ENGLISH FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS

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ENGLISH FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS

• FROM THE GENERAL TO THE SPECIFIC

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INTRODUCTION

• South Africa since 1994
• Institutions of Higher Learning
• The role of English in Education
• The beginnings of LEF 001/2

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The purpose of LEF 001/2

• To enable international students, whose primary
  language is not English, to cope with the demands
  of English as a medium of instruction
• To enable students to meet the entry level
  English language requirements of the NMMU IELTS
  6 6.5 ALTE A4

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INITIAL PROBLEMS

• Uncontrolled students numbers
• Non-existent student profiles
• Different levels of proficiency
• Limited EFL expertise
• Limited stock of teaching learning materials
• Variance of student needs
• Logistical problems

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Theoretical Foundations of LEF 001/2

• Socio-cultural theory
• Language learning and teaching theory based on
  constructivism
• Pragmatic-eclectic approach to programme design,
  methodology and assessment

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ENGLISH AS AN INTERNATIONAL LANGUAGE

• Knowledge as social construct
• To explore and emphasise the diversity within
  cultures
• Language teaching and learning materials based on
  cultural content

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MATERIALS

• Maintain a good balance in materials selected
  from source cultures, the target language and
  international cultures
• Students need to gain insight into their own
  cultures and reflect on other cultures in
  relation to their own (establish sphere of
  interculturality) conscious awareness
• Examine cultural assumptions critically and
  explore potentially different ways of expression
  

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BROAD OUTCOMES

• INTELLIGIBILITY
• PRAGMATIC COMPETENCE
• TEXTUAL COMPETENCE

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CURRENT STUDENTS

• Study aspirations
• MPA 1
• Computer Science 2
• Pharmacy 1
• Electrical Eng 1
• Industrial Eng 1
• Tourism 1
• Agriculture 8
• Business Man 3
• Architecture 1
• Education 2
• Music 1
• Law 1

• Number 23
• CHINA 3
• TAIWAN 1
• NIGERIA 1
• MOZAMBIQUE 8
• CAMEROON 7
• MADAGASCAR 1
• VIETNAM 1
• PAKISTAN 1
• SOUTH KOREA 1
• Range 82 - 34

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SEMESTER 1, 2005

• Student number 38
• Chinese 32
• Vietnamese 4
• Taiwanese 1
• Cameroon 1
• Range 71 10

• Study aspirations
• Computer Science 2
• Pharmacy 1
• Tourism 1
• Business 32
• Architecture 1
• Music 1

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LEF 001/2 PHASE 1GENERAL ENGLISH

• From 5 up to 8 weeks (100 160 hours)
• Aims to get students to an intelligible level
• A series of diagnostic and formative
  teach-test-teach sequences
• A series of formal and informal tutor-student,
  tutor(s)-students and peer interactions

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ADOPT-A-STUDENT

• A buddy system
• Vital for process of socialisation, informal
  language acquisition, intercultural competence,
  motivation

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CALL

• 12 computers
• 5 licenced programmes
• Ready for First Certificate
• Issues in English 1 2
• Study Skills Success
• Connected Speech
• Newspaper Editor
• A selection of readers

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BICS (1)

• Label objects pictures (vocabulary)
• Alphabet, sounds speech exercises
• Capitals, lower case
• Parts of the body
• Days of the week, months of the year, numbers,
  words for numbers, size, placings, adjectives,
  time
• Nursery rhymes, rhyming words, pop not-so-pop
  music, sing along
• The life of famous people, etc.

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BICS (2)

• Time-words, practise tenses sequence of tenses,
  concord
• Collocations, word pairs
• Basic writing formats like dialogues, letters,
  narratives, descriptions
• Weekend newspaper international local news and
  magazine articles, weather forecast, TV
  programmes, movie, DVD CD reviews

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Other activities topics

• Is there a best way to learn English? Exploring
  fun ways of learning
• Important things you have to do when you learn
  and while you are learning English - like
  preparing and sticking flash cards on the
  classroom and bedroom wall.
• Your portfolio (an accurate record of learning
  done a portfolio checklist)
• Visits to academic lectures (accompanying
  worksheets note-making/taking, listening
  skills, vocabulary, jargon, etc.)
• Learning to learn English an approach (different
  ways of learning, learner/learning identity,
  finding your best ways of learning English)
• Ways of learning vocabulary
• Using the dictionary
• Practising reading skills
• Approaches to the learning of grammar
• Time-management
• Differences between speaking and writing
• Fluency and accuracy, etc.

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English for general academic purposes
(EGAP)(CALP)

• Reserve at least 160 hours of formal interactive
  tuition
• Practising skills and language forms common to
  all disciplines
• Listening to a variety of lectures lecturers
  (accents)
• Planning and doing small research projects in
  various learning areas writing up reports, and
  doing assignments
• Reading, interpreting and responding orally and
  in writing to typical test and examination
  questions
• Reading relevant pages of textbooks, journals and
  internet articles, summarising, evaluating
  information, extracting the gist
• IN GENERAL CREATING CONSCIOUS AWARENESS OF,
  ISOLATING AND PRACTISING ACADEMIC ACTIVITIES

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ALTE LEVEL 4 DESCRIPTORS

• Use the language structures with ease and fluency
• Show awareness of the relationship between the
  language and the culture it exists in and the
  significance of register
• Ability to adapt the language to a variety of
  social situations
• Express opinions and participate in discussions
  and arguments in a culturally acceptable way
• Reading of fictional and factual texts and in so
  doing develop and pursue own interests
• Able to produce a variety of text types and
  utterances, such as letters of varying degree of
  formality
• Use language in a creative and flexible way
• Respond appropriately to unforeseen as well as
  predictable situations
• Produce utterances of varying degrees of
  complexity
• Enjoy a wide range of social contacts.

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METHODOLOGY

• Experience it
• Talk about it
• Write about it
• Like it

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TUTORS JOB

• PLAN
• SELECT, FIND CREATE SUITABLE MATERIALS
• CREATE A CONDUCIVE CLASSROOM ENVIRONMENT
  ATMOSPHERE
• ORGANISE LANGUAGE LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES
  ACTIVITIES

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GRAMMAR

• FACTS
• PATTERNS
• CHOICES

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MATERIALS

• NEWSPAPER, MAGAZINES BASIC ACADEMIC TEXTS,
  INTERNET
• LOCALLY INTERNATIONALLY RELEVANT INTERESTING
• AUTHENTIC
• COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE MATERIALS
• UTILISE AVAILABLE MEDIA

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ASSESSMENT

• IELTS FORMAT (Multiple-choice)
• PLUS
• LANGUAGE-IN-USE SECTION
• COMPREHENSION TYPE QUESTIONS
• PORTFOLIO

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ASSESSMENT POLICY

• Listening Speaking
• 20 (Sub-minimum 60)
• Writing
• 20 (Sub-minimum 60)
• Portfolio
• 20 (no sub-minimum)
• Comprehension (Reading) and language in use
• 40 (Sub-minimum 60)
• TOTAL 100 (Pass 60 distinction 75)
• A4 - A3 PROFICIENCY LEVELS

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CONCLUSION(with apologies to Michael Swan 2006
54)

• A new language is hard to learn
• With never enough time to teach
• The results are usually not very good,
• And there is a depressing gulf
• between controlled classroom practice
• and fluent spontaneous use.
• The best we can do
• is to ensure that our course
• packs most of the key ingredients
• in a balanced way
• And realise that there are no miracle solutions.