Policies, practices and politics of English language issues at the University of Melbourne Dr Sophie Arkoudis

The University of Melbourne >Centre for the Study of Higher Education

Policies, practices and politics of English language issues at the University of Melbourne

Dr Sophie Arkoudis


Societal background

• Population over 20 million• 23% of Australians were born overseas

(UK, New Zealand, Italy, Vietnam and China)

• An additional 20% had at least one parent born overseas.

• 200 languages spoken in Australia• 2.2% indigenous Australians2001 Australian Census

Centre for the Study of Higher Education


Societal background

• 80% speak English at home• Next common languages

- Chinese (2.1%)- Italian (1.9%)- Greek (1.4%)

• 0.02% of population have an indigenous language as their main language.

• Auslan is the main language for 6,500 deaf people

2001 Australian Census



Issues in the Australian Media:

Reports in the Sydney Morning Herald in June 2005 claimed to have evidence that of quality falling at universities as international students as international students with poor English were being awarded degrees, and then are eligible to gain permanent residency.



Postera Crescam Laude

“We grow in the esteem of future generations”


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are needed to see this picture.



International student numbers

1996 2,000

2000 4,800

2003 6,850

2005 8,000



Top ten countries:

ChinaUSAMalaysiaSingapore IndonesiaHong Kong IndiaJapanThailandSouth Korea


English Language entry requirements


IELTS 6.5 with minimum writing scores of 6.0

VCE English 25

VCE ESL English 25

TOEFL 577 including 4.5 in the Test of Written EnglishOr 233 in computer based TOEFL including Essay Rating Score of 4.5

Previous experience Two years of study at an English speaking university

Foundation Studies EAP

IELTS entry for 5.5 for entry and one year foundation course


Positioning TheoryThe rights and responsibilities of academics within the local moral order of their teaching context.Explores academics’ professional identity within the realities of the university context with relation to English language learning and content teaching.



Positioning analysis:1. Not academic’s responsibility.2. Language as deficit.3. Language is overemphasised.4. Merging language and content teaching.



1. Not academic’s responsibility.

• If the university lets them in because they have the required English language skills, then we do not have to do anything for them. They should be able to cope.

• Academic from Law Faculty



2. Language as deficit.

• Some international students need remedial work. Then I can teach them.

Academic, School of Mathematics and Statistics



3. Language is overemphasised.

• This is my position. I’m looking for good thinking. And often good thinking can be visible even through the mists of limited language. I think of individuals from China for example who are utterly brilliant intellectually and that’s very clear. There may be all sorts of weaknesses in their language but it is clear that these people are brilliant people. They have interesting insights. So I think it is possible to overemphasise language in assessment.

• Academic, Faculty of Arts



4. Merging language and content teaching

• You know, because the international students are so overwhelmed, especially when they have just arrived, I make a point of getting the TLU to come to my class rather than just wait for the students to go there. That way, the students see the TLU as being a part of the subject that I teach and this encourages them to seek support.

Academic, Faculty of Economics and Commerce



Offshore programs



Discipline specific language proficiency

• Part of the difficulty with this group was that while they did have some issues with the English language, they also lacked a knowledge of the theory of TESOL and therefore lacked a meta-language to talk about the issues we were discussing. They had been using grammar translation based text books and I don’t know if they had any formal training in teaching English which would have introduced them to that metalanguage.

• Claude, Faculty of Education



Language as culture• There is no culture of critique in Thailand of

course. I gave them a vocabulary to help them make the point. So I spent a lot of time saying here are useful words like, moreover, however, therefore, is underdeveloped, should be criticised, is poorly understood. Using those words gave their work a critical thread. But you have to get down to that level of here is the vocabulary that you will find helpful.

Dave, Faculty of Education



Language is overemphasised

• The students are anxious that despite what we say and that they meet our criteria, that somehow they are inadequate. I have conversations with students who apologise for their Singlish. As I teach them, I am aware of telling them that there is no difference between them and the students I teach at Parkville.. I try to reassure them that the surface errors that they may make are not an issue and that they are a high powered group of people.

• Dave, Faculty of Education



University of Melbourne Survey of International Students (2005)Graduating students’ concerns about their experience of the

University:• The need for intensive support in the early stages of a

students’ course to achieve effective integration of students, both local and international

• Having specific educational support to assist international students to participate successfully in a Western academic environment

• The importance of language support and skills

• The need to build a strong and inclusive community, a ‘host culture’ where international students can engage comfortably with the rest of the University community.



Conclusion

English language is normalised within university policy and cultural issues are highlighted.

In practice, academics adopt different discourses to justify their responsibilities towards students’ linguistic needs.

These discourses are embedded within individual academics’ epistemological assumptions that frame their beliefs about student learning.

These discourses appear to be discipline dependant.


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Policies, practices and politics of English language issues at the University of Melbourne Dr Sophie Arkoudis