LLAS Centre for Languages, Linguistics and Area Studies

Inside-out: Student criticism of "foreign experts" in universities in the P.R.C.

Hu Hua Ouyang and Ewan Dow - 22 May 2006

The article through its use of critical incidents provides stimulating case study material for TEFL/TESOL teacher education programmes. The paper brings together three key issues: the underlying concept of 'communicative competence and Communicative Language Teaching, the status of English as a lingua franca and the debates related to linguistic imperialism, and lastly the nature of teacher education and what are relevant and appropriate skills within this field for practitioners.

Spanish students in British universities: developing a support resource to improve their academic writing skills

Maria Carmen Gil Ortega - 5 February 2003

A substantial number of Spanish students enter British universities each year. Those students, like other international students, have to adapt not only to a new academic environment, but also to a new culture and a new way of communicating in a language that is not their native one. This piece of PhD research has analysed the difficulties that Spanish students have to face when studying in higher education in Britain.