BEVERLY-ANNE CARTER CENTRE FOR LANGUAGE LEARNING UNIVERSITY OF THE WEST INDIES ST. AUGUSTINE CAMPUS B. Carter November 17, 2011 1 Quality Assurance in.

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

Beverly-Anne Carter


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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 SAY

PROVE 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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Curriculum review

Adoption of CEFR

Campus language

policy


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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

http://www.adfl.org/

http://www.aulc.org/

http://www.coe.int/lang

http://www.cercles.org/


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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.

BEVERLY-ANNE CARTER CENTRE FOR LANGUAGE LEARNING UNIVERSITY OF THE WEST INDIES ST. AUGUSTINE CAMPUS B. Carter November 17, 2011 1 Quality Assurance in.

Documents

foreign language learning

language learning centre

language learning research

language learning university

foreign language competence

foreign language education

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