challenges & opportunities faced by both institutions and ... · both institutions and...
TRANSCRIPT
Setting language standards in Higher Education
Challenges & opportunities faced by both institutions and international
students alike
Candidature growth by academic year – August to July
0
200,000
400,000
600,000
800,000
1,000,000
1,200,000
Aug'02 toJul'03
Aug'03 toJul'04
Aug'04 toJul'05
Aug'05 toJul'06
Aug'06 toJul'07
Aug'07 toJul'08
Reason for taking IELTS (Academic) 2007
•Higher education extended course
•Training/work experience
•Immigration
•Registration as a nurse (incl. CGFNS)
•Employment
Reason for taking IELTS (General Training) 2007
•Immigration
•Employment
•Higher education extended course
•Training/work experience
•Personal reason
Setting Language Standards in H.E.
“The Wandering Scholar”
Sarah Michelotti
Head of English Language Programmes
• Context: The University of Surrey
• International Student Mobility
• The Exchange Students’ Experience: - The academics’ perspective - The students’ perspective - The English tutors’ perspective
• Implications
• Conclusions
Challenges and Opportunities
• 1966 Battersea College of Technology became the University of Surrey
• 1968 Relocated from Battersea to Guildford
• Approximate student numbers: 12,700 total- Undergraduate: 8,095 Postgraduate: 4,532- International students: c.2,800- Students from the EU: c.1,250- Approximately 120 different nationalities
• Total staff: 3,000 (c. 1,800 Academic)
University of Surrey
• “The internationalisation of higher education is first of all a reflection of the universal character of learning and research. It is reinforced by the current processes of economic and political integration as well as by the growing need for intercultural understanding.” (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation 1995: 10)
• Bologna: Aim to harmonise university education in Europe to facilitate academic mobility (1999)
• c.60% of the world’s top 100 universities in English speaking countries
International Student Mobility
• Development of international universities e.g. the ‘European’ university ‘University of the Transmanche’
• Numbers of European students in UK likely to grow to 170,000 by 2020 (Vision 2020: British Council 2004)
• Multilingual and multicultural resource for employers and universities in the UK
• Role of English language: no longer the sole preserve of the English-speaking peoples
• Providing challenges and opportunities for Higher Education Institutions, academics, students & their families.
Implications for the UK
• “Outstanding” students, motivated, participate
• Contribute to cross-cultural discussions
• Assessments different, unfamiliar requirements (essays)
• Lack of confidence
• A lot of pastoral care involved
• I student went home after 1 day “…didn’t like the food…”
• Tutors need to understand exchange curriculum
• Different semester length
• Visiting students promotes links e.g. for research
The Experience: Academics
• Need for Everyday English
• “It’s easier to speak about international law than about the latest movie or match”
• Difficult to understand the English-speaking students
• Non-verbal communication
• Pronunciation
• “I can write it but not speak it”
• Need to think in English
• Lack of confidence
The Experience: The Students-
Language
• “I didn’t understand anything, I just copied from the board”
• Essay-writing: “We’re not used to it”
• Fewer lectures – lecturers as facilitators
• More debate/interaction in the classes
• Lectures not the same topics as the assignments/essays
• Need for discipline & independent research (“nothing to do”)
• Plagiarism: - Harvard referencing style - Serious offence - Heavy penalties
The Experience: The Students -
Study
“Academic cultures are the systems of beliefs, expectations and cultural practices about how to perform academically”. (Cortazzi and Jin 1997)
Academic Culture in the UK
• Independent learning
• Critical Thinking, students expected to challenge
• Creativity, inductive learning
• Memorisation may not be important
• Participation, engagement in dialogue
• Pair and Group Work, teacher as a facilitator, organiser
Academic Culture
Skills needed:
Listening: - Listening in lectures - Listening for gist - Listening for detail - Effective note-taking - Understanding their peers
Speaking: - Seminars & discussions - Giving presentations - Different registers - Everyday English - Pronunciation - Online discussions
The Experience: English Tutors
Skills needed:
Reading: - Skimming - Scanning - Inferring meaning - Understanding attitude & purpose - Note-taking from texts
Writing (Essays & Reports): - Structure - Introductions & conclusions - Building an argument - Academic style - Paraphrasing - Referencing (Harvard style)
The Experience: English Tutors
Skills needed:
General Study Skills: - Research Skills - The Library - Organization - Time management - Exam techniques - Referencing - ‘Academic culture’
The Experience: English Tutors
English Language Support Programme• Essay Writing, Technical, Dissertation Writing
• Academic Reading & Note-taking
• Grammar Revision
• Oral Skills, Pronunciation
• Presentation Skills
• Academic Listening
• Legal English
• British Culture & Humour
• Contemporary British Society
• University of Surrey normally requires IELTS 6.0 minimum
• Students may take other exams e.g. TOEFL
• IELTS - international benchmark
• Pre-Sessional English programmes
• Preparation in skills for study as well as language
• “It would be better to prepare”
Implications: Advance Preparation
• Perceptions are positive from all perspectives
• Need for preparation in 3 areas: - Practical orientation - Language - Study skills
• Need for greater awareness of the realities of the experience on the part of academics and co-ordinators
• Students are “learning to communicate across cultures and communicating for learning across cultures” (Cortazzi and Jin 1997)
Conclusions
• British Council/UUK/IDP (2004). Vision 2020 Forecasting international student mobility, a UK perspective. (London, British Council)
• Cortazzi, M. and Jin, L. (1997). ‘Communication for Learning Across Cultures’. In McNamara, D. and Harris, R. (eds), Overseas students in Higher Education. London, Routledge.
• Dow, E. (2006). Britannia meets Bologna: still making waves? Perspectives 10/1. (Taylor and Francis)
• EC Commission (2004). The new Generation of Community Education and Training Programmes after 2006. Communication from the Commission 156, 9.3.2004
References
References (2)
Graddol, D. (2006) English Next. London, British Council
Reichart, S. and Tauch, C. (2005). Trends IV: European UniversitiesImplementing Bologna (Bergen). Available online at: http://www.bologna-bergen2005.no/Docs/02-EUA/050425_EUA_TrendsIV.pdf
Scott, P. (ed.) (1998). The Globalisation of Higher Education. Buckingham,SRHE/Open University Press.
United Nations Educational, Scientific & Cultural Organisation (1995). Policy Paper for change and development in Higher Education. Paris. UNESCO
• Staff at University of Surrey, in particular: Dr Tim Brown Professor Andrea Dlaska Mr Tim Fletcher Dr Theodore Konstadinides Mrs Annette Strauss Mr Eric Urvoy
• Students at the University of Surrey, in particular: Loic Cheminade Marianne Faye Antonia Jartschuk Tobias Kleine Antoine Martin Gabriel Potier
Thanks also to:
Sarah Michelotti
Head of English Language Programmes
T: + 44 (0)1483 682861
www.surrey.ac.uk/languages
Setting Language Standards in Higher Education: Is Compromising a False
Economy?
GOING GLOBAL 3 International Education Conference
London
Dr Sacha DeVelle3 December 2008
OutlineRelating IELTS test scores to language abilityKey findings from IELTS funded research programme
Educational admission purposesPredictive validity of test scores
IELTS Scores Explained DVD packageStandards setting research in collaboration with Cambridge ESOL
The use of IELTS scores for educational admissions purposes
A New Zealand context – (Smith & Haslett, 2007)Attitudes of tertiary key decision-makers towards English language tests in Aotearoa New Zealand: Report on the results of a national provider survey.
Decision making often made without expertise in language testing. A potential for greater liaison between course providers an external standards setting bodies.“IELTS” well known: needs to maintain dialogue with end-users
IELTS Scores Explained DVD package (2006)
The use of IELTS scores for educational admissions purposes
A United Kingdom context – (Hyatt & Brooks, forthcoming)
Investigating stakeholders perceptions of IELTS as an entry requirement for higher education in the UK
Entry requirements very different across institution and sectorIncreasingly competitive environment tension between standards and the need to recruitMajority admitted not having a clear understanding of the IELTS content and process.
Predictive validity of test scores
Definition of Predictive Validity:An indication of how well a test predicts future performance in the relevant skill.
Complex relationship between language proficiency and successful academic outcomes.
Predictive Validity of Test Scores
Rea-Dickens, Kiely & Yu (2007)Student identity, learning and progression: The affective and academic impact of IELTS on ‘successful’ candidates.
Fairly strong link between IELTS entry score and subsequent academic successOther significant factors that influence this processGreater understanding needed of what IELTS scores mean in decision making process
Predictive Validity of Test Scores
An Australian context: Ingram & Bayliss (2007)IELTS as a predictor of academic language performance Part 1
Research QuestionTo what extent is the language behaviour implied by their IELTS scores reflected in the language behaviour of university students during the first 6 months of degree programme?
Predictive Validity of Test Scores
An Australian context: Ingram & Bayliss (2007)Generally able to produce language behaviour measured by IELTS score in context of academic studies. Individual students can perceive their language proficiency levels quite differently. Course language demands
What is IELTS Scores Explained?A DVD intended to raise the awareness of stakeholders who wish to understand what IELTS scores really mean.
Covers all 4 skills: Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking
Updated version including half-band reporting for Writing and Speaking
IELTS Scores Explained DVD
Examples of IELTS test tasks and evaluations of Writing and Speaking performances.
Writing band descriptorsSpeaking band descriptors
Example conversion Tables: Listening and ReadingProcedures for setting standards for IELTS scores
Standard SettingTwo key questions:
What is the minimal level of English needed?How does this minimally acceptable level translate into IELTS scores?
Standard Setting: Tools
User questionnaire on DVD
View sample Writing Test scripts and Speaking clipsConsider sample Reading and Listening materialRecommended reading:Cizek, GJ (2001) Setting Performance Standards: Concepts, Methods and Perspectives, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Publishers
Research on Standards Setting
Recommending a Nursing-Specific Passing Standard using the IELTS Test.(National Council of State Boards of Nursing -The United States)
O’Neill, T, Buckendahl, C.W, Plake, B and Taylor, L (2007) Recommending a nurse-specific passing standards for the IELTS examination, Language Assessment Quarterly, 4:4, 295-317.
Research on Standards Setting
Content Mapping of IELTS GT to the Canadian Benchmarks (Canadian Immigration and Citizenship)
Cambridge ESOL commissioned the BUROS Centre for Testing at Nebraska-Lincoln
Buckendahl, C.W; Foley, BP and Rodeck, E (2005) Canadian Language Benchmarks/ International English Language Testing System standard setting study.
Summary
IELTS test scores and language abilityKey findings from IELTS funded research programme:
Educational admission purposePredictive validity of test scores
Standards SettingIELTS Scores Explained DVDStandards setting research in collaboration with Cambridge ESOL.