Well, That Went Really Well!

What a great day the LEW Conference turned out to be! (I'm not as surprised as I sound here, I know who put the work in to ensure the success.)

We welcomed over 115 delegates from all over Wales to the Emily Phipps Building for the day on Saturday 10^th November.

This was the first event of its kind, and feedback from all participants indicated an overwhelming view that it was long overdue.

Here is a Wordle image describing the feedback, the largest adjectives indicate the most commonly used in feedback.

The highlight being the Plenary Lecture from David Crystal, even though Mr Crystal couldn't attend in person due to a family crisis we were extremely grateful that he gave up some of his precious family time to deliver, via Skype. 

David Crystal via Norway on Skype

Audience enthralled by David Crystal

 Isn't technology marvellous? (Not without its issues however!)

Martin Hewings’ workshop on Best Practice in EAP Writing, went down really well also and gave an excellent insight into the requirements for delivering this kind of programme.

Martin Hewings

ELTS was very well represented in the other presentations (3 out or 12) with:

• ·         Neil Harris discussing the need to meet student needs and expectations in terms of IELTS preparation and the need for English for Academic Purposes,
• ·         Liz Stratton describing English for Specific Academic Purposes Presessional development
• ·         Jon Lishman showcasing ELTS' plans and developments in Curriculum Mapping, and Assessment and Feedback. These developments were described as “Jaw dropping” by more than one delegate.    

Sandy George also presented her SALT award winning poster on Portfolio Based Assessment, again causing much interest from delegates.

Assessment for Learning

Colleagues from Cambridge ESOL and Cambridge University Press were also delighted with the event and delegates took great pleasure in clearing out the selection of free publications.

Overall an excellent day for Learn English in Wales, ELTS and Swansea University, I have to thank all involved in the organisation of the day and especially the amazing team of people at English Language Training Services.

Learn English in Wales Conference Tomorrow

A BIG day for us tomorrow, ELTS is looking forward to welcoming around 130 delegates from all over Wales to the Promoting Best Practice in English Language Learning and Teaching Conference.

Preparations haven't been without their challenges and sadly David Crystal is unable to attend due to personal issues but he is will be delivering his plenary address via Skype.

The presentations from our other guests cover a interesting and varied range of topics that are current themes  within the field.

We'll be taking photos and videos of the day, and I'll be updating here.

Back to the preparations.

Conference Advertising

Cambridge University Press are now advertising the event too.

ELTS to Host Inaugural Learn English in Wales Conference

“Swansea University English Language Training Services is pleased to announce its hosting of the inaugural Learn English in Wales Consortium’s English Language Teaching Conference “Promoting Best Practice in English Language Learning and Teaching”.

The conference to be held in Swansea University’s  Emily Phipps Building at Hendrefoelan Student Village will welcome over 100 delegates and speakers on November 10^th 2012 and is sponsored by Cambridge University Press and supported by the British Council.

Learn English in Wales and Swansea University  are  very proud to report that it’s Keynote speaker will be the internationally acclaimed linguist David Crystal, who will also hold a 30 minute ‘Language Clinic’. 

Another esteemed guest will be Dr Martin Hewings from The University of Birmingham.

The conference will be the first of Its kind in Wales in as far as it will be hosted by Wales based English language providers and papers will be presented by professional practitioners from across  the Welsh  private and public sectors on topics relevant to current English language learning and teaching themes.”

This a really exciting event for us, not only as we’ll be the first hosts for what will hopefully become a regular activity but also because David Crystal will be our honoured Key Note Speaker , he has the event listed under forthcoming lectures on his blog. 

For many of us who have worked in English language teaching and training many of David Crystal’s publications have  been and continue to be  works that have guided our professional development and absolutely  essential reading , for professional practitioners.

For many of us he is the guru! I am really looking forward to meeting him.

The New Academic Year, Already? Surely Not!

Wow what happened to the summer? Not just the weather, which was terrible here in the UK but to the time! It seems like only yesterday I posted about how busy we were preparing to be.

Fortunately the hard work put into those preparations paid off.

ELTS had a fantastic summer, we welcomed and worked  closely with over 300 students across all of our programmes and from all parts of the world. All the programmes, again, proved really popular with our students and the positive feedback they have provided is a wonderful testament to the hard work of the teaching teams on the General and Law Presessional Programmes, English for University Studies 4 Programme, the General Intensive Summer Programme, The Premasters Programme for our colleagues in ICWS and the fantastic Hamburg Project.  I need to say a really big thank you to all staff involved in providing such an excellent experience of and great introduction to Swansea University and the City.

We don’t stop there though, oh no!

No sooner had the Presessional wrapped up for another year two of the ELTS team began delivery of our 3 week induction Presessional for students interested in getting an earlier insight into what Swansea University expects of them before their academic programmes start.

This Monday ( 24^th September)  ELTS welcomed 26 Vietnamese Government employees on the 165 Program to the Emily Phipps Building, they will be staying with us for the next 12 weeks to improve their language skills and get a better understanding of British Culture.

Before that on the Sunday evening I was Master of Ceremonies at the University’s Welcome Reception for all our International students,  we welcomed over 300 new students with traditional Welsh dancing and music provided by the Llanarthne Dancing Group everyone was encouraged to join in and learn the dances and the interest from everyone was fantastic even if it did cause some ‘traffic’ issues on the dance floor!

Traditional Welsh Costume

Chaos on the dance floor?

Just a few of our hard working student volunteers with Swansea's Vice Chancellor and Director off Student Services

So we are busy now already teaching on 3 different programmes and preparing for the start of our English for University Studies Programme 1 and  the influx of our new 2012-13 cohort of students, we are also gearing up the Academic Support Programme for new challenges as the programme, at long last, will now open to all students who have the ambition of achieving the best quality degree they are capable of.

I’m breathless just thinking about all this!

While the team is focusing on these preparations and activities I am also working on a number of  other projects which I am hoping to make some rather significant announcements about in the next couple of weeks, so watch this space!!

Exciting News

Swansea University's English Language Training Services is playing host to the Inaugural Learn English in Wales  conference 2012 and we are interested in receiving proposals from practitioners in the field for presentations and poster presentations all details can be found in the Call for Papers page of the website.

If you're an experienced teacher or trainer, just starting out in English language teaching or a new or old academic with something you'd like to share with other like minded professionals please send your proposals in. If you're just as passionate as us about providing the very best you can for your students, do not want to present but want to attend then have a look at the booking section.

You'll be very welcome whatever.

No Long Summer Vacation in University…..Summer Starts Today!

Delivering English for Academic Purposes programmes and being a department within a Higher Education Institution can be a little frustrating at this time of year.

Just as many parts of the University are quietening down and colleagues in academic colleges and departments are preparing to leave or have already left for the summer period, whether to pursue further research or long vacations, we get set for probably the busiest time of the year!

We opened our doors this week to welcome an influx of 160 (so far) students from all over the world preparing to embark on English language Presessional Programmes that will lead on to their academic undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in business, law, engineering, health related studies etc., on successful completion, in October.

We also welcomed a group of 51 young rugby players from Italy, Germany, the Czech Republic and Poland who are in Swansea with the Ospreys Rugby Club for a combined rugby coaching and English course, a group of German students who are with us for language and work experience and a small group of students who have come simply to enjoy learning English and investigate the wonders that Wales and Swansea have to offer.

Presessional Students Exploring The Gower Coast

For our Presessional students (and my teaching teams) the stakes are high and so is the workload over the next 9 weeks, as they get acclimatised to the expectations and culture of UK higher education and the culture of this, to them, very foreign country. They have 9 weeks to adapt to a whole new way of studying, cultural behaviours, pass a number of assessments, attend 200 hours of lectures and classes to successfully complete and thus ensure progression to their academic programmes. All in a language which is not only not their mother tongue but also (for our Asian and Middle Eastern students) completely different in terms of structure, vocabulary, grammar, orthography, style and conventions etc from their own.

It staggers me to think of how ambitious, brave and committed they are, imagine being from an English speaking culture and moving to China for the next 4 years to achieve academic success! I couldn’t now, never mind when I was in my late teens.

As teachers we have a huge responsibility to ensure they receive the very best support and service we can provide to facilitate their success and protect their well being, a responsibility we all take very seriously here at English Language Training Services.

It's going to be an incredibly busy, dynamic, fulfilling and potentially life changing experience for all of us, as it is every summer and that's the way we like it to be.