Enhancing the University experience for students who are non-native English speakers on mainstream courses : A report for the University Teaching and Learning Committee

The University of Huddersfield has benefited from an increase in the number of foreign students who have brought our courses and campus an international dimension. Many of our British students are unable to study abroad, so foreign students have created what has been referred to as “Internationalisation at Home” (Hyland et al 2008) and thus created an international perspective for everyone at the University. This small-scale project funded by the University Teaching and Learning fund has analysed the experience of students who are not native speakers of English and the lecturers who teach them. It set out with two primary aims:

1.To enhance the University’s understanding of the use of English language by non-native English speakers (NNES) on mainstream courses.

2.To identify and disseminate good practice on what tutors can do that will benefit NNES students and not adversely affect native English speakers.

In order to achieve these aims there has been consideration of existing research in this area, coupled with original research at the University of Huddersfield to discover local issues. A fuller description of methodology is below.

Due to the limited scale of the project the focus is solely on language. To divide language from broader concepts of culture, identity and thought is at least questionable, and it has certainly meant making arbitrary and arguable distinctions. Similarly, the project touched on the broader internationalisation of the curriculum, but does not analyse this in depth. This significant area should be the subject of subsequent research. Nevertheless, the restricted focus on language has allowed important and useful insights into the experience of both students and staff. This paper reports on the project and its findings before making recommendations to tutors and managers involved with NNES. A brief “good practice guide” will also be produced for lecturers working with NNES students.