Language Centres at a Crossroads

The rapid growth of higher education institutions globally, the acceleration of internationalisation and cross-border education has given rise to several questions and brought about a number of challenges. These processes have pushed the quality agenda forward and considerable investments have been made to redesign curricula, maintain reasonable teaching and learning capacities, employ adequately qualified staff, provide appropriate facilities and ensure efficient management of standards, policies and procedures. They have also generated a demand to create internal quality assurance systems, seek accreditation at both national and international levels, and above all have had an impact on the role of teachers. In a number of institutional contexts language teachers are expected to:

• prepare students to enter their academic programmes
• ensure students improve their overall language competence
• facilitate development of strategies related to independent learning and academic study skills
• help students develop subject-specific language competencies

It is also desirable if teachers guide students' development of generic competencies such as problem-solving, critical thinking or transfer skills. Clearly, the bar has been raised and expectations regarding teachers' skills and competencies are high. In this context the role of Continuous Professional Development becomes even more significant.

In response to the changes in the Higher Education sector and the challenges it faces, Eaquals has developed The Language for Academic Purposes Framework (LAP). The LAP Framework is extension of the Eaquals Teacher Development (TD) Framework and follows its structure with 3 phases of development across 5 areas: Planning teaching and learning, Teaching and supporting learning, Assessment of learning, Language communication and culture, the Teacher as professional. Competencies are described in terms of both 'Knowledge of …' and 'Skills in …'. As with the TD Framework the LAP is intended to set out competencies in these areas and across these phases to encourage teacher development through self-assessment, principled evaluation and reflection.

The LAP Framework is intended to help:

• teachers entering the Higher Education and/or Language for Academic Purposes field to identify areas of strength and weakness
• teachers who may be faced with a need to change and develop new competencies and skills
• academic managers who may need to support either of these groups or other teaching staff

I will present the LAP Framework and discuss its practical implementation in the Higher Education contexts, especially how it can facilitate Continuous Professional Development programmes for teachers. I will also demonstrate how it relates to the standards of the newly developed Eaquals Accreditation Scheme for Higher Education Institutions.

Eaquals is an international non-profit membership association that exists to promote excellence in language education. We are experts in accreditation, quality assurance, training and standardisation and conduct research and create resources to develop language teaching and learning throughout the world. We run an international accreditation scheme for all types of language teaching organisations, both private and public, and for the teaching of all languages in any country. We accredit:

• university language centres
• stand-alone language schools
• groups of language schools
• foreign language departments of mainstream education schools
• corporate training centres

Als Reaktion auf die Veränderungen im Hochschulbereich und die damit verbundenen Herausforderungen hat Eaquals das Rahmenwerk „Sprache für akademische Zwecke" entwickelt. Dabei handelt es sich um eine Erweiterung des Eaquals Rahmens für die Aus- und Weiterbildung von Sprachlehrenden und ist angelehnt an dessen Struktur mit 3 Entwicklungsphasen in 5 Bereichen: Unterrichtsplanung; Lehren und Lernunterstützung; Beurteilung; Kommunikation, Sprache und Kultur; der/die Lehrende als Experte/Expertin. Kompetenzen werden mit den Deskriptoren „Kenntnisse" und „Fertigkeiten" beschrieben. Der Rahmen dient dazu, die Kompetenzen in den genannten Bereichen und über die 3 Entwicklungsphasen hinweg zu definieren, um die Aus- und Weiterbildung von Sprachlehrenden durch Selbsteinschätzung, prinzipielle Beurteilung und Reflexion zu fördern. Ich werde den Eaquals Rahmen „Sprache für akademische Zwecke" vorstellen und seine praktische Umsetzung im Kontext der Hochschulbildung diskutieren. Ich werde untersuchen, wie es Fortbildungsprogramme für Lehrende unterstützen und verbessern kann und wie es mit den Standards des neu entwickelten Eaquals Akkreditierungssystems für Hochschuleinrichtungen im Zusammenhang steht.

References:

• Day, C (1999). Developing teachers: The challenges of lifelong learning. London: Falmer
• ENQA. (2014). ENQA and the Bologna process. Retrieved from http://www.enqa.eu/index.php/work-policy-area/enqa-the-bologna-process/
• Richards, J.C.& Farrell, T.S.C. (2005). Professional development for language teachers. Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press.
• Staub, D.F. ed. (2019). Quality assurance ad accreditation in foreign language education. Springer.
• The Framework for Language for Academic Purposes
• The Framework for Language Teacher Training and Development
• The Accreditation Scheme for Higher Education Institutions

Ludka Kotarska has been involved in English language training for over 35 years and has worked as a teacher, academic manager, school director and consultant. She was the Managing Director of ELS-Bell schools in Poland until 2016. She has been closely involved with Eaquals for over 20 years as an inspector, Chair of Inspections Sub-committee and Eaquals Chair. In 2016 she was appointed Director of Eaquals Accreditation and Consultancy. She has participated as a speaker in professional conferences in Europe, Asia and the Middle East and has been engaged in projects related to development of quality assurance schemes.