7. Students’ English language skills

At the university, some degree programmes are English-medium instruction (EMI), which means that students who do not have English as their first language need to use a foreign language to acquire disciplinary knowledge, communicate in the classroom, and take their exams. Given students’ different language learning experiences and backgrounds, whether we’re talking about domestic or international students, some variation in students’ English language skills is to be expected. Although all students will need to develop their disciplinary literacy in English, some students may need additional support to be able to participate fully in classroom-related activities and assignments. Even when subject-specific terminology is prioritized (see Principles 7.1 and 7.2), most students will benefit from support in developing their receptive skills (listening and reading) and their productive skills (speaking and writing), especially in relation to communicating in the academic genres in the specific subject or academic discipline.

Using English as a foreign language in the classroom can result in varying degrees of anxiety for many students, even students who are highly proficient in English. To facilitate learning of content knowledge in English, students may need help and encouragement to overcome (perceived) challenges related to the use of English. Clear and open communication in the classroom, where lecturers explicitly address the topic of language, helps establish a positive learning environment. By building a supportive, collaborative atmosphere, where everyone draws on each other through group work and peer support, lecturers can help students feel more secure in participating in classroom activities and feel comfortable enough to e.g. ask clarification questions.

More concretely, to support students’ learning in English, lecturers may take the following steps:

• Provide pre-reading or pre-listening questions to help students focus on key points.
• Provide slides before class.
• Give support for orally presented information (e.g., provide information in chunks, summarize, use concept checking questions, present terminology/key terms, outline the topic, use visuals, use set phrases).
• Support vocabulary development (e.g., by offering or helping student develop definitions, synonyms, mind maps, realia, diagrams).
• Teach explicitly how students can select relevant information from published sources (e.g., articles, chapters, books) that can be incorporated in their written assignments.
• Help students understand how to synthesize the information they find in different sources in their written reports.
• Break the lesson into different parts and tell students what the objective of each activity is.
• Signpost the lesson. Start by telling students what you will do in the lesson and end it by summarizing what you have done.
• Encourage students to ask questions.
• Ask direct questions to students (e.g., How many arteries are there?) instead of vague questions (e.g., Do you understand it?).

For management, explicit focus on students’ reading skills as part of programme planning will ensure that students and lecturers get the resources and support they need. This entails, for example, facilitating a discussion at departmental level about how to support student academic literacy development across educational levels and courses, instead of addressing it unsystematically, i.e. leaving it up to each lecturer to find and implement solutions.

At CIP, we provide consultancy services to facilitate a switch to EMI (e.g., material development, assessment criteria) and language support for students and lecturers. We offer courses in academic English for students and support for lecturers who would like to implement different activities to support students’ academic reading, writing, listening, and speaking.

CIP also offers one-off workshops for both students and lecturers (e.g., at the beginning of the semester), collaborating with lecturers to implement reading support for students, or providing support for students in handling the disciplinary content throughout the semester, often in collaboration with the content lecturer and/or the teaching and learning units at the university.

CIP can provide tailor-made support for a particular programme or department by taking part in discussions at departmental level, which will allow us to understand the disciplinary needs better and have an opportunity to select and offer appropriate instructional models and solutions.

This link provides information about various courses CIP has developed in relation to academic English.

If you’re interested in knowing more about what we offer at CIP, please contact us at cip@hum.ku.dk or by phone +45 3235 8639.