Setting language standards in Higher Education

Challenges & opportunities faced by both institutions and international

students alike

Introduction from the Chair

Andrea Robertson, Director of Customer Application Services, UCAS

IELTS Facts and Figures

Candidature growth by academic year – August to July

0

200,000

400,000

600,000

800,000

1,000,000

1,200,000

Aug'02 toJul'03

Aug'03 toJul'04

Aug'04 toJul'05

Aug'05 toJul'06

Aug'06 toJul'07

Aug'07 toJul'08

Reason for taking IELTS (Academic) 2007

•Higher education extended course

•Training/work experience

•Immigration

•Registration as a nurse (incl. CGFNS)

•Employment

Reason for taking IELTS (General Training) 2007

•Immigration

•Employment

•Higher education extended course

•Training/work experience

•Personal reason

Setting Language Standards in H.E.

“The Wandering Scholar”

Sarah Michelotti

Head of English Language Programmes

• Context: The University of Surrey

• International Student Mobility

• The Exchange Students’ Experience: - The academics’ perspective - The students’ perspective - The English tutors’ perspective

• Implications

• Conclusions

Challenges and Opportunities

• 1966 Battersea College of Technology became the University of Surrey

• 1968 Relocated from Battersea to Guildford

• Approximate student numbers: 12,700 total- Undergraduate: 8,095 Postgraduate: 4,532- International students: c.2,800- Students from the EU: c.1,250- Approximately 120 different nationalities

• Total staff: 3,000 (c. 1,800 Academic)

University of Surrey

• “The internationalisation of higher education is first of all a reflection of the universal character of learning and research. It is reinforced by the current processes of economic and political integration as well as by the growing need for intercultural understanding.” (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation 1995: 10)

• Bologna: Aim to harmonise university education in Europe to facilitate academic mobility (1999)

• c.60% of the world’s top 100 universities in English speaking countries

International Student Mobility

• Development of international universities e.g. the ‘European’ university ‘University of the Transmanche’

• Numbers of European students in UK likely to grow to 170,000 by 2020 (Vision 2020: British Council 2004)

• Multilingual and multicultural resource for employers and universities in the UK

• Role of English language: no longer the sole preserve of the English-speaking peoples

• Providing challenges and opportunities for Higher Education Institutions, academics, students & their families.

Implications for the UK

• “Outstanding” students, motivated, participate

• Contribute to cross-cultural discussions

• Assessments different, unfamiliar requirements (essays)

• Lack of confidence

• A lot of pastoral care involved

• I student went home after 1 day “…didn’t like the food…”

• Tutors need to understand exchange curriculum

• Different semester length

• Visiting students promotes links e.g. for research

The Experience: Academics

• Need for Everyday English

• “It’s easier to speak about international law than about the latest movie or match”

• Difficult to understand the English-speaking students

• Non-verbal communication

• Pronunciation

• “I can write it but not speak it”

• Need to think in English

• Lack of confidence

The Experience: The Students-

Language

• “I didn’t understand anything, I just copied from the board”

• Essay-writing: “We’re not used to it”

• Fewer lectures – lecturers as facilitators

• More debate/interaction in the classes

• Lectures not the same topics as the assignments/essays

• Need for discipline & independent research (“nothing to do”)

• Plagiarism: - Harvard referencing style - Serious offence - Heavy penalties

The Experience: The Students -

Study

“Academic cultures are the systems of beliefs, expectations and cultural practices about how to perform academically”. (Cortazzi and Jin 1997)

Academic Culture in the UK

• Independent learning

• Critical Thinking, students expected to challenge

• Creativity, inductive learning

• Memorisation may not be important

• Participation, engagement in dialogue

• Pair and Group Work, teacher as a facilitator, organiser

Academic Culture

Skills needed:

Listening: - Listening in lectures - Listening for gist - Listening for detail - Effective note-taking - Understanding their peers

Speaking: - Seminars & discussions - Giving presentations - Different registers - Everyday English - Pronunciation - Online discussions

The Experience: English Tutors

Skills needed:

Reading: - Skimming - Scanning - Inferring meaning - Understanding attitude & purpose - Note-taking from texts

Writing (Essays & Reports): - Structure - Introductions & conclusions - Building an argument - Academic style - Paraphrasing - Referencing (Harvard style)

The Experience: English Tutors

Skills needed:

General Study Skills: - Research Skills - The Library - Organization - Time management - Exam techniques - Referencing - ‘Academic culture’

The Experience: English Tutors

English Language Support Programme• Essay Writing, Technical, Dissertation Writing

• Academic Reading & Note-taking

• Grammar Revision

• Oral Skills, Pronunciation

• Presentation Skills

• Academic Listening

• Legal English

• British Culture & Humour

• Contemporary British Society

• University of Surrey normally requires IELTS 6.0 minimum

• Students may take other exams e.g. TOEFL

• IELTS - international benchmark

• Pre-Sessional English programmes

• Preparation in skills for study as well as language

• “It would be better to prepare”

Implications: Advance Preparation

• Perceptions are positive from all perspectives

• Need for preparation in 3 areas: - Practical orientation - Language - Study skills

• Need for greater awareness of the realities of the experience on the part of academics and co-ordinators

• Students are “learning to communicate across cultures and communicating for learning across cultures” (Cortazzi and Jin 1997)

Conclusions

• British Council/UUK/IDP (2004). Vision 2020 Forecasting international student mobility, a UK perspective. (London, British Council)

• Cortazzi, M. and Jin, L. (1997). ‘Communication for Learning Across Cultures’. In McNamara, D. and Harris, R. (eds), Overseas students in Higher Education. London, Routledge.

• Dow, E. (2006). Britannia meets Bologna: still making waves? Perspectives 10/1. (Taylor and Francis)

• EC Commission (2004). The new Generation of Community Education and Training Programmes after 2006. Communication from the Commission 156, 9.3.2004

References

References (2)

Graddol, D. (2006) English Next. London, British Council

Reichart, S. and Tauch, C. (2005). Trends IV: European UniversitiesImplementing Bologna (Bergen). Available online at: http://www.bologna-bergen2005.no/Docs/02-EUA/050425_EUA_TrendsIV.pdf

Scott, P. (ed.) (1998). The Globalisation of Higher Education. Buckingham,SRHE/Open University Press.

United Nations Educational, Scientific & Cultural Organisation (1995). Policy Paper for change and development in Higher Education. Paris. UNESCO

• Staff at University of Surrey, in particular: Dr Tim Brown Professor Andrea Dlaska Mr Tim Fletcher Dr Theodore Konstadinides Mrs Annette Strauss Mr Eric Urvoy

• Students at the University of Surrey, in particular: Loic Cheminade Marianne Faye Antonia Jartschuk Tobias Kleine Antoine Martin Gabriel Potier

Thanks also to:

Sarah Michelotti

Head of English Language Programmes

T: + 44 (0)1483 682861

S.Michelotti@surrey.ac.uk

www.surrey.ac.uk/languages

Setting Language Standards in Higher Education: Is Compromising a False

Economy?

GOING GLOBAL 3 International Education Conference

London

Dr Sacha DeVelle3 December 2008

OutlineRelating IELTS test scores to language abilityKey findings from IELTS funded research programme

Educational admission purposesPredictive validity of test scores

IELTS Scores Explained DVD packageStandards setting research in collaboration with Cambridge ESOL

The use of IELTS scores for educational admissions purposes

A New Zealand context – (Smith & Haslett, 2007)Attitudes of tertiary key decision-makers towards English language tests in Aotearoa New Zealand: Report on the results of a national provider survey.

Decision making often made without expertise in language testing. A potential for greater liaison between course providers an external standards setting bodies.“IELTS” well known: needs to maintain dialogue with end-users

IELTS Scores Explained DVD package (2006)

The use of IELTS scores for educational admissions purposes

A United Kingdom context – (Hyatt & Brooks, forthcoming)

Investigating stakeholders perceptions of IELTS as an entry requirement for higher education in the UK

Entry requirements very different across institution and sectorIncreasingly competitive environment tension between standards and the need to recruitMajority admitted not having a clear understanding of the IELTS content and process.

Predictive validity of test scores

Definition of Predictive Validity:An indication of how well a test predicts future performance in the relevant skill.

Complex relationship between language proficiency and successful academic outcomes.

Predictive Validity of Test Scores

Rea-Dickens, Kiely & Yu (2007)Student identity, learning and progression: The affective and academic impact of IELTS on ‘successful’ candidates.

Fairly strong link between IELTS entry score and subsequent academic successOther significant factors that influence this processGreater understanding needed of what IELTS scores mean in decision making process

Predictive Validity of Test Scores

An Australian context: Ingram & Bayliss (2007)IELTS as a predictor of academic language performance Part 1

Research QuestionTo what extent is the language behaviour implied by their IELTS scores reflected in the language behaviour of university students during the first 6 months of degree programme?

Predictive Validity of Test Scores

An Australian context: Ingram & Bayliss (2007)Generally able to produce language behaviour measured by IELTS score in context of academic studies. Individual students can perceive their language proficiency levels quite differently. Course language demands

What is IELTS Scores Explained?A DVD intended to raise the awareness of stakeholders who wish to understand what IELTS scores really mean.

Covers all 4 skills: Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking

Updated version including half-band reporting for Writing and Speaking

IELTS Scores Explained DVD

Examples of IELTS test tasks and evaluations of Writing and Speaking performances.

Writing band descriptorsSpeaking band descriptors

Example conversion Tables: Listening and ReadingProcedures for setting standards for IELTS scores

Standard SettingTwo key questions:

What is the minimal level of English needed?How does this minimally acceptable level translate into IELTS scores?

Standard Setting: Tools

User questionnaire on DVD

View sample Writing Test scripts and Speaking clipsConsider sample Reading and Listening materialRecommended reading:Cizek, GJ (2001) Setting Performance Standards: Concepts, Methods and Perspectives, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Publishers

Research on Standards Setting

Recommending a Nursing-Specific Passing Standard using the IELTS Test.(National Council of State Boards of Nursing -The United States)

O’Neill, T, Buckendahl, C.W, Plake, B and Taylor, L (2007) Recommending a nurse-specific passing standards for the IELTS examination, Language Assessment Quarterly, 4:4, 295-317.

Research on Standards Setting

Content Mapping of IELTS GT to the Canadian Benchmarks (Canadian Immigration and Citizenship)

Cambridge ESOL commissioned the BUROS Centre for Testing at Nebraska-Lincoln

Buckendahl, C.W; Foley, BP and Rodeck, E (2005) Canadian Language Benchmarks/ International English Language Testing System standard setting study.

Summary

IELTS test scores and language abilityKey findings from IELTS funded research programme:

Educational admission purposePredictive validity of test scores

Standards SettingIELTS Scores Explained DVDStandards setting research in collaboration with Cambridge ESOL.

Thank you