Success & Failure in English Medium Teaching: the Maastricht Experience Charles van Leeuwen Universiteit Maastricht Cercles Conference Frankfurt an der Oder September 2006
The Maastricht context (1): English Medium Teaching is integrated into different curricula 100 80 60 40 20 0 NL1 NL2 NL3 NL4 1st year 2nd year 3rd year 4th year
The Maastricht context (2): A Multilingual Setting 1) A multilingual student population (35% international students) 2) 65% of students follow studies with a different instruction language than their native language 3) 35% international staff 4) 30-40% of students follow courses in a third language 5) 60% of students follows a part of their courses or a traineeship at a foreign university
Student & Staff Profiles: native language instruction language environmental language other languages NL NL NL, EN L3 NL EN NL, EN L3 GER NL NL, EN L4 GER EN EN, NL L4 EN EN EN,? L2? L1/L2 EN EN, NL L5 L1 EN EN, NL L4
Preliminary remark (1): English Medium Teaching is not just a question of changing the language of the instructor!
Preliminary remark: English Medium Teaching is not just a question of changing the language of the instructor!
English Medium Teaching is not just a question of changing the language of the instructor!
English Medium Teaching is not just a question of changing the language of the instructor!
English Medium Teaching is not just a question of changing the language of the instructor!
English Medium Teaching is not just a question of changing the language of the instructor!
English Medium Teaching is not just a question of changing the language of the instructor!
English Medium Teaching is not just a question of changing the language of the instructor!
English Medium Teaching is not just a question of changing the language of the instructor!
English Medium Teaching: we have to put many different elements into place.
English Medium Teaching is not just a question of changing language of the instructor! Language of instruction Staff competences Student language skills Student competences Quality depends on the entire educational setting and on both Staff and Student Performances It probably needs long term investments & support!
The Student s Perspective: Complaints about Language Proficiency of Teaching Staff They propose obligatory staff assessment & strong measures * Many students think they are more fluent than their staff Many students overestimate their own language skills Are students fair in assessing teacher s performances? If we focus on staff performances, we risk to forget the students needs and to simplify the educational process
The Teacher s Perspective: * Teaching in another language is time-consuming * Additional language courses are time-consuming * Additional language courses don t have a clear effect After all the teaching itself works pretty well, it seems to be mainly a question of experience Give me please an extra budget for editing & translation of course materials Students complain anyway Language training is Charles not van a Leeuwen, priority. Universiteit No Maastricht assessment please!
The Teacher s Perspective:
The Manager s Perspective: Student Recruitment Figures Branding Crash Course in English for teaching purposes Mobility as an instrument of quality improvement Assessment & Certification (e.g. Cambridge Proficiency) One generation-problem which we can quickly overcome Clear training process & short-term investment
The Language Teacher s Perspective:
The Language Centre s Perspective: Great variety of language skills & teaching skills needed First priority is awareness raising of needs Intensive learning process and long-term investment English Medium Teaching is a transformation of existing educational practice Language teaching and content teaching closely connected: language & content integrated learning CLIL Awareness raising at University Management level: the implications for the entire organization do we have sufficient means?
What makes English Medium teaching successful? (1) Definition of success & failure in Higher Education: it is easier to define failure than to define success you need a long term perspective in order to recognize success factors & failure most evaluation is internal! contrasting figures or opinions subjectivity
What makes English Medium teaching less successful? (2) Clear indicators of failure: Drop out figures Lack of staff motivation Negative student evaluations Negative Branding Loss of quality (quality insurance processes) Less successful students on labour market Financial framework
What makes English Medium teaching successful? (3) Indicators of succes: Relatively low drop out figures Staff satisfaction Positive student evaluations Positive Branding Quality Insurance Successful students on international labour market Financial framework
What makes English Medium teaching successful in Maastricht? (1) Long implementation period (since 1980) Staff awareness & Management awareness: complex process Natural international environment Multilingual context International mobility of staff & students Differentiation in approaches
What makes English Medium teaching less successful in Maastricht? (2) Short implementation periods in some programmes Lack of staff awareness & management awareness A less international context (e.g. Faculty of Medicine) If there is no international student population and no multilingual context if it seems to be unnatural & artificial If international mobility of staff & students is lacking If there is no differentiation in approaches If financial support is insufficient
Student awareness raising in English Medium Teaching: succesful approaches (1) Activity & Responsibility Interactive Teaching Awareness of their learning process
What makes academic staff training successful? (1) Some elements of its organization: Short, easy to schedule (e.g. 16 hours, 4 half days) Contemporary to teaching periods itself Observing other colleagues as part of the course Video recording Individual observation by language teacher or other colleague Variation: e.g. teaching during a period abroad
What makes academic staff training successful? (2) Some elements of its contents: Some vocabulary, fluency, class room management Summarizing, structuring, conclusion & statements Phrasing & Intonation patterns Stimulating interaction Sign posting Writing course materials Confidence building
What makes academic staff training successful? (3) Some elements of staff advise: Choose different approaches Variation in activities Redundancy & repetition Offer students visual support Offer students more reading time Offer students more preparation materials Stimulate more interaction
What makes academic staff training successful? (4) Integrated in human resources management: Participation of team leaders & professors Element of Personal Development Plans Certification needed Element in Appraisal Interviews Reason for promotion or extra allowance
You have to create a favourable climate and broad support in order to make English Medium Teaching successful