Writing support for overseas students: quick fix or responsive solution?

The number of overseas finalists in both the School of Computing & Engineering and the Business School of Huddersfield University has increased markedly in recent years particularly from Europe and the new accession states of the EU. While the level of functional English of these students is acceptable, the academic traditions to which many are accustomed is not adequate preparation for studying in English, given that they are expected to complete a substantive final year dissertation.
A programme of writing skills support has been developed which helps the students adapt quickly to the demands of study. Support began four years ago with a pilot course and has now developed into a term-long series of workshops with the additional option of further one-to-one tutorial support. Student time on the final year is at a premium and the main challenge is to provide useful learning opportunities in a limited timescale while encouraging attendance. An important principle informing pedagogy is that students learn what is purposeful in terms of the desired outcomes applicable to their degree courses.
Quantitative research undertaken on levels of student attendance and achievement indicates that this approach has had a positive impact on student performance in the final year.