaptable to the objectives and demands of any language course and does not lose sight of transparency, validity and reliability, three traditional assessment criteria.

October 17, 2013

Special features of assessment in reading comprehension in a Finnish university language centre

Marja-Liisa Lehto, Minna Maijala

Page range: 109-125

Abstract

Since Finnish is not an Indo-European language, studying foreign languages in general and then also studying special fields through the medium of foreign languages may provide an extra difficulty for Finnish students. Most university language centres in Finland have organized reading comprehension courses in several foreign languages for the undergraduates of all faculties in the past, and some still do. The aim is to equip students with the competence they will need to deal with texts in foreign languages during their studies and later in their future working lives. In this article we present an analysis of the special features of assessment in reading comprehension courses with special reference to English and German. Firstly, a brief account is given about the development of the test types used in the past and at present. In the second section, we discuss assessment and testing in reading comprehension more generally. Thirdly, we examine the main test types used in our reading comprehension examinations, how they work in practice and what kind of information they provide about student performance. We then analyse and reflect on our own experiences with different types of test activities. Finally, we comment on the role of the use of the mother tongue (L1) and the teacher's personal practical knowledge and experience in choosing texts, designing tasks for the tests and assessing student performance.

October 17, 2013

Can blended learning aid foreign language learning?

Marta Genís Pedra, Mª Teresa Martín de Lama

Page range: 127-149

Abstract

There has always been a debate around the issue of what it is that improves learning: the instruction itself or the media used for it (Clark 1983; Kozma 1994). It has also been said (Kulik and Kulik 1991; Andrewartha & Wilmot 2001) that computer mediated learning, as opposed to traditional instruction, positively influences the students' achievement. However, some researchers (Clark 1983; Schramm 1977; Wiley 2002) point out that it is not the use of media that improves learning but the strategies and the material developed for this particular kind of instruction. Online tuition is a trend which is being introduced by many educational institutions both as a core instructional mode, as in the case of pure on-line or blendedlearning courses, or a as a complement to traditional face-to-face learning (Ko and Rossen 2010). Online asynchronous learning is implemented in order to attract students who desire to receive a quality education regardless of time zones, location and distance. Synchronous online learning is being used to increase interaction between students and teachers. In blended learning these two modalities, asynchronous and synchronous learning, are frequently combined to design full courses that promote meaningful learning. This paper will examine the benefits and difficulties of the combination of asynchronous and synchronous learning modes in blended learning and the theoretical and practical implications in the design of effective blended-learning materials for foreign language learning.

October 17, 2013

Establishing a Korean language programme in a European Higher Education context: Rationale, curriculum and assessment procedures

Lorna Carson, Eunjee Do

Page range: 151-171

Abstract

A growth in interest in Korean contemporary culture in Europe has benefitted Korean language studies in Higher Education. This article describes an innovative Korean language programme in the School of Linguistic, Speech and Communication Sciences at Trinity College Dublin, Ireland. Since its establishment as a pilot project in 2010, the Korean programme has become a successful part of the university's institution-wide language provision. The authors present the university's approaches to teaching Korean as a Foreign Language within a project-based curriculum over the first three years of its journey from a pilot project to a more firmly embedded component of the university curriculum. Traditionally, the content and delivery of Korean as a Foreign Language programmes have not been adapted to learners' needs or the learning context, with a focus on memorizing word-lists, translation and reading dialogues in class. One result of such an approach is that student learners are unable to communicate appropriately and meaningfully within their own peer group. The article explores the selection and design of learning materials and the development of communicative, intercultural, orthographic and orthoepic competences in language learners, including Korean honorifics and speech levels. The programme's formative and summative assessment procedures use the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages as a means of specifying and designing the programme's projects, along with an end-of-module test composed of a dictation and C-tests. Finally, the authors reflect on four recommendations to improve and extend the provision of Korean language learning in Europe.

October 17, 2013

Meeting the needs of students, in-service workers and enterprises in a multilingual and multicultural Europe: A challenge for language centres

Carmen Argondizzo, Jean Jimenez

Page range: 173-190

Abstract

As the number of university students taking part in exchange programs abroad increases, students are becoming more aware of the importance not only of improving their general language skills, but also of developing academic language skills that will prepare them for their stay and study in transnational higher education contexts. Concurrently, the growth and development of information and communication technologies (ICT) has allowed materials developers to create a wider range of interactive and dynamic learning materials which learners can easily access whenever they want, wherever they are, choosing the activities they wish to focus on and working at their own pace. Communicating in Multilingual Contexts ( CMC ; www.cmcproject.it) is an open access Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) which offers two modules in seven different languages containing innovative language activities specifically created to meet the needs of mobility students prior to taking part in exchange programs abroad. While the materials in the different languages follow common guidelines, they are unique in that they reflect the different linguistic, social and cultural aspects of each country. Indeed CMC also aims at promoting linguistic and cultural diversity as well as developing multicultural awareness in accordance with EU policies. Similarly, an increasing demand on the part of employers for professionals who have a good command of foreign languages has led to a need for more material which focuses on professional language skills. Studies have in fact shown that poor language skills present an obstacle for companies to market and sell their products, while plurilingualism can have a positive impact on growth and jobs in Europe by enhancing cross-border trade and export. Thus, as a follow-up project, the Communicating in Multilingual Contexts meets the Enterprises project ( CMC_E ; www.cmceproject.it) provides language learning materials aimed at developing key professional language skills that Erasmus Placement students, university leavers and in-service enterprise workers can use to become more competitive and better fulfill their job responsibilities. The didactic activities are based on the results of a needs analysis survey carried out among enterprises, social enterprises and local institutions in each of the countries in which the six participating universities are located. This article offers a brief description of the CMC website and outlines the objectives and the general organization of the CMC_E materials, focusing in particular on the results of the needs analysis survey conducted and on how the use of ICT based learning materials can encourage student and professional mobility.

October 17, 2013

Enhancing professionalism through collaboration between teachers and administrators in University Pedagogy courses

Leena Evesti, Satu Kattainen, Johanna Vaattovaara

Page range: 191-206

Abstract

This article reports on the experiences and opportunities that two University Pedagogy courses offered to University of Helsinki Language Centre personnel in 2011–2012. The Language Centre and Language Services working community shares an understanding that everyone is working towards the same goal: to support university students' language learning. Thus the courses were open to all academic personnel, both teachers and administrators. This article introduces three voices: two administrative staff voices and one University Pedagogy course instructor voice. The main concern of the article is to identify how collaboration between teachers and academic administrators can enhance professional development and quality in Language Centres. We aim to show how University Pedagogy courses are not only suitable but also, more importantly, fruitful for those members of staff who have no teaching duties. We describe how participation in such courses opened up new perspectives on the participants' work, and summarize the insights they achieved while carrying out their course work in collaboration with their teacher colleagues. The stories we include show how one's individual learning experiences can refine working processes at the Language Centre, with important implications for long-term collaboration between teachers and administrators and also for quality assurance.

About this journal

Language Learning in Higher Education is the Journal of CercleS, the European Confederation of Language Centres in Higher Education. The Journal deals with the most relevant aspects of language acquisition within the university context. It focuses on the outcomes of research on language teaching, blended learning, autonomous learning, language assessment and discusses aspects of professional development, quality assurance and university language policy. Its primary aim is both to disseminate the best results of research activities carried out at University Language Centres and Higher Education Departments as well as to give the opportunity to share ideas among professionals involved in language studies. This aim carries the long-term objective to help increase the quality of language learning and of the so many teaching and learning actions offered by the higher education language community throughout the European context and beyond.

The latest Issues include a Special one 10.2 (2020)　Enhancing the Role of European University Language Centres: past achievements and future perspectives, the aim of which is to celebrate the 30th anniversary of CercleS (1991-2021). A Webinar was organized in Spring 2021 for this special event. The recording of the Webinar can be found on http://www.cercles.org.

We also completed the LLHE 11.1 and 11.2 (2021), which include several contributions presented at the XVI CercleS Conference held in Brno in September 2020, and 12.1 (May 2022) and 12.2 (November 2022) Issues. The 2022 Issues include a special section on Language Education for Sustainable Development and other research articles covering topics related to language learning and Language Centres professional communities. The Issues can be found on https://www.degruyter.com/journal/key/cercles/html.

Moreover, we have recently launched the Call for Papers for contributions arising from the XVII CercleS International Conference, hosted by ReCLes.pt, the Association of Language Centres in Higher Education, in Portugal, at ISCAP – The Porto Accounting and Business School, Porto, Portugal (15-17 September 2022).

Finally, CercleS organized two LLHE Webinars in April 2021 and May 2022 which featured lively interviews with authors who presented interesting topics covered in the 11.1 and 11.2 Issues. A third webinar will be organised on 7 December 2022 which will feature, once again, interviews with authors hosted in the LLHE 12.1 and 12.2 Issues. Please, visit the CercleS website http://www.cercles.org if you want to get detailed information.

We hope you enjoy reading the articles in the CercleS and De Gruyter Journal.