Language Centres at a Crossroads

The Higher Education Sector is undergoing a far-reaching digital transformation as it responds to the challenges being brought about by the pedagogical potentials of the 4th Industrial Revolution. The exciting opportunities for language centers that come with such technological developments provide new modes and dimensions of learning and teaching, pushing boundaries and challenging established norms. However, as the International Association of Universities (2019) highlight, 'technology in itself is merely a means to an end'. Consequently, radical professional change needs to happen amongst academics at an unprecedented pace and there are real concerns that not all those within HEIs, especially within language centers, are suitably prepared to operate at the speeds required.

Language centers are places of group and individual contact, providing language courses through small classes, or individualized learning programmes, with online technology often an add-on to enhance the face-to-face experience. Industry 4.0 demands much more than this basic familiarity with online learning from its graduates, thus giving greater opportunity to open up the wider potential of technology-enhanced language learning. This potential can only be realized if language tutors can embrace the change. For this to happen, it is important that language centers and tutors have cutting-edge teaching techniques at the heart of their training/professional development. Yet as Kessler (2012) has highlighted, technology is still not fully embedded in language teacher training/degree programmes, meaning tutors often feel a lack of confidence when faced with it. Professional development programmes then perhaps provide the best opportunity for equipping language center teachers with an industry 4.0 skill-set.

Often out of adversity comes opportunity, and this is currently the case within China. As a result of the current Coronavirus outbreak, Universities, including language centers, are required to provide all their programmes remotely, enhancing technology-led teaching and learning opportunities. Taking one joint venture university as a case study, this paper discusses how lessons learnt from hastily introduced programmes provide a unique opportunity to inform and implement meaningful industry 4.0 orientated language teacher professional development programmes. Drawing from Kessler and Hubbard (2017), this paper discusses possibilities for training programmes to prepare language teachers for change, for developing mixed reality interactive materials, for a social future, and for the 'normalization' of AI and other disruptive technologies within language teaching. It is hoped that the training needs identified will provide a meaningful contribution to discussions on the role and relevance of next generation future-ready language centers.

La cuarta revolución industrial, con todos sus retos e innovaciones, ha iniciado un proceso de transformación digital y radical de la educación global con lo cual han surgido nuevas oportunidades para todos los Centros de Idiomas. Tradicionalmente estos centros han sido sitios de contacto individualizado y el aprendizaje personal ha sido la norma. Sin embargo, y con demasiada frecuencia, en tales Centros de Idiomas las nuevas tecnologías se han considerado como herramientas adicionales más que íntegras y luego como consecuencia los programas de formación profesional han sido poco efectivos en contextos industriales. Ahora bien: hoy en día las empresas de la época de la cuarta revolución industrial tienen otras expectativas y el aprendizaje a través del uso de tales herramientas ha llegado a ser una nueva norma contemporánea. En base a las oportunidades que han surgido a raíz de la crisis del Covid-19 en China, y con referencia al caso institucional nuestro, en esta ponencia describiremos algunas de las posibilidades que ahora tenemos para crear nuevos programas de formación profesional más apropiados para el siglo XXI. Al mismo tiempo iniciaremos una conversación sobre el papel y la importancia de una nueva generación de Centros de Idiomas, centros de excelencia pedagógica con cara al presente y futuro.

References:

• Jensen, T. 2019. 'Higher Education in the Digital Era: The current state of transformation around the world'. The International Association of Universities.
• Kessler, G. 2012. 'Language Teacher Training in Technology'. In Carol Chapelle (ed) The Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics. Oxford: Wiley - Blackwell.
• Kessler, G. and Hubbard, P. 2017. 'Language Teacher Education and Technology'. In Carol Chapelle & Shannon Sauro (eds) The Handbook of Technology in Second Language Teaching and Learning. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.

Professor Chris Harris, BA, PhD, is the incoming Dean of the School of Languages at XJTLU (2019-) and an Honorary Professor of Hispanic Studies at the University of Warwick (2018-). The XJTLU School he leads has over 230 members of staff and consists of the English Language Centre and the Modern Languages Centre (Chinese, Japanese, Spanish). He has previously worked as Professor and Head of School at the Universities of Liverpool (2012-16) and Hull (2016-18). He is also an Inner Board Member of the Irish Research Council (for postdoctoral awards).

Professor Stuart Perrin, PHD, is currently Associate Dean of the XJTLU Entrepreneur College, a new education venture built around technology-based education through concepts of AI and industry 4.0. Previous positions that he has held in the university include Dean for Learning and Teaching, and Director of the Language Centre (2012-2016). In this role, and with help from Professor Chris Harris, then at the University of Liverpool, he was responsible for the introduction of Spanish into the curriculum. He has previously worked in management positions in language centres at Queen Mary, University of London, and Brunel University.