1. DESCRIPTION OF THE SUCCESS CASE

 

1.1 Scope of the initiative

The Language Gateways into the Professions project is an innovative partnership project coordinated by CILT, the National Centre for Languages and funded by DIUS, the Department of Innovation, Universities and Skills.

Partners in the project include the modern languages departments and vocational (engineering or built environment) departments within the Universities of Bristol, Kingston, Loughborough and Salford working in collaboration with sector skills councils, professional bodies and employer to design and deliver contextualised language courses to students on engineering and built environment degrees.

The four partner HEIs developed courses autonomously from one another though shared and learnt from each other’s experiences over a period of one year during which the four HEIs and other partners met four times.

1.2 Range of languages learned

• French – 20 hour course delivered over 10 week face to face and online self-study
• Specifically for undergraduate students of aerospace and avionics engineering
• Entry level of French A level or equivalent
• Course was optional, though is accredited under existing accredited course
• All students are in the second year of an undergraduate degree in Aerospace/Avionic Engineering and are studying French on the Study in Continental Europe programme.
• They have been required to complete an this extra 20 hours worth of self-study using bespoke online packages specifically for aerospace and aeronautics
• French the only option though it is hoped that Spanish will be offered next year
• French was chosen because of the nature of the industry and partnership with Airbus UK as well as existing options offered at Bristol

1.3 Learning outcomes

• Course aims to develop aerospace and avionics context-specific language skills
• Develop the student’s ability to make oral presentations on aerospace and avionics
• Develop the student’s ability to write a report on aerospace and avionics related topic
• Develop the student’s ability to be interviewed for employment in the aerospace and avionics industry in the target language
• Enhanced learner autonomy – materials developed for online, interactive study

1.4 Practical realisation

• Development of a contextualised language curriculum including the history of avionics, specialist terminology, interviews with industry professionals, business French, vocabulary and grammar exercises, plus information and links to careers in aerospace and avionics
• Five online packages have been developed using Course Genie authorware, delivered on the University’s virtual learning environment (VLE ) Blackboard.
• Blended learning. Online self-study integrated into the Language for Specific Purposes curriculum.
• Course conducted entirely in target language
• Development of online materials for self-study, including audio materials
• Contextualised language learning as an optional but credited component of students’ programme – open to engineering students taking French on the Study in Continental Europe programme
• Integration of language learning with student’s mainstream academic subject
• Collaboration with employer (Airbus UK) and professional body (ECUK)
• Collaboration between language department and engineering department
• Collaboration with careers advice services
• Improve graduate employability

 

2. BACKGROUND TO THE INITIATIVE

 

2.1 Context

General
In response to ‘The Gateways into the Professions’ report produced by Sir Alan Langlands (2005) a number of projects, including the Language Gateways into the Professions,  were funded by the government in order to tackle the full range of issues and barriers faced by people seeking to enter the professions through higher education.  The 4 key themes arising from the report were recruitment and retention to the professions; student finance/debt; widening participation and collaborative working.

In addition to the Langlands report, the Gateways projects were developed with reference to the Leitch Review of Skills in England (2006) by encouraging collaborative working and strengthening partnerships between key stakeholders including Government, HEIs, Sector Skills Councils and Professional Bodies.

With reference to languages, the Langlands report noted that, ‘lack of protection of the title linguist is the biggest single barrier to entry into the professions which can include translators, interpreters, bilingual practitioners of other professions and trainers and teachers of modern foreign languages.’  

The report also noted that, ‘there is competition from graduates from EU and non-EU countries who can offer not only their own language and English but also mainstream skills such as law and accountancy’ and that, ‘closure of language departments in universities and other HEIs due to lack of finance will mean even fewer linguists in the future.’

Routes into Languages
This is a three-year programme funded by HEFCE and the DCSF with the aim of widening participation and increasing the take up of languages in HEIs. Bristol University is a partner in the Routes South West Regional Consortium.

Languages Diploma
The government is planning an overhaul of the 14-19 curriculum via Diplomas including the specialised Language Diploma and the vocational Engineering and Construction Skills Diplomas, which allow for optional language study.

Specific - Bristol

• Bristol already providing language courses for students on vocational degrees via the Study in Continental Europe programme but wanted to design and deliver more contextualised language curricula
• Bristol keen to develop better links with employers – and closer relationship with vocational departments within Bristol itself
• Recognition at university level of the need to enhance employability of engineering students – this includes language and intercultural skills

 

2.2 Strategic goals of the initiative

Overall aims
This project aimed to:

• Develop and highlight good practice in the design and delivery of profession-specific language and intercultural skills curriculum models;
• Raise awareness among potential entrants within Engineering and the Built Environment professions of the value of language and intercultural skills in their future careers; and
• Encourage and engender collaboration between HEIs and sector skills councils, professional bodies and employer in the design and delivery of contextualised language courses

Specific aims - Bristol
Bristol University aimed to:

• Develop and expand an already accredited course that is being built on with the production of additional, contextualised materials
• Inform the next generation of aerospace engineers about the importance of developing language and intercultural skills for their future careers
• Equip students with the relevant linguistic skills set to get ahead in the aerospace industry
• Maintaining language competences acquired at secondary school
• Creation of an integrated approach to language learning
• Enabling students to gain access to specialist material in the L2
• Development of specific communicative skills in the L2 – making academic presentations or writing academic articles, workplace related communicative skills, etc
• Promotion of graduates’ employability
• romotion of professional mobility
• Promotion of internationalisation
• Motivating students to undertake further language learning
• Awareness of intercultural learning and skills and importance towards professional development and employability
• Development of students’ autonomy with a view to lifelong language learning.

 

3. SUCCESS INDICATORS

General

• ECUK and ConstructionSkills (relevant sector skills councils) provided most of the content in the form of case studies for the factsheets produced to promote and encourage students on vocational degrees to take up languages – have already been used by the partners HEIs and disseminated widely.
• Factsheets are being used by Routes into Languages partners as well as widening participation and careers teachers in schools and HEIs
• All four partner HEIs have succeeded in developing curricula and materials and attracting students onto the diversely delivered pilot courses.

Specific – Bristol

• Eleven students enrolled – enthusiastic response to the course
• A wide range of materials developed in collaboration with the employer, Airbus UK and available on VLE
• Good relationship developed with Airbus UK on this project
• Materials are in the process of being formatted in order to be made available via CILT’s Virtual Language Resource Bank for general use by other HEIs and FEs
• Bristol University issued a press release to announce the success of the project, indicating institutional recognition
• The university Vice-Chancellor has complemented the language department on the course and is supportive of future developments
• Engineering faculty supportive and collaborative
• Feedback:

Student: ‘The Language Gateway is an engaging way of learning and putting into context French for aerospace engineering. It caters for reading, listening and writing in an enjoyable manner. I found it easier to learn technical vocabulary using the Gateway as it is interactive. I particularly like the section that provides you with links to further information on the topics the exercises dealt with.’

Airbus head of people development: ‘Airbus and its predecessor companies have had a long association with the University of Bristol dating back over 80 years; these collaborations have added much value to both organisations. As a recruiter of new graduates, we are particularly pleased to be involved with the Language Centre and the Gateways Project. For graduates to have an existing foreign-language capability on joining is of great benefit to employers, especially when that capability covers both conversational and technical subjects. The project focus on business, aerospace and avionics will make Airbus involvement even more appropriate and mutually valuable.’

Lecturer in aircraft systems, Faculty of Engineering: ‘We know from experience that a significant proportion of our students will go on to hold senior positions in international companies and hence we need to give them the opportunity to learn diverse language and business culture skills. Initiatives like the Gateways project are important because by contextualising language tuition it not only appears more relevant to students, which improves uptake, but it also allows the language tuition to be tailored to the needs of industry, improving graduate employability.’

4. SUCCESS FACTORS

• Strong institutional support for the language initiative;
• An international environment within the institution or the local context;
• Collaboration with students’ mainstream faculty staff and with the future employer (Airbus);
• The linking of language learning to students’ employability;
• The linking of course content to students’ mainstream academic domain;
• The allocation of credits to language learning;
• The pedagogical skills and motivation of the language teaching staff;
• The range of learning possibilities on offer (ICT or self-study facilities, the combination of formal and informal learning options, etc.).
• Formative evaluation and support provided by CILT has been developed and delivered as a formative process to support the teams and enable the sharing of best practice at key stages in the project
• Funding from DIUS created a space and opportunity to develop materials and curriculum and teaching of the course

 

5. LESSONS TO BE LEARNED

5.1 Lessons to be learned at institutional level

 

• Institutional support is key
• Building on existing provision where possible
• The need to initiate and facilitate dialogue between departments  around the benefits of language learning and language provision
• Students are highly motivated to learn languages within a context that they have already mastered
• There is a need to identify tools and techniques that come as part of the language employability portfolio e.g. intercultural working skills
• Courses should be optional but accredited
• Great potential for the delivery of key skills through language learning
• Students with advanced levels of L2 are able to study certain aspects of the professional course in the L2

 

5.2 Broader implications

• Professionally accredited degrees such as Engineering now include  ‘common learning outcomes’ such as ‘personal skills,’ and ‘professional knowledge’ within which there is much potential for the inclusion of language and intercultural learning – this would resolve the problem of both accreditation of the language course as well as the credits and time available for taking such a course
• Richard Sherman of ECUK has expressed an interest in exploring this matter further
• Employer engagement is a phrase often heard and but which belies the complexity of such endeavours. There needs to be recognition on the part of the government (which is encouraging such activity) that this is a complex issue, particularly for HEIs
• Should the importance of employer engagement be acknowledged by HEIs, then a policy should be developed that enables such engagement and doesn’t just leave it down to individual academics and teachers or even departments to pursue
• Issues include time available for engagement, sustainability of the engagement, identification of employer needs and how these fit in with HEI activities, important difference between ‘employer engagement’ and ‘employer driven,’
• The need for language teachers and HEIs on a national and international level to identify and present the broad portfolio of skills – including employability and personal development – that language learning offers
• The need to emphasise intercultural working and develop and teach courses specifically taking this into account
• Need for benchmarking of language courses in HEIs to CEF across the UK
• There is a need for a refined debate on how languages fit into the syllabus, particularly the inclusion of ab initio courses within higher level study
• Because of what is happening in schools, at least in the interim there is likely to be a drop in skill and competence level of students moving into HEIs so the case needs to be strengthened for ab initio tuition in HEIs