Link to abstract
Presenters: Clare O'Donoghue & Stephen Burbidge, Middlesex University
Stephen gathered his data through the use of ‘rich pictures’ were students expressed themselves through icons. He has found this to be a good tool which highlights student’s concerns in their first 2 weeks after their arrival in the UK.
Clare gathered data from 68 completed questionnaires. The first set of questions related to personal data, educational context in which English was learnt and types of academic assessment.
The second questionnaire contained questions ranging from accommodation to wellbeing. The questionnaires offer rich data which gives an in-sight into the experiences of students. A number of analyses have been produced from the questionnaires including pre-arrival anxieties which came true. I highly recommend that you visit the link below to get a fuller picture and believe the results would be beneficial to any one involved with over-seas students.
Betty Sinyinza, CLTE
This was one of the most interesting events of the day for me. I was really surprised (but perhaps should not have been) with the survey finding about how many international students have never ever written anything longer than 500 words, even at PG level. Once you know that, issues such as plagiarism and purchasing of essays (as desperate measures) become so clear. It also then makes it abundantly clear that we must, really must, provide a lot more transition support and training to fit these students for our programmes. It's too late for a final year top up student if they find out they have to write 3500 words in October. They need to learn to do this much much earlier. Task group involving programmes, LDU and Presessional teachers needed I think.
ReplyDeleteAdam