Supporting Students for whom English is not a First Language

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%

Overview of the programme

Live weekly webinars:

Students attend online weekly live classes which can be accessed from any device, anywhere in the world. This also provides an opportunity for students to interact with their instructor in addition to the instructor checking each student’s comprehension.

Online Materials:

All webinars are recorded and made available to participants. In addition, a synopsis video is available for each live session. Slides of lessons are stored in PDF format. Animated slides with voiceover; tests on each session; and full progress reports are also made available.

Programme Success

The feedback from students has been very positive. The programme gives them the confidence to go forward with their studies by virtue of improved use of English. During the first phase of the project, a leader board was established to develop healthy competition among students and institutes. Awards were given to the top 3 students from each institute who engaged the most with: • Content • Live webinars • Online Platform • Assessment • Overall engagement

The success of the programme will also convey to international partner institutions that their students’ academic progress is being supported. We are delighted that funding has been secured through the CUA iNOTE project to roll out the programme for the forthcoming year to all students across the CUA.

Student Experiences of the Online English Language Support Programme

I can confirm that it was well worth attending the English class. The course covered a lot of English writing, speaking, grammar and vocabulary to improve the level of English. It was delivered in concise chunks that were easy to absorb. The structure was clear, logical and effective. I’ve got the impression that a lot of thought and expertise was put into designing the course for international students who take courses at IT Sligo. The main benefits came from doing assignments, listening to recorded lessons on the learning platform, as well as receiving individual feedback and interacting with the instructor and other participants. The English course gave me the confidence to improve my writing skills in English. Henry Koehler, Germany, Postgraduate Student IT Sligo

Overall, I think the programme is very good. It is a great help for me, and the teacher is excellent and very patient. Six months ago, I would not have been able to hold a conversation like this. It is great that you can view the lectures and notes online so if you miss anything you can always catch up in your own time. I would definitely recommend this programme to other students. I signed up to help me communicate better while living in Ireland and to allow me to study. Hamed Zuhairy, 1st Year, Social Studies, LYIT

I am very happy with the course; I think it’s brilliant. It is great that it is delivered through Zoom, the tutor is excellent, and it is like meeting face to face. It is a very normal environment. The reason I took part in the programme is because I am not Irish. I need help with my English, to spell correctly, hold a conversation and pronounce my words properly. I would 100% recommend students to take part, it is brilliant. Joilita Budriene, 1st Year, Computer software Development, GMIT