(425.pdf) TOWARDS EXCELLENCE THROUGH LANGUAGE TEACHING INNOVATIONS -EU FUNDED PROJECT AT PARDUBICE UNIVERSITY

摘要

Foreign language teaching at the 6 non-philological faculties of the University of Pardubice, located inthe Czech Republic, is traditionally provided by the Language Centre staff. The individual facultieshave different foreign language teaching policies. Some support continuous language learningthroughout the whole bachelor studies, while others limit their language education only to the firstyear. Generally, there is insufficient foreign language curriculum for master and Ph.D. students, andan urgent need for a higher level of foreign language competence among university employees, aswell as a need for standardization of the language curriculum framework. This is especially clear inthe case of subject content and language assessment and testing. The presented project namedUNICOM runs from January 2012 to December 2014 and reflects the above described needs. It isdivided into six key activities: Language Teaching Innovations, Excellence and IndividualitySustainment, Creation of a Bilingual University Environment, E-Learning Implementation, ICTUtilization and Professional Development. The target groups include university students (bothundergraduates and postgraduates) as well as university academic and administrative staff. Theproject raises the number of foreign language subjects in Master and Ph.D. studies and extends theoffer of foreign language seminars targeted at all of the above mentioned groups. The seminars andworkshops focus on academic writing, presenting and teaching in English, intercultural competence,and also on the extension of ICT skills. Simulated student conferences and poster sessions providestudents with needed soft skills and the ability to convey research outcomes. The project alsoinnovates subject content taught at the University through implemented e-learning and ICT tools. Itprovides standardized university terminology in Czech and English and translation of key universitydocuments. All the above mentioned steps support internationalization and the mobility of all targetgroups of the project. The authors focus especially on two key activities of the project and theiroutcomes: Firstly, implementation of LMS, creation of e-learning courses including e-testing andprogress and final assessment, and e-portfolio promotion incorporating self-reflection. Secondly, thereis a focus on professional development of university staff comprising long and short term courses andseminars. Practical insights and project risks will also be mentioned.