As this is a relatively quiet part of the year with my OU teaching, I am working for the University of Reading with some university
lecturers from China who are intending to teach through the medium of
English from next year. Their home institution specialises in
architecture and most teach courses in related areas like engineering,
urban planning and materials science.
The first day was spent finding out more about their needs and
current levels of English. Unsurprisingly, their levels of English (and
confidence) vary quite markedly. However, when I said I realised that
many of them might feel they are stronger at reading and writing, their
relief was palpable. I also tried to reassure the group that many of
them will feel much more confident at the end of the course.
I am looking forward to finding out more about the group and how we can
help them to feel confident about what will be quite a daunting change
to their practices.
