Course
‘English for Lecturers’ aims to provide lecturers who teach their courses in English as a second/foreign language with the support to hone advanced language skills and become more effective communicators in undertaking English-medium professional activities. Please note that three separate modules, Grammar & Practice, Communication for University Teaching, Vocabulary Expansion are available in the course and they run independently of each other.
Communication for University Teaching: in this module we will explore the ways in which we can better apply the ‘discourse intonation’ approach, i.e. thought groups, prominence and pitch change, to enhancing the communicative value of speech in cross-cultural interaction. The main aim is to examine more closely and more critically how and what we speak through in-class practice and discussions for improvement. The lessons both update language skills and offer useful techniques for aspects of teaching, using audio/video or reading materials and practical exercises for illustration. This module has been designed to offer a platform where lecturers, from a group perspective, discuss combining appropriate teaching methodology and linguistic practice to improve the overall quality of academic teaching. This course consists of 20 hours and runs for 10 weeks.
For whom
The course is intended for members of staff employed by VUB, including postdoctoral researchers and teaching assistants. Full-time PhD students are not eligible for this course, as the Doctor School provides them with tailor-made training courses.
Lecturers working elsewhere can register for the course provided there are places available. Please contact ACTO by email for more information: acto@vub.be.
Lecturers who are unable to take the course can contact the course instructor to request individual support by appointment through Jianwei.Xu@vub.be
Teacher
The course is taught by Jianwei Xu, who holds a PhD in Applied Linguistics and an MEd in TESOL from La Trobe University, Australia. She has strong intercultural awareness and extensive experience in teaching English as a second/foreign language in higher education. Her research interests reside primarily in sociocultural perspectives on second language learning and teaching, intercultural education, and multilingualism and heritage language education.
When?
Friday 10-12hrs. The course starts on Friday 24/02/2023 and ends on Friday 12/02/2023. Specific lesson dates are indicated in the registration form.
Conditions for registration
Register by 22nd February 2023.
Price
VUB staff: free of charge
External: 290 euros
Number of participants
15