LCF College Conference: Attainment Is language a barrier to attainment? Dr Karen Ottewell , Director of Academic Development & Training for International Students London College of Fashion, 31 st March 2015
Y E N S O
Outline ① International Students in figures ② Entry Requirements ③ General Lack of Academic Skills – at home and abroad ④ So, is language the barrier? ⑤ What we’re doing ⑥ Language as the dress of thought? ⑦ The Way Ahead?
1: IS in Figures 51% International Students
Cambridge PG IS = 65% UG IS = 20%
International Students in the UK Made up 14% of full-time first degree students and 13% of all first degree students Made up 70% of full-time taught postgraduates and 46% of all taught postgraduates Made up 48% of full-time research degree students and 41% of all research postgraduates There are now almost as many Chinese students (23%) on full-time postgraduate courses at English universities as there are British students (26%).
2: English Language Entry Criteria Language Proficiency Home Office Compliance
SELTs: An Overview
22 SELTs of which 16 are valid at B2 . Of these, 5 are for Specific Purposes , 9 are General English , and 2 ACADEMIC . Valid until 5 th April 2015
Valid from 6 th April 2015…
Standardised Tests ? ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES - ‘Teaching to the test’ - Standardised benchmark - Globally accessible - Unauthentic task types - Secure - Ability scale range - Relative degree of validity - General vs Academic English - ‘Testing the test’ - Relative degree of reliability - Generalizable results - Not discipline- or institution- specific
The ‘Academic Three’
Spot Tests – with negative effects… ( both ways ) 3-hr high stakes litmus test The Washback Effect
SELT leads to misconceptions on both sides: IELTS ACADEMICS STUDENTS 7.0 Lack of understanding of the limitations of IELTS.
Current position: UNIVERSITY ENTRANCE Attested for by previous Tested in the SELT (?) educational achievement English Subject- Language specific Proficiency Knowledge Academic (English) Skills
Why? The student may have had no formal training in HE English prior to their application. This is arguably somewhat less of a concern for UG students, but it is a very important consideration for PG students , especially those on one-year courses …
3: General lack of academic skills UK HEIs are becoming increasingly aware that even British students who have taken either A-Levels or even a first degree through the medium of English do not necessarily have the prerequisite academic skills set. So, it isn’t just all about language proficiency…
Even at Oxbridge : ‘Time to play catch up’ Even Oxbridge has to give remedial classes to poorly prepared students. “What we can observe is that in some areas students educated in the British school system come in with some skills less well-developed than they were 20 years ago. [ … ] Those that are doing maths-related subjects are certainly much less fluent than they were in the past [ … ] The problems are even more acute in the arts subjects where the experience and skills of extended writing and argumentation and of reading and analysing novels are much less developed. For my arts colleagues, more of their work is cut out bringing students up to an acceptable level . ” Geoff Parks, Senior Lecturer in Nuclear Engineering, University of Cambridge News Review, p 10, 08.04.12
International Student Issues Satisfied overall but some issues persist... Unclear expectations : don’t know the ‘rules’ Lack required background knowledge Language and assessment issues Difficulties participating and making friends Know they are seen as a ‘problem’ Do achieve well but need support Achievement gap in some areas Less satisfied than UK students overall Source: Janette Ryan, Presentation to Russell Group in Sept/2011
Three Types of Shock Academic Culture Language Dr Janette Ryan, Director, Teaching International Students Project
Outstanding Issues 3 phases of ‘shock’ – culture shock, language shock, academic shock (may persist) Lack of understanding of limitations of IELTS Current ‘frontloading’ or ‘add on’ leads to ‘ deficit ’ approach Takes responsibility away from academics - ‘ someone else ’ s problem ’ Harder to make local friends – UK counterparts less mobile (11:1, OECD , 2011) Lack of connection with foundation EAP/programmes Not embedded within discipline, extra costs Focus on technical skills , e.g. paraphrasing, plagiarism Source: Janette Ryan, Presentation to Russell Group in Sept/2011
Key Points – Academic Staff • Increased support services for IS but little change in teaching and learning approaches • Misconceptions about IS learning needs – rote learners, lack critical thinking skills, prone to plagiarism • Don’t consider teaching, learning and assessment factors and role of previous expectations • May conflate lack of language proficiency with lack of ability • Don’t understand the complexities of language learning • Little awareness of the influence of cultural and linguistic backgrounds on writing • Complacency – ‘ they come here for a British education ’ Source: Janette Ryan, Presentation to Russell Group in Sept/2011
Internationalisation of UK HE ‘This brings particular challenges and opportunities for pedagogic practice – developing the way we teach and support those students [ … ] We know that teaching practice and learner support that works for international students also works for the benefit of all students. ’ http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/internationalisation
What the Papers say…
And how was this improved? http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/international-student-lifecycle http://www.prepareforsuccess.org.uk
SOMETHING ELSE? LANGUAGE?
Unclear Expectations UNIVERSITY STUDENT
How we communicate
But, of course, we primarily use… NON-VERBAL RECEPTIVE SPOKEN WRITTEN … to communicate.
Cultural Influence on Language
Kaplan’s Doodles CONTRASTIVE RHETORIC Source: Robert B. Kaplan, ‘Cultural thought patterns in intercultural education’, Language Learning , 16 (1966), 11-25.
Kaplan’s fallacy ‘A fallacy of some repute and some duration is the one which assumes that because a student can write an adequate essay in his native language, he can necessarily write an adequate essay in a second language. ’ “The material is all here, but it somehow focus ”, “ Lacks seems out of or organisation ” , or “ Lacks cohesion ” . ‘The foreign-student paper is out of focus because the foreign student is employing a rhetoric and a sequence of thought which violate the expectations of the native reader. ’ Source: Robert B. Kaplan, ‘Cultural thought patterns in intercultural education’, Language Learning , 16 (1966), 11-25, p.13.
Three Important Questions ① What are these ‘ expectations of the native reader ’ ? ② Where have they come from? ③ How can an L2 student adopt them?
Academic writing skills are not innate … They need to be actively learned, practised and continually trained and honed … – even for native speakers .
And there’s the rub… Rhetoric – the basis In English, this is of argument – is rather assumed ‘ language ’ -specific than clearly defined . Source: Robert B. Kaplan, The Anatomy of Rhetoric (1972)
With respect to language: Extent of Mechanical communication Manipulation competence But there appears to be no significant link between the two. Communicative competence subsumes the recognition and analysis of, and response to, a context.
Awareness-raising to address this: TO LOOK AT HOW (ACADEMIC) ENGLISH WORKS BLIND SPOT AND, MORE IMPORTANTLY , WHY WHY .
Conceptual Foundations of English Linear Low Writer Rhetorical Context Responsible Heritage
Rhetorical Heritage The language and The expected sequence Logic is not universal – related approach to of thought in English expression of… … have evolved out of the Anglo-European It is culturally defined. is essentially a Platonic- cultural pattern . Aristotelian sequence.
The Rhetorical Triangle of Effective Communication LOGOS Information; argument; structure; reasons; evidence PURPOSE PATHOS ETHOS Audience; knowledge; Credibility; authority; CONTEXT belief; values; correctness; eloquence
Argumentative structural preference In terms of argumentation, we therefore tend to prefer a tight DEDUCTIVE chain of reasoning: ABDUCTIVE INDUCTIVE But not all cultures share this preference …
Our cultural heritage: Graeco-Roman How we structure argument Whether we are aware of it or not, we put together a logical argument following principles laid down by Aristotle . How we construct argument
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