1. DESCRIPTION OF THE CASE STUDY

1.1. Scope of the initiative

The Language Centre of the Freie Universität Berlin (FUB)  is the central service institution responsible for FUB students’ language training. Students who use it belong mainly to one of two groups:

• those following academic programmes in which language learning is an obligatory part of the curriculum, such as, for example, English Philology;
• students of other academic disciplines who are choosing to learn a language as a credited elective option within a curricular framework.

1.1.1    General preparation for professional life (Allgemeine Berufsvorbereitung - ABV-)

The case study presented here will focus on the ABV languages modules at the Language Centre of the FUB.

Under the Bachelor structure, students receive 30 ECTS for completing the general preparation for professional life, Allgemeine Berufsvorbereitung (ABV).  ABV aims to provide students with general skills and abilities that will prepare them for professional life and will be relevant on the European labour market. In order to complete ABV, students need to:

• complete a period of practical work experience, for which they get either 5, 10 or 15 ECTS
• choose foreign languages modules, for which they get from 5 to 15 ECTS.

1.1.2    Combinations in BA structure: subsidiary subjects

Besides ABV, the BA structure offers the possibility to combine subjects with different ECTS allocations. At the Language Centre, languages can be chosen for 30, 60 or 90 ECTS within package modules. 

For the 30 ECTS subsidiary subject, students can either choose to take:

• French, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish. They need to be at B1 level
• Italian, Portuguese and Spanish from beginners´ level and reach B1 after 3 semesters. French will also be available for beginners in the near future.

 

1.2. Range of languages studied

At the Language Centre, 12 languages can now be chosen for the ABV: Arabic, Chinese, Dutch, English, French, German as a Foreign Language, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, and Turkish. Included among the language offerings are courses for lesser taught languages, such as Arabic, Chinese, Dutch, Portuguese, Russian and Turkish.

Students get 5 ECTS for each one-semester course in a language and can take up to 3 language courses. All language-module courses are scheduled each semester and can be followed from beginners’ level, except for English, for which level B2 is required, and German as a Foreign Language, for which a pass in the DSH/2 test is required.

1.3. Learning outcomes

ABV language modules aim to provide students with transferable communicative skills relevant to employability, mobility and academic life. At the same time, they also promote le arners’ autonomy in order to endow students with learning competence from a lifelong perspective and in a knowledge-based society.

The language-module structure allows students to reach various CEFR levels, depending on their starting level. A placement test is used to assign students to courses at different levels. In French for example, 7 different modules cover a wide range of CEFR levels from A1.1 to C1.1.

 

1.3.1 Language modules: exit levels overview

 

1.3.2 Specification of Study Regulations

Study Regulations  specify the learning outcomes of a language module. For example, Grundmodul 4   has the following specifications:

“Mastery of the 4 skills at CEFR level B1: elements of basic vocabulary and acquisition of vocabulary on various themes, elements of basic grammar, elements of text grammar, elements of speaking and listening skills required for basic communicative functions as well as other communicative functions, work with different text types, summaries and comments on informative texts.”

1.4. Practical realisation

Language modules are awarded credits, with students obtaining 5 ECTS for each module passed. They can take up to 15 ECTS.  Students who take Italian over the course of 3 semesters from A1.2 level can, for example, attain level B1 after passing  Grundmodul 2 ( A1.2- A2.1), Grundmodul 3 (A2.2-B1.1) and Grundmodul 4 (B1). In the case of students starting a language course from beginners’ level, rules specify that they should complete Grundmodul 1 and Grundmodul 2 (A2.1- A2.2).

The Language Centre of the Freie Universität Berlin recently began new courses in Arabic, Chinese, Dutch, Portuguese, Russian and Turkish.  Beginners’ courses also started for French. The implementation of ABV was accompanied by a new modularised curricular design for all languages. In addition, the Language Centre has implemented collaboration with the Instituto Cervantes Berlin. In winter semester 2007/2008, this partnership involved 260 students learning Spanish from beginners’ level up to B1.

New learning environments, ICT, distance-learning platforms and all the services of the Independent Language Learning Centre (ILLC-SLZ ) are fully integrated within courses offered and combine to provide a motivating learning environment dedicated to language learners.

 

1.4.1 Grundmodul 4 for French

The new modular curriculum design for French Grundmodul 4 (B1) involves a tutored and task-based project which integrates at the same time:

• communicative skills

Listening: I can take notes on the main points of a lecture which are precise enough for my own use at a later date, provided the topic is within my field of study and the talk is clear and well-structured

Spoken production: I can give a simple, prepared presentation on a familiar topic within my field that is clear and precise enough to be followed without difficulty most of the time and in which the main points can be understood

Spoken interaction: I can speak about topics in my field in informal situations with colleagues or fellow students

Reading: I can scan longer texts in my field in order to locate information and also to gather information from different texts or parts of a text in order to complete a specific task

Writing: I can write texts in my field, correctly using the most important specialised terms

• learning competence

At different, strategic steps in the project, learning competence awareness is integrated. This awareness is developed through cooperative work and consists of different activities that allow students to discover and develop:

• their abilities in evaluation and self-evaluation
• the ability to plan and carry out a project
• the ability to research useful resources either for information or language learning
• reading and  understanding strategies
• speaking and writing strategies

 

2. BACKGROUND TO THE INITIATIVE

2.1. Context

The Freie Universität Berlin is a HEI founded in 1948 and has about 34,000 students, of whom 16% come from abroad.

It employs 462 professors and has 15 Departments and Central Institutes covering 100 subject areas
In 2007, the FUB was awarded an Initiative for Excellence, which ranks the FUB among the nine German universities to receive funding for its future development
There are currently 130 partnerships with scholarly institutions worldwide
The FUB participates in European programmes such as Erasmus, Socrates, and Tempus, with more than 300 partners in 30 countries. It also has agreements with more than 50 universities for direct staff and student exchanges
In the academic year 2006/2007, the Erasmus programme supported about 1400 students  
The Language Centre itself runs 30 Erasmus partnerships with HEIs in 7 European countries. The Language Centre provides a multilingual, competitive, and innovative learning environment with independent language learning facilities (ILLC-SLZ), 13 teaching rooms fully equipped with television, DVD players, CD players, computers with internet access and projectors.

2.2. Strategic goals of the initiative

The initiative aims to:

• promote students’ mobility and employability in the international labour market
• enhance lifelong learning
• develop multilingual competence among students
• promote language diversity in Europe

 

3. SUCCESS INDICATORS

An increasing number of students are taking ABV language modules: 755 students were registered in winter semester 2007/2008

An increasing number of students are taking French ABV courses: 203 students are involved; among them, about 90 students started in beginners’ courses. This puts French in second place among languages taught in ABV after Spanish.

Motivation for the learning of a wider range of languages: having chosen a language within ABV, some students decide to take course in a second or even third language inside or outside the same linguistic family.

An unexpectedly large number of students are taking beginners’ courses in the lesser taught languages:

• Arabic: 95 students
• Portuguese: 50 students
• Russian: 75 students
• Turkish: 41 students

Objectively verifiable gains in language competence : for French, Italian, Portuguese  and Spanish, students attain the following levels:

• Grundmodul 1 and Grundmodul 2: A1.2- A2.1
• Grundmodul 3: A2.2 – B1.1
• Grundmodul 4: B1
• Basismodul 1: B1.2- B2.1
• Basismodul 2: B2.1 – B2.2
• Basismodul 3: B2.2- C1.1

Correlation between languages studied and  academic/professional qualifications:

• Students of Arabic belong mainly to the 3 following academic profiles: History and Culture of the Near East, Political Science, Archeology
• Students of French belong mainly to the 3 following academic profiles: Political Science, Comparative Literature, Art History

 

4. SUCCESS FACTORS

In our case, success factors are numerous and all act together in synergy to support language learning and motivate students to learn languages:

• the allocation of ECTS certainly plays a crucial role in the success of ABV language modules. This means that languages have a status equal to that of other subjects in the overall academic framework;
• the wide choice of languages promotes European language diversity;
• the institutional and local multilingual environment empowers multilingual awareness among students and makes multilingualism a daily reality;
• language learning is linked to students’ mobility and employability through transversal communicative skills;
• transparency of language learning outcomes clearly facilitates students’ academic mobility and enhances professional qualifications;
• flexibility of the language course format permits choice of extensive or intensive courses, in parallel groups;
• use of ICT and new learning environments endow students with new and essential skills for lifelong learning and employability;
• the Independent Language Learning Centre provides services such a wide range of resources, materials, language advice, Tandem project;
• teachers’ qualifications and motivation are certainly a crucial factor;
• anguage course tuition is free; and
• strong institutional support benefits the Language Centre

 

 

5. LESSONS TO BE LEARNED

 

5.1 Lessons to be learned at institutional level

The implementation of ABV languages modules has been a great a success. Our experience after 8 semesters shows the importance of the following factors:

• strong institutional support, as well as the institutional mission of the Language Centre
• languages of equal status with other subjects, through allocation of ECTS
• synergy effect of the Language Centre learning environment
• wide range of languages offered promoting linguistic diversity and multilingualism among students.
• attraction of the introduction of lesser-taught languages, particularly Arabic
• large number of course participants, showing that students understand the relevance of languages for their professional and academic qualifications
• students’ multilingual profiles are a reality

In order to improve the implementation of ABV languages modules, the following could be of relevance:

• carrying out regular surveys of former ABV students engaged in professional life in order to define some specific areas of need that could be relevant for professional, academic or mobility qualifications
• developing multilingual competence and awareness
• developing collaboration with cultural institutes and universities in Europe
• involving teachers in action research projects
• integrating ILLC/SLZ facilities and resources more in languages courses
• instituting regular teacher-training policy

 

5.2 Broader implications

The positive lessons mentioned above may be of relevance for other European HEIs, who could:

• strengthen institutional support of language centres
• allocate ECTS to languages in order to strengthen the status of languages
• enlarge the range of languages offered
• use the local and regional linguistic environment to open courses for lesser-taught languages
• focus language courses and modules on transparent and verifiable learning outcomes
• adapt to the profiles of multilingual students and develop multilingual competence and awareness
• integrate learning competence and the use of new learning environments