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B. Carter November 17, 2011
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BEVERLY-ANNE CARTERCENTRE FOR LANGUAGE LEARNINGUNIVERSITY OF THE WEST INDIES
ST. AUGUSTINE CAMPUS
Quality Assurance in a Language Learning Centre: Challenges
and Opportunities
B. Carter November 17, 2011
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Overview of the Presentation
1. Definitions and context2. Responding to external and internal
imperatives3. Focussing on the core4. The continuous improvement cycle5. QA = Challenges and opportunities6. Language centres as adding value to HE7. Bibliography
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The Core Functions of a Language Centre
The provision of practical training for non-specialist language learners
The integration of appropriate technology in language learning
Research and development in foreign language education
Cited in Ruane (2003, p. 3)
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Language Centres ≠ Traditional FL Departments
1. Learners2. Teaching staff3. Curriculum4. Locus5. Administration6. Size7. Financing models
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CLL @UWI
1. Campus ≠ faculty; intra and extramural learners
2. More adjuncts that fulltime tenure-track; recruitment criteria
3. Non-specialists; extracurricular; language use ≠ study
4. Locus 5. Administration6. Current enrolments approx. 2000 per year 7. Mixed funding
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Impetus for Change
Program evaluation <-External, e.g. QAR “Program evaluation is the systematic collection of
information about the activities, characteristics, and outcomes of programs to make judgments about the program, improve program effectiveness, and/or inform decisions about future programming.” Paton (1997, p. 23) cited in Watanabe, Norris and González-Lloret (2009, p. 12)
The intention = Developmental Metric = Fitness for purpose
Program evaluation <-Internal, e.g. interests or needs of the students
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A New Mission
Redefining mission to provide a new conceptual framework for programme delivery
Mission = Core, commercial, pro bono publicoOur mission = What we add to the world
The Centre will deliver innovative, high quality language training and services to the UWI learning community and to the wider public, thereby affirming the University’s role in the promotion of multilingual competence.
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Focus on the Core
QAR recommendations: Clear learning outcomes Benchmarking; indexing to internationally recognised
standards Integration of languages into students’ degree programmes Differentiated curriculum
Internal push for accreditation Validation of learning via credits (≠ Adults’ resistance to
assessment-driven language learning, e.g. “it is often perceived in a negative way by students and tutors alike, who associate it with feelings of being overworked, overstressed and other traumas.” Bissar (2000, p. 38)
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Continuous Improvement (after Pagano, 2011)
SAY WHAT
YOU DO
DO WHAT
YOU SAYPROVE
IT
IMPROVE IT
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Quality Assurance and Enhancement
1. Exhaustive curriculum review2. Adoption of the Common European
Framework of Reference (CEFR)3. Formulation of a campus language policy4. Seeking aspirational peers and forming
strategic alliances e.g. membership in AULC and ADFL
5. Institutional strengthening via stakeholder involvement, e.g. Language Advisory Panel
6. Putting research on the agenda
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Quality Assurance and Enhancement
Curriculum review
Adoption of CEFR
Campus language
policy
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Quality Assurance and Enhancement
Seek aspirational peers Form strategic alliances e.g.
AULC & ADFL
Institutional strengthening via Advisory Board
Research as core
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Quality Assurance: Some Issues/Challenges
Exhaustive curriculum revision—>priority languages for accreditation
Adoption of CEFR—>rationalisation of advanced course offerings
Formulation of a campus language policy; no mandatory language requirement
Research as a core focus—>recruitment criteria
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QA: Opportunities ✔Curriculum Review
Extracurricular option
Accreditation
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Clarifying objectives = CLL Philosophy
QA: Opportunities ✔Curriculum Review +
+ Credit-bearing elective courses
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Define clear entry levels and learning outcomesIntegrate concepts such as plurilingualism, i.e.
“Plurilingual and pluricultural competence refers to the ability to use languages for the purpose of communication and to take part in intercultural interaction, where a person is viewed as a social agent, has proficiency of varying degrees, in several languages, and experience of several cultures. This is not seen as the superposition or juxtaposition of distinct competences, but rather as the existence of a complex or even composite competence on which the user may draw.”
Council of Europe, CEFR, (2001, p. 168)
QA: Opportunities✔ CEFR
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QA= Opportunities✔Campus Language Policy
Foreign language competence is one of the basic competences of the tertiary educated person. It is a key to national and international citizenship in today’s multilingual and multicultural world. The University of the West Indies St. Augustine Campus will promote and foster student engagement with foreign language learning as it pursues its strategic goal of embedding an international and intercultrual dimension in the curriculum.
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QA: Opportunities✔ Research
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QA: Opportunities ✔ Research
“Research as one of the basic functions of language centres should primarily have pedagogical development as its main target, in line with another of language centres’ basic functions, teaching. Because of their multidisciplinary nature involving several languages and fields, today’s language centres foster and promote interdisciplinary scholarship and research in the teaching and learning of languages…
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QA: Opportunities ✔Research
…This multidisciplinarity creates an ideal forum for collaboration in research and materials development to enhance teaching and learning; further, it is something fairly unique in the university context and deserves to be addressed and applied in pedagogical development. The historically high disciplinary barriers, for example between different philologies or linguistic fields, should be easy to transcend.” Tuomi & Rontu (2011, p. 48)
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Continuous Improvement in Curriculum
Curriculum
Research
Teaching &
Learning
Financing
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Quality Assurance in a Language Learning Centre in HE
“… a language centre must constantly evaluate and update its own functions, and proactively develop those areas that are expected to become essential to the university.” Tuomi, & Rontu (2011, p. 47)
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Key terms
ADFL-Association of Departments of Modern Languages www.adfl.org
AULC-Association of University Language Centres of the UK and the Republic of Ireland www.aulc.org
CEFR—Common European Framework of Reference www.coe.int/lang
CERCLEs-European Confederation of Language Centres in Higher Education www.cercles.org
IWLP—Institution-Wide Language ProgrammeQA—Quality AssuranceQAR—Quality Assurance Review
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Bibliography
Angell, J., Du Bravac, S. & Gonglewski, M. (2011). Towards higher ground: Transforming language labs into language centers. IALTT, 39, 1-11. Accessed Nov 10, 2011.
Beaton, F. (2000). Student attitudes to learning, assessment and accreditation. In A. Hübner, T. Ibarz & S. Laviosa (Eds.). Assessment and accreditation for languages. The emerging consensus? (pp. 25-36). London: CILT.
Beaton, F. (2004). Participation, expectation and motivation. Adults learning languages. In H. Harnisch & P. Swanton (Eds.), Adults learning languages. A CILT guide to good practice (pp. 21-34). London: CILT.
Bissar, D. (2000). Assessment on a fully accredited Open Language Programme: achieving beneficial backwash in a standardized scheme. In A. Hübner, T. Ibarz & S. Laviosa (Eds.). Assessment and accreditation for languages. The emerging consensus? (pp. 37-46). London: CILT.
Carter, B. (2007). Introducing a language policy at the University of the West Indies St. Augustine Campus. Unpublished document.
Council of Europe. (2001). Common European framework of reference for languages. Learning, teaching, assessment . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Garrett, N. (2003). Language learning centers: An overview. In U. S. Lahaie, G. Bartle, R. Gilgen, M. D. Ledgerwood & A. Ross (Eds.) The IALLT Management Manual. 2nd ed. (pp. 1-9). Wheeling, IL: IALLT.
Guarnieri, M., & Usategui, C. (2000). Developing a language curriculum for non-specialists: from theory to practice and back. In M. Fay & D. Ferney (Eds.), Current trends in modern languages provision for non-specialist linguists. (pp.193-205). London: CILT & APU.
Harnisch, H., & Swanton, P. (2004). Aims, audience and approach. In H. Harnisch & P. Swanton (Eds.), Adults learning languages. A CILT guide to good practice (pp. 4-8). London: CILT.
Ibarz, T., & Spöring, M. (2000). Measuring the impact of accreditation: two surveys on the provision of modern languages in
university departments of continuing education. In A. Hübner, T. Ibarz & S. Laviosa (Eds.). Assessment and accreditation for languages. The emerging consensus? (pp. 103-126). London: CILT.
Lüdtke, S., & Schwienhorst, K. (2010). Language centre needs analysis. Defining goals, refining programmes. Peter Lang: Frankfurt am Main.
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Bibliography
McCall, I. (2000). Introducing credit and assessment: attitudes and responses among adult language learners. In A. Hübner, T. Ibarz & S. Laviosa (Eds.). Assessment and accreditation for languages. The emerging consensus? (pp. 48-59). London: CILT.
Nott, D. (2000). What language should we aim to teach, how and why? In M.-N. Guillot & M.-M. Kenning (Eds.) Changing landscapes in language and language pedagogy: Text, orality and voice (pp. 227-248). London: AFLS & CILT.
OBUS. (2005). Report of the review of the Centre for Language Learning. Mona, Jamaica: QAU Pagano, M. A. (2011). Final Report – 2011 Retreat/Planning Session the University of the West Indies, St.
Augustine Campus. Parker, L. (2004). Adults learning languages – the challenge. In H. Harnisch & P. Swanton (Eds.), Adults learning
languages. A CILT guide to good practice (pp. 9-20). London: CILT. Powell, B. (2003). Developing language centres. In D. Head, M. Kelly, E. Jones & T. Tinsley (Eds.), Setting the
agenda for languages in higher education (pp. 167-79). London: CILT. Ruane, M. (2003). Language centres in higher education: facing the challenge. http://asp.revues.org/1127 [4.01.2011]. Tuomi, U.-K., & Rontu, H. (2011). University language centres in Finland-Role and challenges. Applies-Journal of
Applied Language Studies, 5, 45-50. Watanabe, Y., Norris, J. M., & González-Lloret, M. (2009). Identifying and responding to evaluation needs in
college foreign language programs. In J. M. Norris, J. McE. Davis, C. Sinicrope & Y. Watanabe (Eds.), Toward useful program evaluation in college foreign language education (pp. 5-56). Honolulu, HI: National Foreign Language Resource Center.