LANGUAGE NETWORK FOR QUALITY ASSURANCE

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LANGUAGE NETWORKFORQUALITY ASSURANCE

• www.lanqua.eu

Anca Greere
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ABOUT

• Partners 62 partners from 30 countries
• Coordinator University of Southampton
• Duration 3-years (starting 2008)
• Overall Aim gt European Higher Education Area

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AIMS

• to produce a European quality benchmark for
  the area of languages, which will enable
  institutions and stakeholders to assure and
  enhance the quality of provision in higher
  education
• TOOLKIT
• map of language issues in HE
• case studies (not necessarily viewed as best
  practices)
• learning outcomes
• recommendations

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FOCUS

• Why languages for QA?
• EHEA - multicultural and multilingual environment
• Skills Needs in 2020/Job Market scenerio
  strategic competences
• MULTILINGUAL AND MULTICULTURAL WRITTEN AND
  ORAL GENERAL AND SPECIALIZED COMMUNICATION
  COMPETENCES
• How do stakeholders cope?
• 12 principle of language learning
• BUT
• When ?????
• Which 2 languages ????

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!!! Anomalies

• FL-mediated programmes (EN, FR, GE)
• ? NO (little) preoccupation for languages
• English as a lingua franca
• ? NO preoccupation for
  languages
• Minority language of instruction
• ? NO preoccupation for languages
• Specialists language programmes
• ? NO preoccupation for languages

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Structure

• 5 Thematic Subprojects
• Intercultural Communication
• Language teacher education
• Content Language Integrated Learning
• Literature and Culture
• Language Learning

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Project steps

• Year 1 Mapping out
• Definitions (national specificity)
• Delivery (where, how, why)
• Evaluation of students
• Quality Assessment Mechanisms
• Year 2 Case Studies Recommended Learning
  Outcomes
• Year 3 TOOLKIT

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??? Preliminary Questions

• What are the reasons for implementing a
  language/culture-integrated approach?
• Is there a planned/staged-out approach to
  implementation?
• At what levels of education (e.g. BA, MA, PhD,
  CPD)?
• Are these full-size L2 mediated programmes or
  modules offered systematically?
• What subjects/domains are most likely to take up
  a new approach?
• Are learning outcomes specified for both language
  and content?
• Is there coordination between language-specialists
  and subject-specialists (e.g. joint planning of
  syllabus and learning outcomes, team teaching)?
• How are students needs dealt with vis-à-vis FL
  education?
• How are educators needs dealt with?

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??? Quality Assurance

• Are there external Quality Assurance Mechanisms
  (national QA bodies/agencies, international ISO
  standards)?
• Are there internal Quality Assurance Mechanisms
  (e.g. institutional, faculty, programme level)?
• What are the areas of QA (e.g. staff competences,
  student competences, infrastructure, curriculum
  panning, etc.)
• Is there a coherent institutional language
  policy? Is it applied?
• Is evaluation by peers practiced? Is there any
  washback effect?
• Is evaluation by students practiced? Is there
  any washback effect?
• Do QA agencies consider the language issue?

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Case Studies

• Stages
• Template
• Tested for feasibility amongst SPs
• Detailed template
• ? 4. Embedded in the recommendations

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Case Studies

• Delivery
• 1. Luxembourg, University of Luxembourg
  multilingual context
• Student support (quality of thesis)
• 2. Finland, University of Jyväskylä - learning
  outcomes and assessment in the CLIL adjunct model
• QAM
• 3. Italy, University of Trento support for
  content teachers
• QAM
• 4. Babes-Bolyai University, Cluj internal
  evaluation of internationalized MA programmes

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Learning Outcomes

• Stages
• Template
• Brainstorming
• Final version

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Questionnaires

• Stages
• Pilot
• Pilot analysis
• Final version
• Function
• Awareness raising

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Q PILOTING MANAGEMENT

• Q Are there any aims for language and
  communication development for these courses or
  programmes?
• A No
• Q Are subject knowledge and communication/
  skills both assessed
• A'No, only knowledge skills are assessed
  explicitly. An assessment of communication skills
  would make no sense. '

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Q PILOTING TEACHERS

• We need TWO questionnaires
• 1. for content teachers
• 2. for language teachers
• Q Are there any postgrad programs or specialized
  seminars that would prepare instructors to teach
  their courses in a different language?
• Q Should instructors be encouraged to travel and
  spend time in the nation where that language is
  spoken before they begin to use it in the
  classroom?
• Q Do you think the quality standards (and
  outcomes) of your subject are going to be
  affected by the fact that youll be using a
  different language? If so, to what extent?
• Q Are there any aims for language and
  communication development for these courses or
  programmes?

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Q PILOTING TEACHERS

• Q In your experience, would it be beneficial for
  (local and international) students to have
  (additional) language support (before the course
  or at the same time)?
• A Yes, that would be certainly the case.
  However, I noticed that the curriculum of the
  students is already very intensive and one should
  perhaps try not to overburden them with work.
• Q How would you rate your didactic performance
  in teaching a course in a foreign language?
• A Overall, I think my didactic performance was
  adequate. It took some time at the beginning for
  me and the students to get in tune. I had to
  modify my approach and method during the course.
  When teaching in Italian, I tend not use power
  point presentations and I allow much time to
  discussions with the students. Teaching in
  English I always went through a power point
  presentation so as to be sure that at least the
  words on the screen were understood by everybody.
• Q If you have international students in class,
  does this affect your teaching?
• A A multicultural/multilingual class makes it
  easier in that the teacher and the students are
  forced to use the vehicular language. The
  alternative would be a class of native speakers
  of Italian who speak English to each other.
  That's a bit awkward. All of the students, and
  myself as well, are constantly exposed to the
  temptation of reverting to the mother tongue.
  When foreign students are there that becomes
  impossible.

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Q PILOTING STUDENTS

• Q What programme taught in a foreign language
  are you enrolled in? How do you find it?
• A'In the general course the lector had to switch
  to German to explain difficult things in more
  detail, so he hadnt good skills in the foreign
  language. The other course was a specific English
  course which was perfectly structured and
  performed.'
• Q How do you describe your foreign language
  level in the language of instruction?
• A I think my English is ok. I get the message
  every time and can communicate with everyone.
  When I didnt get the right phrases I sometimes
  just go on with the German word and it seems to
  be no problem for the teacher and the other
  listeners.
• Q Do you hold any language certificates?
• A 'I am sorry no certificates. Once we had the
  chance in school but since that time no further
  offering.
• Q How do you find the language and communication
  skills of your teacher?
• A The English skills of my teacher in my English
  course were very good. For me he talked like a
  native The lector in the other course, I was
  enrolled, was weak. Everyone recognized that he
  had to teach in English for the first time. So it
  was hard to listen to the speech, but sometimes
  it was really funny!
• Q . Do you think that teaching through a foreign
  language requires different pedagogical skills
  from teaching through the local language?
• Comment'4.2 has to do with pedagogical skill
  that we students are not entitled to know and
  discuss about'

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Who are we targeting?

• ? Everyone ?

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What is the future?

• More awareness
• Step-to-step Guidelines
• Better-focussed policies
• MAYBE
• we need a network of language and domain
  specialists

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