Issue 2
Supporting Students for whom English is not a First Language
Dr Niamh Plunkett, Head of Teaching & Learning (CELT), IT Sligo IT Sligo led out on a bespoke online English language programme for all students across the CUA for whom English was not a first language. The project lead was Dr Niamh Plunkett. Also involved were Patricia Henry, CELT Support Officer and John Joe Callaghan, Director of the Native Speaker English Language School, and programme provider. The team maintained very close collaboration with the CUA International Managers, Registrars, Teaching & Learning Centres, Students’ Unions and Academic Writing Centres.
Patricia Henry, CELT Support Officer
John Joe Callaghan, Director, Native Speaker English Language School
This multi-campus initiative is important to enhance the academic offering of the CUA by providing a high quality online English language support programme for students that will assist them in their studies.
228 students from 51 countries registered for the programme between Sept 2020 and March 2021. The programme offered the support needed regardless of the student’s English language level and delivered content and assessment directly to the student in bite size chunks that fitted into their daily routine.
Figure 1: Percentage of students enrolled on the programme from across the CUA
31%
38%
32%
18
WORKING TOGETHER TOWARDS A TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY
