cv - university of kent vol 1 no… · title: cv created date: 20140819102310z

Celebrating Culture World Language New staff at CEWLEmployabilty

Centre for�English andWorld Languages

WelcomeWelcome to the fourth issue of Voicebox, the official newsletter for the Centreof English and World Languages (CEWL). 2013-14 has been an exciting yearand we hope you enjoy reading about our latest activities, ventures anddevelopments.

Cover picture: Students and staff celebrate the success of the firstKent Extra courses.

VoiceBoxThe international magazine from the Centre for English and World Languages

Vol 1 No 4 2014

2 VoiceBox

Employabilty

Programmes to enhance your CV and career prospectsCEWL, Kent International Pathways and now Kent Extra offer a wide range of courses that will help to boost your employability. These include World Languages, Kent Extra, Cambridge Examination Preparation courses and our intensive CELTA programmes. Read on for more details.

January 2014 saw the launch of a new learningopportunity called “Kent Extra”, which is uniqueto the University of Kent.

Kent Extra has already run 35 different courses,ranging from Life Drawing to Business Planning,Sales and Marketing. Feedback from studentsand staff has been very encouraging. Manycourses are over-subscribed and we havearranged to re-run a number of the very popularsessions in the next academic year.

Kent Extra is a means of enhancing the Kentstudent experience through providing additionallearning opportunities outside the confines ofcredit-bearing modules or any specific degreediscipline. Students who complete a Kent Extracourse will be eligible for Employability Points.Kent Extra is also referred to on the HigherEducation Achievement Record.

Kent Extra courses assist students in buildingkey transferable skills alongside their mainsubject specialisms. The idea is that the coursesdo not require much background reading orassignment work, so that students can fit them inaround their main programme of study. They areaccessible to non-specialists, so that studentscan choose from a wide range of courses. KentExtra programmes also provide an opportunityfor Kent staff to teach something innovative or todevelop a pilot for potential credit-bearingcourses in future.

Kent Extra is co-ordinated by Ruth Newman,CEWL’s Projects and Communications Officerand directed by Anthony Manning, withadministrative assistance from Katie Baldock.

For more information and details of currentcourses, please see: www.kent.ac.uk/extra

Ruth NewmanProjects and Communications Officer

Kent Extra The very first Kent Extracourse – Nordic NoirThe first Kent Extra course to be approved by ustook place on 5 March 2014. The aim of thiscourse, consisting of a 3-hour long session on aWednesday afternoon, was to provide studentswith an insight into the history of the Nordic Noirpublishing phenomenon and to set the scene fora discussion about the outside world’s view onthe Nordic countries and their cultures.

The course was structured around both shortlectures and more workshop-like sessions whereparticipants could engage in both group andplenary discussion about language, culture,marketing strategies and transcultural transfer intranslations of novels and film productions.

Nordic Noir benefited from the contribution ofvisiting Erasmus exchange teacher Sara Kirlafrom the University of Helsinki with us as co-lecturer on the course. She gave a veryinteresting introduction to Finnish crime fictionand led the workshop on translation.

With students coming from a wide range ofdifferent study areas, the debates coverednumerous interesting and unforeseen aspects ofthe British reception of Nordic Noir. Kent Extracourses provide an excellent opportunity for bothlecturers and students to participate in cross-disciplinary events and explore new areas withexpertise drawn from different fields.

Anne GrydehøjDanish Teacher

University of Kent 3

Lifelong, career-enhancingEnglish LanguagequalificationsThe CambridgeAssessmentEnglishLanguage Examsare internationally recognised and consideredthe gold standard of English qualifications byEuropean employers.

CEWL is a Cambridge Examinations Open ExamCentre and offers Cambridge Advanced (CAE)and Cambridge Proficiency (CPE) exams in Juneand December. Other Cambridge exams may beavailable. Please contact [email protected].

If you are a student holding an IELTSqualification you will know that the IELTScertificate is only valid for two year and thismeans re-sitting the exam repeatedly to maintainevidence of your language skills. CAE and CPEare lifelong qualifications and are recognised bythe UK Visas and Immigration as a SecureEnglish Language Test (SELT).

CEWL also offers exam preparation courses tohelp prepare for these exams. There are threecourses for Advanced and Proficiency levelstudy. 12 week Language Preparation coursesrun twice a year (from September to Decemberand January to April), and the 4 week ExamSkills Brush-up course takes place in May. Forfull details and to book a place on the course orfor an exam go to: www.kent.ac.uk/cewl/current-students/exam/cambridge.html .

Chloe Courtenay-BennettProgramme Manager Cambridge Qualifications

Students from the 2014 Language Preparation Course.

As part of the part-time CELTA course two hoursof free English classes were offered weekly toUniversity of Kent students and languagelearners from the wider community.

CEWL’s free English classes are very popularand provide a great experience for our CELTAtrainees. These general English classes coverthe four main skills of listening, reading, writingand speaking, as well as work on grammar,vocabulary and pronunciation. There is a strongemphasis on pair work and group work andcommunicative activities.

We will be offering more free English classes aspart of the full-time CELTA in July 2015 onweekdays from 13.45pm to 15.55pm. To confirmyour place for these classes, please [email protected]. We will be looking forstudents to take part for the Summer 2015CELTA.

Free English classes

In October 2014, CEWL welcomed eight traineeEnglish language teachers to its second part-time Certificate in English Language Teaching toAdults (CELTA).

CELTA is one of the most globally recognisedqualifications for teaching English to speakers ofother languages which will enable you to applyfor teaching posts either overseas or in the UK.The qualification is regarded by employers asproviding a good level of initial training and astrong basis from which to develop as a teacherof English. It is also an excellent way ofenhancing your employability. If you are thinkingof travelling over the summer or taking a gapyear after university, CELTA is a great way toearn some cash while you are away. You mayeven find that if you enjoy language teaching,you may decide to make it your career and evengo on to take the Diploma in English Language

Teaching to Adults (DELTA), or a Post GraduateDiploma and/or Masters in Teaching English toSpeakers of Other Languages (TESOL).

Having gained the CELTA qualification, many ofour trainees have found posts in local languageschools and in schools and universities overseas.Recent examples include Canterbury, Sandwich,Austria, Turkey, Korea, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

Our CELTA course takes place in July. If youwould like more information about the course, orto apply for the 2015 course please visit theCEWL webpages at:http://www.kent.ac.uk/cewl/courses/celta/ or e-mail [email protected].

Rebecca ColemanCELTA Tutor

CELTA

4 VoiceBox

AngelaWhy did you decide to do the CELTA course?I chose to do CELTA because I've always wantedto go travelling, I wanted to change my careerand do something fun. Teaching English wouldallow me to do all three, so after some research Ifound that CELTA offered the best opportunities,it was affordable and the part time option wasperfect while I continued to work part-time.

Why did you choose the University of Kent?I chose the University of Kent because it'sreasonably close to where I live, it has a verygood reputation and they offered the course parttime with hours that suited me.

What was your favourite teaching momentor task? I have so many to choose from!! I think playingBack to the Board with both the Pre Intermediateand Upper Intermediate groups will always be afond memory, as everyone got involved. TheUpper-Intermediate students helped the Pre-Intermediate students, and they all had great funnominating my fellow teachers to take part. Theonly person who couldn't guess the word on theboard was a teacher who didn't know 'dandelion'!

What was the most nerve wracking momenton the CELTA course?I found the very first lesson the most nervewracking as I didn't know what to expect, howthe students would react or what it was like toteach. I learnt a lot that day including that thestudents are awesome and I love teaching!

What do you plan to do next?I'm hoping to travel the world teaching English. Myfirst stop is with English in Action (EiA) teaching inAustria, and then I am off to Saudi Arabia where Iam teaching at a university, I can't wait!

James Why did you decide to do the CELTA course?I have wanted to become a teacher for a while, Ialso want to travel and not make any long-termcommitments. This course seemed like a greatstepping stone that would not only allow me toteach but also travel all over the world.

Why did you choose the University of Kent?I completed a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology atthe University of Kent and it is a great University.When I found out that they offered a part-timeCELTA course, I applied straight away, as I knewthey would be able to offer great facilities forstudents to use.

What was your favourite teaching momentor task? My favourite moment in the course was just afterI finished teaching my first lesson. I was sonervous beforehand, but as soon as it was overI immediately wanted to get back up there andteach another lesson! The feeling was great andI still get it after every lesson. It is definitely anindicator that I'm making the right career move!

What was the most nerve wracking momenton the CELTA course? The most nerve wracking moment was teachingin front of a whole class for the first time. We hadonly had two seminars beforehand and the classhad roughly 25 students in it whom I had metonly briefly two days before. The lesson was only20 minutes long, but knowing that all eyes wereon me was definitely a stressful experience.

What do you plan to do next?I am currently applying for TEFL jobs both locallyand internationally as I want to get out there andteach as soon as possible. I can easily imaginemyself travelling around the world and teachingfor the next decade before thinking about settlingdown in one place to teach.

Cansu Why did you decide to do the CELTA course?I decided to choose English Teaching as myprofession after learning English overseas for 10years. I understand the difficulties faced bystudents and can use a combination of the skillsacquired during CELTA and my own personalexperience to deliver a personal and empatheticteaching service.

Why did you choose the University of Kent?It is one of the best institutions close to where Ilive. The staff are really efficient and helpful. Myregistration was done skilfully and quickly and Ialso knew that it was the right place when I wentfor my interview.

What was your favourite teaching momentor task? I really loved Tuesdays when we had seminars.Although it was an evening course, the tutors wereso energetic and lovely all the time. I really likedthe time when we had our seminar about teachingchildren. It was so much fun to learn aboutteaching activities for kids and I rememberlistening to nursery songs at the end of the lesson.

What was the most nerve wracking momenton the CELTA course? Honestly, I never had a nerve wracking moment.Although I must admit that I was a bit nervousand excited when the assessor from Cambridgevisited. I was teaching that day, as she observedus, and I kept thinking about how bad my stageswere due to the stress of being observed. In theend, she was a really nice lady and herfeedback was positive.

What do you plan to do next?I am originally from Turkey, but I live in the UK. Iwill be in Turkey all summer this year and I havetwo interviews with English Schools in Ankara. Iam so excited to be in the classroom again andshare my knowledge with students. I cannot waitto improve my knowledge and enjoy using itwhilst working in the EFL industry.

CELTA trainees talk about the courseCELTA tutor, Rebecca Coleman talked to three trainees (Angela, James, and Cansu) about whatinspired them to study for the CELTA, what their experience was like and where the qualificationwill take them next.

Employabilty


YessicaWhy did you decide to do the CELTA course?A year after graduating from university I decidedto pursue English teaching for three main reasons;I wanted something that would allow me to traveland pursue other interests, to work with peoplefrom across the world and to use my creativity.Some of my friends had done CELTA in the pastand they recommended it as a starting point.

Why did you choose the University of Kent?I looked at my options and decided that a part-time course would be ideal. I had studied at theUniversity of Kent and trusted that it would be agood place to do it.

What was your favourite teaching momentor task? Towards the end of the course I had a fewmoments in class that made me smile. In my lastlesson, I made the mistake of not adapting mycontrolled practice (CP) to the context. I wasvery aware of it and rather nervous about how itwould work. Also, in the CP there were severalcorrect answers for each question, so the

students challenged each other's answers andsometimes even disagreed with me. It was somuch fun to see them so engaged with what theywere learning! I was glad that they werecomfortable enough with each other and with meto debate and ask questions.

What was the most nerve wracking momenton the CELTA course? I felt nervous before many of my lessons, most ofwhich turned out to be fine. I remember aparticularly stressful lesson at the beginning ofthe course. It was the first time we had to submita lesson plan and I had underestimated the timeit would take to write one, so I was sitting in acomputer room at 5.30pm with the lesson in myhead and the photocopies, but no written lessonplan! I didn't remember all the stages, I hadtrouble calculating times, and thinking ofanticipated problems, but I managed to get itdone. After this experience, I decided I wouldwrite my lesson plans in advance and usecoloured pens, and so it soon became one ofmy favourite things.

What do you plan to do next?Through doing CELTA I realised that I really enjoyteaching English, so I am determined to usewhat I've learned and continue developing myteaching skills. I recently got an offer fromConcorde International to work for them duringthe summer, and I am very thankful for theopportunity and can't wait to start!

Rebecca ColemanCELTA Tutor

6 International

Celebrating Culture

The University of Kent has a long tradition ofwelcoming and teaching students andprofessionals from around the world withexperience of a wide range of global cultures. Inorder to complement and further underpin theUniversity's Internationalisation and EmployabilityStrategies, to enhance the existing supportoffered by Academic Schools and InternationalDevelopment, a cross-institutional initiative in theform of Talking Cultures was developed byCentre for English and World Languages (withinitial funding provided by HEA/UKCISA). Theinitial aim was to enhance interculturalcompetence through students' engagement andintegration with their fellow classmates within acontemporary internationalised classroom.

The scope of the workshops has broadened todevelop and enhance intercultural awareness andcommunication in a variety of settings through arange of workshops and training opportunities,both within and beyond the University context.

Themes covered in the workshops includecultural knowledge and identity (about othercultures, people, nations, behaviours ...) withemphasis on ways to compare and contrastcultures and identify fundamental differencesbetween cultures, awareness of ethnocentrism,empathy, cultural bias, politeness, respect and

power and register which identifies problemsthat can occur during spoken discourse andsocial interaction. Our range of workshops andtraining opportunities are as follows:

General workshops for Kent students (heldduring the autumn and summer terms)The aim of these informal and interactiveworkshops is to develop student engagementand integration with fellow classmates within acontemporary internationalised classroom. Themodule helps to gain a greater understanding ofone’s own culture, increase awareness ofcultural differences and have a greaterunderstanding of the way people communicatewithin and across social groups. Further areasthat are explored are cultural heritage,prejudices and stereotypes.

Go Abroad (study and work abroadopportunities for Kent students)Talking Cultures has recently embarked on a newproject (under the provision of Kent Extra) whichinvolves delivering bespoke workshops to around250 University of Kent students embarking on ayear abroad as part of their study programme.The workshops aim to build on students’ skillsand attributes to further enhance their contextualand cultural dexterity within an InterculturalCompetency Framework (ICF). The students are

also encouraged to reflect on cultural elementsbefore, during and after their year abroad tofurther enhance their awareness.

Working professionalsTalking Cultures is also available to professionals(members of university staff and the widercommunity) looking to further enhance theirunderstanding of cultures within and outside aglobal working environment. We also offerexpertise relating to intercultural awareness,English language, communication andinterpersonal skills to healthcare practitioners.

English language, communication andinterpersonal skills to healthcare practitionersFor the past year CEWL have been deliveringand developing bespoke workshops tointernational trainee GPs focusing on Englishlanguage, communication and interpersonalskills. Feedback received from the workshops sofar has been very positive and the need forlonger courses has been requested. CEWL iscurrently looking to expand its provision to otherhealthcare practitioners such as internationaltrainee dentists, physiotherapists, nurses andsocial care workers.

Charlene EarlEAP Tutor

Talking Cultures: Charlene Earl explains how University staffand students can develop their cultural awareness


Chinese New Yearcelebration

2014 started on January 31 according to theChinese Lunar calendar. 2014 is the Year of theHorse. The horse is the 7th of the 12-year-cycleof animals that make up the Chinese zodiac. It iswidely believed that people born in the year ofthe horse year are normally strong, enthusiastic,generous with money and good at socializing.

At the University of Kent, the celebration washeld on Monday 10th February. The InternationalDevelopment Office organized a Chinese buffetlunch accompanied with lion dancing and amartial arts display in the Colyer-FergussonFoyer during lunchtime. The evening gala whichwas hosted by the Chinese Student Society inthe Gulbenkian Theatre provided traditionalentertainment for university students and staff aswell as people from the local society includingthe Lord Mayor of Canterbury!

Ru SuMandarin Tutor

Students studying Mandarin in CEWL perform a song

Dancers performed in traditional Han Chinese costume

Unlike Canterbury Cathedral, which is built ofstone, and has been standing since 1070, theShrines at Ise Jingū are made of wood, and aredemolished and rebuilt every 20 years. TheGrand Shrine’s latest reconstruction ceremonywas held in October 2013.

The Shinto religion, which is celebrated at theJingū, is based on the belief that everythingnatural, like mountains, rivers, trees, seas,animals and plants, is inhabited by spirits (kami)which protect and help human beings.

Ise Jingū actually consists of two main shrines.The Naiku Shrine is dedicated to the greatestkami, Amaterasu Omikami, who is believed tohave given the human race the life-giving cereal,rice. The Geku Shrine is dedicated to ToyoukeOmikami, who is the kami for food, clothing, andshelter. In addition to these two main shrinesthere are several small shrines devoted todifferent spirits.

The High Priestess of the Grand Shrine at Ise,who is an unmarried princess of the JapaneseImperial family, leads the three main festivalsduring the year: to pray for rain and goodharvests and to give thanks for the first crop.Apart from these ceremonies, other festivals areheld to celebrate the New Year and importantevents in the lives of the Imperial royal family.

As well as the priests and priestesses, thousandsof pilgrims visit the Jingū shrine every year tomake offerings and say prayers to the spirits.

If you’d like to know more about Shintoism andthe Jingū at Ise, why not enrol on the Kent Extramodule: Ise – Japan’s sacred city. This one-daysymposium will be held on Tuesday 18thNovember 2014, and will be delivered byspecialists from the University of Kogakkan in Ise.It will include talks about: Shintoism, Modern Iseand the Jingū Shrine, the Ise Pilgrimage inModern Times and the Japanese Culture and Tea.

Jane ShortSenior Lecturer

Kent Extra one-day symposium: Ise – Japan’s sacred cityIse, is located in the south-west of Japan and, like Canterbury,it is a city of pilgrimage. People travel from all over Japanto worship at the Grand Shinto Shrine, known as Ise Jingū,or simply, Jingū in Japanese.

Members of staff from Kent and Kogakkan Universities at the main gate (toru) to Ise Shrine

8 VoiceBox

Celebrating Culture

Students from CEWL and Kent InternationalPathways programmes took a break fromstudying this April and joined us for a visit to thebeautiful French capital city of Paris. The tripgave students an opportunity to visit the famoussights of Paris as well as an opportunity to learnFrench and about the history of Paris at ReidHall, the University of Kent campus in Paris.

We spent three nights in a fantastic hostel nearGare du Nord and during the day visited sitessuch as the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, Palace ofVersailles, Latin Quarter, Panthéon, Montmartreand the Sacré-Coeur. Students had theopportunity to take part in organized tours by acompany called ‘Don’t be a Tourist’, including ourtrip to the Palace of Versailles, but also had timeto relax and explore the city independently ingroups if they wished. Many chose to visit artmuseums such as the Louvre and the Musée del'Orangerie, where you can see the iconic andmonumental ‘Water Lillies (Les Nymphéas)’ bythe French painter Claude Monet, or wentshopping at the Avenue des Champs-Élysées orwalking along the banks of the Seine.

On the third day of our trip we had a two hourlesson in beginners French and an introductionto the history of Paris from Juan, a studentstudying a MA Comparative Literature with theUniversity of Kent in Paris. Kent's centre at ReidHall in Paris is very beautiful and students whoattended the lesson enjoyed practicing theirFrench putting together a role play, all in French!We learnt how Paris has developed and changedas a city, starting with the early Parisii tribe whofounded a village on the Ile de la Cité, to theinflux of avant-garde art and culture following thegrowth of technology and engineering in Parisduring the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Forinstance, did you know that the Eiffel Tower wasonly supposed to be a temporary structure asthe entrance to the 1889 World’s Fair?

Following our lesson at Reid Hall students wereable to try a little of the French they had learnt ata local restaurant where we enjoyed a threecourse French lunch. Here we had a chance totry food such as farmhouse paté, turkeyescalope and a traditional French apple tart.Those that were feeling more adventurous eventried salade de gésiers as a starter!

The aim of the trip was to give students in CEWLan opportunity to experience European cultureand language in Paris. In total students from 15

different nationalities came on the trip and aswell as sharing their experiences of the tripstudents were able to reflect upon and comparethese by sharing experiences of their owncutural backgrounds with each other. The tripwas supported by CEWL and the Faculty ofHumanities International Mobility Fund with acontribution towards the cost for each student toattend the trip.

Amy MosesStudent Support and Experience Officer

Paris in the springCEWL students celebrate the start of the Easter Holidays with a visit to the French capital.

Amy Moses with students outside the Sacre Coeur

Students in Paris


The World Languages section of the Centre deliversaccredited modules in Arabic, Japanese, Mandarin,Danish and Russian, and non-accredited coursecalled Language Express in 9 languages: Arabic;French; German; Italian; Japanese; Mandarin;Portuguese; Russian and Spanish.

Learning a foreign language can improve yourcommunication skills; you can gain knowledge ofanother country including their ways of thinkingand how to act. Multi-linguists are in demand inthis global economic situation and in every careerpaths you lead, ability in another language isoften as important as your main degree even ifyou are not a language specialist.

If you are thinking of travelling then being able tosay a few words or phrases in the local languagewill enrich your experience.

Learning a language is fun and in class, you canenjoy the feeling of that you are in a foreigncountry.

For more information about the world Languagesmodules and the Language Express coursesplease go to http://www.kent.ac.uk/cewl/ or e-mail [email protected]

Fumiyo Nemoto-SmithWorld Languages Manager

World Languages

The 2014 cohort began their JYA English Pluscourse with the new British and AcademicCulture course. The course is designed forstudents to become accustomed to their newstudy and learning environment and to gainintroductory understanding of British andAcademic culture. The students Researched anddiscussed a variety of topics, and gave grouppresentations. Mio Hayashi tells us what shethought about the course.

JYA student Mio Hayashi testimonialWhen I first arrived here I was very worried ifI could get on with other students, Englishlanguage and culture, the way of living and soon. However, during the Pre-JYA English Pluscourse, I had the opportunity to become familiarwith British and academic culture. The coursewas helpful for me to notice my skill gaps and itshowed me what to work on before I move on tothe next stage of my course. The course alsohelped me to move much more smoothly andcomfortably in English environments. Now I feelprepared for the Pre-sessional part of my courseand I feel more confident.

Learn one of nine languages at CEWL and getinvolved with an exciting international community

Pre-JYA English Plus course

On the 1st of April 2014 over 100 students,teachers and CEWL staff gathered andcelebrated the end of the courses. This was thefirst such event since the start of the LanguageExpress course in October 2010.

The popularity of the Language Express courseshas increased year on year and the 2013-2014academic year saw more than 400 studentsstudying a language with Language Express.

Language Express end of course celebration

JYA student Mio Hayashi delivers a presentation

Erasmus staffexchangeDuring the second week inMarch 2014, CEWL welcomedSara Kirla from HelsinkiUniversity.

Sara teaches Swedish to Finnish students asSwedish is one of official languages in Finland andall students are required to study Swedish andgain working competency. Whilst Sara was at Kentshe introduced Swedish to some the students whoare studying the Introduction to Scandinavia 2Bmodule and co-taught 'Nordic Noir' that is oneif the Kent Extra courses. Sara's interest also ledher to attend one of the Japanese modules.

Sara writes about her experience with CEWLbelow:Erasmus Exchange teacher Sara Kirla talksabout her experience at the University ofKent and making history on the first KentExtra courseI visited the Universityof Kent in thebeginning of March2014. I teach Swedishat the University ofHelsinki LanguageCentre and I had thepossibility to spend aweek in Canterbury asan Erasmus exchangeteacher. It was my veryfirst trip to Great Britainand I enjoyed thebeautiful sunshine and flowers in Kent verymuch. My task was to teach Swedish forstudents who study Danish at the Centre forEnglish and World Languages. It was amazing tosee how well they could understand spoken andwritten Swedish on the basis of their knowledgeof Danish. Together with the Danish teacherAnne Grydehøj we also carried out a Kent Extracourse with the title Building Bridges: NordicNoir in a Transcultural Perspective. Anne gave ahistorical overview of the genre and I talkedabout translating connotations in crime fiction. Itwas absorbing to discuss the topic and theNordic countries in general with the localstudents. Kent Extra is a very interesting conceptand I think that something similar could bepopular also in Helsinki. I hope that this liaisonthat has begun so well will continue also infuture. I had a most pleasant week in Canterbury,special thanks and my greetings to the friendlystaff at the CEWL!

Sara KirlaErasmus Exchange Teacher from theUniversity of Helsinki

10 VoiceBox

World Languages

Our World Language team in CEWL are keen toprovide opportunities for our students to use andpractice the languages they are learning outsidethe classrooms. Following the previous year’ssuccess, we organized the exchange event forArabic, Danish, Japanese, Mandarin andRussian during the Reading weeks both inautumn and spring term 2013-2014.

Students appreciated the chances to talk to nativespeakers face to face. Native speakers are excitedabout the fact that they could help someone whois learning their language and in the meantime toimprove their English. A few of our IFP studentsfrom China who took part said that they are soglad that they attended the event. We’ll definitelykeep them informed of events in future years.

A student who has taken our Arabic module theyear before came back for the event and sharedhis learning experience with the others.

Encouraged by our students and the nativespeakers who attended the events, as theorganizer, CEWL will continue to hold the LanguageExchange Event in the next academic year.

Ru SuMandarin Tutor

Language Exchangeevent: JapaneseThe Language Exchange event for students inJapanese modules and courses was held in theevening of 18th March 2014. More than 20students learning Japanese in modules andcourses joined the event and enjoyed talkingwith Japanese native students studying in theUniversity of Kent. Most of the students cameto the CEWL reception hall before the eventstarted and they were so keen that they werestill practising after 7pm! In the last event heldin the autumn term, students were shy andhesitant to speak in Japanese, but manystudents used Japanese as much as they couldat this time. It was a great experience for themto speak Japanese to native speaker students.

Mano SuzukiWorld Language Tutor

Language Exchange event

Arabic and Russian exchange Event 2013-2014

Mandarin Exchange Event 2013-2014

Danish Language Exchange Event 2013-2014

Language Exchange event: Japanese


Sports and societies

Kent Union's sports clubs and societies play animportant role in student life. They provide achance to learn a new hobby, socialise and learnabout new cultures. At Kent there are over twohundred societies and over fifty sports clubs tochoose from so there is something for everyone.You can do anything from learning about a newculture to trying something new, likemountaineering, yoga or chess!

At Kent there are six categories of society:academic, cultural, political and campaigns,religious, drama and performing arts (Justperforming arts), and special interest. For a fulllist see the website at www.kentunion.co.uk/.This has lists of all the societies and sports clubsthat are available to join. If there is not a societythat suits you then you can apply to get a newsociety set up as long as you have a group ofpeople with the same interest and the societygets approval from the Kent Union.

Cultural societies make it possible for you tomeet up with people from the same nationality orbackground but you can also go along to findout more about other cultures. Kent Unionensures that societies and sports clubs areaccessible to all students. For example, societymeetings are held in English to make sure thatsociety events are accessible and language isno barrier to learning about a country and itsculture.

Sports are an important part of university lifewhether you want to compete, keep fit or trysomething new. There are several levels ofsports available. If you are particularly skilled ata sport then make sure you take part in trials toget a place representing the University. If youare not competitive and want a differentapproach then there are development squads insports like netball or rugby which are aimed atgetting people involved.

There are all kinds of sport available at Kent andit is not restricted to well-known sports like tennisor football. There are also martial arts, archery,surfing and mountaineering to name just a few.

Sports clubs also play an important part of theKent student social life. Wednesday night is sportsnight and you don’t have to actually play a sportto come along and join in with the socialising.

You can find out more in Welcome Week inSeptember where societies will running tastersessions so you can get more information andideas about which society or club to join.

If you’re looking for something to go on your CVlook into the Student Led Volunteering Groups(SLVG) there are many voluntary activities to getinvolved in including raising money for charity andhelping disadvantaged people. For moreinformation see www.kentunion.co.uk/eandv/.

Make friends and gain experience through sports andsocieties at Kent

You can really make your mark and gain valuableexperience for your CV. Two of our internationalstudents have been elected to exciting roles.

Keisuke Saito is current IFP student and has justbeen elected as the new president of theUniversity Japan Society. He says:

I joined the Japan Society in the second termafter meeting the current president of the JapanSociety. He encouraged me to join and everyonewas really warm and welcoming. The friendlynature of the president encouraged me to wantto be like him. I wanted to encourage otherstudents to join and to help give them a warmand welcoming experience of university life. Thisinspired me to run for president when the currentpresident announced that he was steppingdown. In fact he nominated me for the post.

As the president I will run the committee (thepeople with administrative roles in e.g. funding),take part in activities and take responsibility forany risks. We have to complete risk assessmentsfor any activities we do and I am responsible forsolving any related problems. I also like to listento the members and offer advice or support if Iam able. All society presidents have the duty totake care of the society members. Of course it isan asset on the CV as well.

Although the society is called the Japan Societyit is for all nationalities and all sessions are run inEnglish. This means that it is available to allhome and international students. However, if youdo wish to learn Japanese you can take part in

the Japanese Language Exchange which meetsin various locations on campus.

Joining a society is a great way to make newfriends, learn about other cultures and exchangeideas with a wide range of people. When I firstarrived I was quite homesick and joining thesociety really helped me make new friends andsettle in.

It can also benefit your studies if you canconnect with a wide range of people fromdifferent nationalities, subject areas and courses.For example, if you meet someone doing yoursubject but in a more senior year you can get allkind of advice about study skills, revision andhow to make the most of university.

I will probably be president for two years but I amalso planning to join other societies in the future.

If you want to know more about Japan or theJapan Society we will be hosting a big event incollaboration with other societies in the Autumnterm. This will include a talent show for music,dance and drama and will showcase Japaneseculture. It will be great fun so come along andwatch or take part.

IFP alumna Eliza Tang has been elected asKent Union’s International Students Officer forthe 2014/15 academic year. Currently studyingtowards a BA (Hons) Politics and InternationalRelations with a Year in China, Eliza graduatedfrom the International Foundation Programmein 2013.

Eliza says: 'I am very proud to be an alumna of theIFP because I have learned and developed manyskills from my studies. The IFP modules helped meprepare for university study, especially in themodule English for Academic Studies, where Ideveloped my critical analysis skills, learned howto chair a discussion and improve my presentationskills. I used to be shy about public speaking butnow I am much more confident. I think these skillsare crucial for doing well at university, and it hasled me to being successfully elected as theInternational Students Officer 2014/2015. I aim totighten the bond between all international societieson campus so that international students can getto know one another, break free from any languagebarrier and internationalise their network of friends.I will do my best to help the international studentsin every aspect that I can, and help create anunforgettable academic experience for allinternational students.’

Chloe Courtenay-BennettEAP Tutor

How IFP students are making their mark in the University

Keisuke Saito Eliza Tang

12 VoiceBox

Student Support and Experience

Student SupportHannah McNorton (CEWL’s Senior Tutor), andAmy Moses (Student Support and ExperienceOfficer) work together to ensure students onregistered CEWL and Kent InternationalPathways programmes are fully supportedthroughout their studies in the Centre.Sometimes things go wrong and affect astudent’s ability to study through no fault of theirown. Hannah and Amy are able to offerguidance and support in these situations, as wellas recommend seeking further advice from otherSupport Services on campus such as StudentSupport and Well Being, the AccommodationOffice and Master’s Offices.

More information about Student Support can befound at http://www.kent.ac.uk/international-pathways/current-students/support/index.html.

Student ExperienceWe work closely with students to ensure theirvoice is heard and opportunities to enhancelearning and develop extra activities and eventsare considered. Throughout the year students areinvited to offer feedback about their experiencevia student representatives on all programmes aswell as feedback questionnaires and Facebook.

Students also have a lot to offer and wherepossible we involve graduates and currentstudents to work with us, either as Languagementors via Language Exchange, AcademicPeer Mentors or as Student Ambassadors.Student Ambassadors are employed by CEWLand Kent International Pathways to assist inoffering a programme of social events andactivities as advertised online via our eventscalendar at http://www.kent.ac.uk/international-pathways/current-students/calendar/index.html.

Previous activities have included movie nights,quizzes and Sports activities, LanguageExchange, Taste of Japan and various trips tolocations across Kent and, more recently Paris!


The Centre for English and World Languages’ aim is to offerstudents on CEWL and Kent International Pathwaysprogrammes a first class student experience, focusing onquality teaching, a supportive learning community andopportunities to take part in extra activities and events toenhance learning and student experience.

IFP students experience Pancake Day

CEWL trips andactivities 2013/2014

Students at Reid Hall, Paris

CEWL summer party

Enjoying fish and chips in Margate

Whitstable Oyster Festival


Students give positivefeedback about the academicskills course for students withunconditional offers.

2013 welcomed the first cohort of students ontothe four week Block 4 pre-sessional course. Thecourse was created to meet the needs ofunconditional offer holders. It also acts as anextended induction to the University of Kent withstudents getting the chance to familiarisethemselves with all aspects of university lifebefore they begin their main course of study.Block 4 tutor, Chloe Courtenay spoke with someof the students eight months after the end of thecourse to get feedback now that the studentshave had a chance to use their skills on theiractual programme of study. Overall the studentsfound the course stimulating and felt that theirstudies really helped them settle in and improvetheir performance.

Meng Jun: “It was a great opportunity to meetnew people and to practise my English. Doingthe course has really improved my score. I’vegained all 60+ marks for my coursework. It wasalso really useful learning how to avoidplagiarism.”

Rika: “I think that the one month course was acritical cushion that helped me to prepare.Before I arrived I thought I was ready to studymy course but when I did Block 4 I realised Ididn’t know anything! It really helped me toadapt.”

Wilson: “When I heard we had to do a 2000word essay for Block 4 I thought it wasunnecessary. I thought it should be taken outand maybe a shorter essay should be includedinstead. But now I have completed assignmentsfor my Master’s course I say keep the 2000 wordessay! It is really important to get practice.”

Song: “Block 4 pre-sessional is a course to giveyou a concept about how to write essays andgives you a chance to adjust to life and the studyenvironment. The course teaches you how towrite an academic essay, find good sources,reference and avoid plagiarism. I also found thelectures and seminars challenging. In my opinionthe most valuable thing I learned about wascritical thinking.”


The new four week pre-sessional course

New courses

Get arty!Join an academic Englishfor the Arts course in 2014.

The UK is internationally renowned as theplace to study art, design, music and dramaand arguably leads the world in creativityand innovation. With two major centres forstudies in the Arts (The School of Arts inCanterbury and the School of Music andFine Art in Medway), the University of Kent isranked 6th in the UK for Art and Designcourses.

Are you an international student studying /hoping to study Music, Creative Events,Drama or Art at Kent?

You’re not alone! For example, out of 104students that entered the Medway Artsschool this year, 30 were from overseas!

ButAre you confident with your English? And areyou secure in your ability to cope with therequirements of academic study in this field?

The demands are high• You will need to be able to understand,critically analyse and assimilatechallenging, philosophical texts.

• You will be asked to produce essays andother pieces of writing that combinemethods of enquiry, evaluate works of artand display your own creativity andoriginality.

• You will be expected to actively participatein seminar discussions and critiques,deliver thorough presentations of your ownand others’ work, and put forward pointsof view through argumentation anddebate.

Join our successful English for the Artscourse which meets all of the abovedemands and boost your language skills andgrades.

If you are an international arts student atKent, or even if you are just interested in art,music and drama, and wish to improve yourEnglish to meet these demands, then contactCEWL at: [email protected] and sign up.

Jonathan FitchettEAP Tutor

Students from Block 4 2013 with their teacher.

14 VoiceBox

New staff at CEWL


My role is to ensure students are offered thesupport they need as well as organise activitiesand events to enhance learning, studentexperience and the student journey.

Sometime students experience unexpecteddifficulties whilst studying, such as homesickness, family bereavement or ill health, andthese difficulties can make a large impact ontheir learning experience. As part of my roleI liaise with other support services across theUniversity to ensure students are able to functionand learn as best they can during these timesof difficulty.

I have previously worked in Admissions for boththe University of Kent and University of Plymouthwhere my roles ranged from organisinginterviews and making offers to issuing andsending CAS’ to international students, a rolewhich required a sound understanding of Tier 4visa requirements. I am also a qualified Art andDesign teacher in the UK and have previouslytaught Art and Design and Photography tostudents from 11-18 in Kent.

My interests outside of work range from painting,drawing and photography to dancing, runningand playing squash. I particularly enjoy runningand recently completed my first marathon inBrighton for charity. In January and February thisyear I was also fortunate to be able to put on anexhibition of my drawings of dancers and lifedrawings in the Gulbenkian on campus.

Ruth NewmanProjects and Communications Officer

My role entails editing our website, producingmarketing and publicity materials and assistingwith short courses. I also co-ordinate a new Kentinitiative, called “Kent Extra”, which enables anyKent student to take non-credit-bearing coursesin a wide range of different subjects.

I have many years' experience as aninternational student adviser at the University ofKent and have helped hundreds of Kent studentsto renew their student visas. I previously workedfor two local authorities in London in the field oflandlord and tenant advice, as well as workingon the empty property strategy and organisinga major event for London landlords at theLondon Borough of Camden.

I am a keen cyclist and swimmer, a reluctantrunner and active member of a local triathlon club.I coach swimming, train and compete in eventswith my team mates. I have competed in a number

of sprint-distance triathlons and this year I haveentered my first standard distance event. When Iam not training, I like gardening and walking mydog. I also enjoy travelling and learning languages– I speak French and a little Mandarin.

Trisha SpencerEAP Tutor

I teach on the IFP, In-sessional, EDLP and Pre-sessional programmes and I am also anacademic advisor. Before joining CEWL inSeptember 2013, I taught at the University ofSurrey on their IFP programme (Business andEngineering) and prior to July 2012, I spent threeyears working in the beautiful, Swedish capital ofStockholm, where I taught Technical English(Tekniska Engelska) to international Master’sstudents at the Royal Institute of Technology(Kungliga Techniska Högskolen).

After completing a first degree in BusinessAdministration, I worked in Marketing in Londonbefore joining the regional tourist board in Kentand focusing on Tourism Marketing. It wasimportant to gain a qualification in this area and Icompleted an MA in Tourism Management at theUniversity of Brighton, before being employed bythe same university as a research officer,undertaking externally funded research projectsfocusing on Benchmarking Tourist Attractions,Skills in the Hospitality Industry in Sussex andCluster Tourism. I have recently graduated with aMaster’s in Education (Applied Linguistics) fromthe Open University which allowed me to workand study at the same time.

I really enjoy working with international studentsand, as well as spending a total of seven yearsin Stockholm, also lived and worked for threeyears in Dubai for an international hotelcompany. Outside of work, I absolutely lovemodern art especially the work of Henri Matisse,and prefer city breaks to visit art galleries incapital cities, especially Paris, to any other typeof holiday.

Lucy MartinReceptionist and Admin Support Assistant

I have recently joined the Centre for English andWorld Languages as the Receptionist and AdminSupport Assistant. If you visit CEWL I amprobably the first person you will meet.

Before joining CEWL, I worked at Kent LawSchool as a Student Advice Office Assistant for20 months and have experience in clerical,administrative and student support as well asprogramme and academic administration. Asreceptionist, I am here to make visitors feelwelcome and answer any questions that theymay have. I provide general administrative andclerical support to our academic and office staff.

Previous to working at the university, I studied inEdinburgh for a year. My hobbies and interestsare flower arranging, watching movies, travellingand both eating and making cakes.


CEWL welcomed four new members of staff in 2013-2014

From left to right: Amy Moses, Lucy Martin, Trisha Spencer and Ruth Newman


CEWL’s fundraising events

In June 2013 EAP Tutor Jonathan Fitchett ran thelength of Hadrian’s Wall, 69 miles (111km) fromCarlisle to Newcastle, to raise money for Oxfam.Thanks to the generosity of his sponsors,including the proceeds of CEWL’s cake day thatmonth, Jonathan succeeded in raising £388.75.In August this year he hopes to better thisamount by being sponsored to complete the119 km TDS race as part of the Ultra Trail deMont Blanc across the French Alps.

In October 2013 CEWL staff indulged their loveof baking (and eating) cakes and raised moneyfor Macmillan Cancer Support. There were anamazing range of cakes from a pink champagnesponge to a chocolate truffle torte. Hope thenext one will be even more successful.

On April 6th 2014 CEWL’s Student Support andExperience Officer Amy Moses ran the Brightonmarathon and raised £1658.88 for the StrokeAssociation charity through sponsorship and anonline auction of her artwork. As it was her first(and possibly only) marathon Amy was reallypleased with her time and found the wholeexperience really rewarding, especially thesupport of all the people in Brighton who wereout to support the runners on the day.


CEWL staff have taken part in several fundraising eventsover the past year

Cakes made and brought in by staff for the Macmillan Coffee Morning

CEWL’s Student Support and Experience Officer Amy Moses ran the Brighton marathon

CEWL is a member of the British Association ofLecturers in English for Academic Purposes(BALEAP) Accreditation Scheme (BAS), aprofessional body which provides a rigorousinspection of Pre-sessional English for AcademicPurposes (EAP) provision in UK universities.CEWL has had a very long association withBALEAP and recently had a successful re-accreditation of its intensive Pre-sessional EAPcourses after three days of meetings, interviewsand staff observations.

All aspects of a course are scrutinised anduniversities which belong to the scheme areinspected once every four years to ensure thatBALEAP’s high standards continue to be met.During the inspection process, the BAS assessorsobserve all of the classes and interview studentsto obtain their opinion of all aspects of thecourse. The assessors are all senior staff withinEnglish language centres in some of mostprestigious universities in the UK and are highlyexperienced in the teaching and delivery of EAPcourses. The BALEAP accreditation covers,among other things, teaching and course design,course evaluation and management, studentwelfare and assessment. The accreditation

confirms that the Kent Pre-sessional is of a highstandard and has given us an opportunity torefine what was already a high-quality course.

A huge amount of preparation is required priorto an accreditation visit because of the high levelof reflection and the detail required in describingall the aspects of the course. This is followed bythe visit itself and then the wait to find outwhether a course meets the standards requiredto maintain its accredited status. It is extremelysatisfying to know that all aspects of our courseshave been scrutinised and students can beassured that they are being well-prepared fortheir future studies.

The British Association of Lecturers in English forAcademic Purposes (BALEAP) is also a forumfor professionals in EAP. Our Graduate-Diploma,In-sessional, International FoundationProgramme, and Pre-sessional teachers allclosely follow discussions within BALEAP andseveral members of staff have presented atBALEAP conferences.

Sebastien CadinotInternational Pathway Manager

This newsletter has been produced by:

The Centre for English and World LanguagesKeynes College University of KentCanterburyKent CT2 7NPUnited Kingdom

Tel: 01227 824401

General enquiriesE: [email protected]

Pre-sessional enquiriesE: [email protected]

International Foundation Programme enquiriesE: [email protected]

Language Express enquiriesE: [email protected]

For details of all the courses mentioned in thisnewsletter, please visit our website at: www.kent.ac.uk/cewl/index.html

Thank you…

We would like to thank staff and students and allwho contributed to the newsletter and especially tothe Design and Print Centre for an excellent job.

VoiceBox is edited by Chloe Courtenay-Bennett.If you would like further information about any ofthe articles and events in VoiceBox please contacther on [email protected]

Design & Print Centre 117355 07/14

EAP Tutors Chloe Courtenay and Rebecca Coleman presenting at the BALEAP PIM in Oxford, November 2013

CEWL successfully gains BALEAPre-accreditationLast summer, our Pre-sessional courses were re-accreditedby BALEAP. IFP Pathway Manager, Seb Cadinot explainswhy this is an important achievement.

cv - university of kent vol 1 no… · title: cv created date: 20140819102310z

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