English for placements abroad as part of the teacher training program

Purpose and target

The purpose of the project is to further develop an existing English language course which is offered to all students on the teaching degree at University College Copenhagen (KP).

The purpose of the previous version of the course was to improve students’ ability to speak and comprehend spoken English. The course is targeted at KP students about to go on exchange programmes where they may need to teach in English and be able to participate in everyday activities in their host countries. The course is taught by student instructors whose main subject is English. The further development of the existing course seeks to integrate it as a fixed component of a preparatory course leading up to students’ internships abroad. The purpose is to enhance the course by identifying the central learning targets, by making explicit the skills gained, and by upgrading student instructors’ teaching skills.

About the project

Based on previous course evaluations from participants, a preliminary needs analysis was carried out.

The student teachers were interested in focusing more on written skills, including increased genre knowledge and reading strategies to handle technically difficult material. The student instructors expressed a need to develop their skills in teaching adults.

In the spring of 2022, activities focusing on reading and writing strategies were developed, alongside a skills development course for the student instructors. Both courses will be tested and evaluated in the fall of 2022.