Celebrating Culture Language Expressat Paris

New staff at CEWLA day in the life of aPre-sessional Course

Centre for�English andWorld Languages

WelcomeWelcome to the fifth issue of VoiceBox, the official newsletter of the Centrefor English and World Languages (CEWL). 2014-15 has been an exciting yearand we hope you enjoy reading about our latest activities, ventures anddevelopments.

Cover picture: Prints created by an International FoundationProgramme Art and Design student at a print workshop.

VoiceBoxThe international magazine from the Centre for English and World Languages

Vol 1 No 5 2015

Free English classes

Students on the Kent Extra Stone Carving course

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EmployabilityProgrammes to enhance your CV and career prospects

Since its launch in 2014, Kent Extra has offeredmore than 40 different extra-curricular courses.We are very pleased with students’ take-up ofthe courses: during 2014/15, 557 Kent studentsregistered for at least one Kent Extra course andmany courses were oversubscribed.

Kent Extra courses allow students to study awide range of subjects in their spare time. Manyclasses take place at evenings and weekends tomake it easier for students to attend. Courses wehave offered so far include Stone Carving,Japanese, Journalism, Photography andMindfulness, as well as various woodland craftsand careers/employability courses.

Students do Kent Extra courses for a variety ofreasons: some complement their existingstudies, while others help build transferableemployability and employment skills. Somestudents do the courses purely for pleasure orinterest in the subject and others do them toearn employability points. As a record of theirsatisfactory attendance on a course, Kent Extrastudents receive a certificate of completion, andthe courses they have attended appear on theirHigher Education Achievement Record whenthey graduate. Whatever the reason for doing aKent Extra course, it’s a great way for students touse their free time while at Kent.

We are working hard to develop new coursesand we actively encourage students to suggestcourses that they would like us to run throughKent Extra.

Kent Extra is co-ordinated by Ruth Newman, withadministrative assistance from Liz Evitts.

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

Ruth NewmanProjects and Communications Officer

Kent Extra

There are two different levels: pre-intermediateand upper intermediate. If you would like toreserve a place, please emailcewlcelta@kent.ac.uk.

Upper intermediate level free English class students

As part of the CELTA course we offer twohours per day of free English classes toUniversity of Kent students and people fromthe wider community who wish to improve theirEnglish language.

The free English classes are very popular andprovide you with an opportunity to meet newpeople and practise speaking English. Thesegeneral English classes cover the four main skills oflistening, reading, writing and speaking, as well aswork on grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation.There is a strong emphasis on pair work and groupwork and communicative activities.

We will be offering more free English classesas part of the full-time CELTA in summer 2016on weekdays from 13.45pm to 15.55pm.

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Fascinating young mindscuriousabout a new culture and language.Pushing you to open your mindto their ideas, questionsand reflections.

You stand in front –they somehow look up to youand you realise that not long agoyou were on the other side.

Poem by Yessica Apollo-Martinez

Cansu George – CELTA 3 – October 2013 –March 2014.I completed my CELTA qualification in 2014. I hadsuch a great time! After completing it, I spent thesummer in Turkey, my home country, and I founda teaching job. Although CELTA is designed forteaching adults, the skills that I developed wereincredibly useful for teaching the 11-14 year oldsthat I taught. After three months of teaching inTurkey, I moved to London. I volunteered as anESOL teaching assistant at an Adult EducationCentre, where I was helping adults at entry level.Since then I have been working as a ClientServices Executive at Kaplan International, whereI help students who want to come to the UK tolearn English with their enrolment and visaprocess. I have recently been offered a place atBirkbeck College (University of London) for theirMA TESOL programme. I am really lookingforward to learning more about teaching Englishand developing my career in this sector.

Angela Elshafei: CELTA 3 – October 2013 –March 2014.I started the CELTA course thinking that teachingwould make a good hobby. Before I finished thecourse I had quit my career and decided toteach and travel full time. I started teaching inAustria and at summer camp in England beforemoving to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia to teach full timeat a university. I have just finished my first yearthere and, while it was tough adjusting to such adifferent culture, I had an amazing time. I haveplanned an exciting summer teaching again inEurope and at summer camp in the UK beforereturning to teach in Riyadh again. This time I’llalso be studying for the MA Applied Linguisticsand TESOL while sitting in the sun by the pool.In the future I plan to teach in other countries,but there are so many opportunities out therethat I don’t need to plan yet!

If you would like to apply for the CELTA courseor require more information, please visit:www.kent.ac.uk/cewl/courses/celta/ or emailcewlcelta@kent.ac.uk

Rebecca ColemanCELTA Tutor

especially France, Spain and Italy – in alanguage school in Canterbury and continuedthere part-time throughout my third year of studyat the University of Kent. I have just graduatedfrom my degree and I am now looking forward totaking the MA in Applied Linguistics for TESOLat the University of Kent from September 2015.

Guy Stuart: CELTA 4 – June/July 2014I completed my CELTA in July 2014 before movingto Hanoi, Vietnam for three months to teach EFL. InHanoi I had the opportunity to teach studentsacross all age groups, including infants, teenagersand adults, with students ranging from elementaryto advanced. I returned to England at the start ofthe year and I now teach EFL to teenagers at alanguage school in Canterbury. The studentsmostly come from European countries, but I’vealso had the chance to teach young learners fromJapan and Thailand. I am looking forward tospending the summer in Canterbury beforemoving to Italy at the start of September.

Yessica Apollo-Martinez – CELTA 3 – October2013 – March 2014.Teaching juniors in Canterbury has been a veryinteresting experience. Part of my job is planningand delivering lessons and I also often go onexcursions with the students. It can be prettyexhausting, spending a lot of time with veryexcited teenagers means that I need alone timeafter each lesson or excursion. It is veryrewarding, however, to see how students makeprogress in their learning of the language andhow they explore a different culture during theirstay in England.

Since October 2012, CEWL has run five highlysuccessful Cambridge Certificate in EnglishLanguage Teaching to Adults (CELTA)courses and welcomed over thirty candidates.

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. Itis regarded by employers as providing soundinitial training and a strong basis from which todevelop as a teacher of English. It is also anexcellent way of enhancing your employabilityand if you are thinking of travelling over thesummer or taking a gap year after university,CELTA is a great way to earn some cash whileyou are away. You may even enjoy teachingEnglish so much that you decide to make it yourcareer and go on to take the Diploma in EnglishLanguage Teaching to Adults (DELTA), or apostgraduate qualification, such as a Diploma orMasters in Teaching English to Speakers ofOther Languages (TESOL). Many of our CELTAtrainees have found posts in local languageschools and in schools and universitiesoverseas, including, Austria, Turkey, Vietnam,Korea, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. Several havealso gone on to apply for the MA in TESOL. Wecatch up with five of the candidates below andexplore ‘life after the CELTA’.

Hiroyuki Tanaka: CELTA 2 – August 2013I did my CELTA in August 2013 and then I wentinto my second year of studying BA in EnglishLanguage and Linguistics. In June 2014 I startedteaching English as a Foreign Language (EFL) toteenagers from other European countries –

CELTA

CELTA 2015 participants after the successful completion of the course

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Celebrating Culture

Talking Cultures getscreativeIn March 2015, our Art and Design foundationstudents attended a print workshop lead byCharlene Earl and Julie Mecoli. Prior to theworkshop, the students attended a lecture basedon a brief overview of the history of printing andan introduction to printing techniques. Thestudents were then asked to select a culture andcarry out some research based around theirchosen culture to create a ‘mood board’ depictingcultural images and motifs. From the mood board,students created a series of designs to createprints using printing methods, such as blockprinting (on potatoes and foam blocks) to createrelief prints, etching and stencilling.

The students said they enjoyed exploring andlearning more about different cultures throughthe medium of printing and further developedtheir use of colour and textures in their art work.

University of Kent staffdevelopment TalkingCultures workshopThe University’s Learning and Development teamand the Centre for English and World Languagesjoined forces to pilot a Talking Cultures workshopfor staff in July 2015, with a view to offering it onregular basis in the future. Staff from a diverserange of cultural backgrounds and from bothAcademic Schools and Professional Servicedepartments, are invited to attend the workshop.

It is an opportunity to develop a greaterunderstanding of people from different cultures,particularly in a working environment, and alsoan opportunity to share cultural knowledge.

This session aims to develop people’sconfidence and awareness when communicatingwith international students and staff, by exploringwhat we mean by culture and considering theelements which contribute to a person’s culturalidentity. This interactive workshop also aims toencourage participants to share personalcultural experiences and challenges.

Charlene EarlActing International Pathways Manager

Talking CulturesTalking Cultures refers to a series of training and consultancy activities devised by the Centrefor English and World Languages. Our work aims to foster and enhance intercultural awarenessboth within and beyond the University context. For more information, you can visit our websitewww.kent.ac.uk/cewl/talking-cultures

University of Kent 5

World Languages

Through this program, we made a lot ofdiscoveries as assistants in Japanese classes.We are surprised because the students in theJapanese classes are much better atcommunicating in Japanese than we hadexpected. The style of language class in Kent isvery different from the one in Japan. Thestudents are given many chances to speak andlisten to Japanese in the class. They also discusscultural differences and current Japaneseproblems in Japanese. The classes were verywell organized and students’ attitude towardclass was very positive, even with quite a lot ofhomework. The students showed their intereststo us. We felt warmly welcomed into the classes,so we were happy to go to.

Despite the brief period of our stay, we got achance to make listening materials and organizea Japanese culture session. In the session, weintroduced some of our customs and culturewhich are peculiar to Japan and very differentfrom England. We had difficulty explaining ourculture in English, but we really enjoyedinteracting with participants.

We are really happy to have an opportunity to jointhis program. We found that teaching languagesis very difficult, but fun. We would like to use thisexperience in our future. We really appreciateeveryone who looked after us very well.

Mai Taniguchi, Kobe Women’s UniversityYuka Kitagawa, Kogakkan UniversityJapanese Exchange Students

The experiences of Japanese exchange students in 2014/2015

The CEWL Short Student Exchange programmestarted in 2012/13, with Kobe Women’s University(KWU) and in the following year KogakkanUniversity joined the programme. The Japanesestudents work as language teaching assistants,engage in class activities and organise anddeliver a Japanese cultural workshop whichincludes language, with support from WorldLanguage tutors.

Studying in Kobe, JapanIn 2014/2015, CEWL sent the first exchangestudent to KWU in Japan. Angelika Sala, who wasstudying Japanese modules, spent two weeks inKobe staying in traditional student accommodationwith KWU. Angelika attended various seminarsincluding Japanese culture and literature, and alsoassisted the lecturer in the English class as ateaching assistant. Angelika had opportunities toenjoy traditional long bow archery (Kyudo) andflower arrangement (Ikebana), and gave a talk tothe KWU students about the University of Kent.

Angelika writes about her experience here: ‘One ofthe Japanese students asked me “What do I findmost striking in Japan?” Frankly, I did know aboutour all-female shared bath and showers, differentslippers for almost every room, tatami and futonyou sleep on. What surprised me the most, washow students and teachers from Kobe Women’sUniversity approached me. In books and films Ihave encountered, authors always highlight howshy and reserved Japanese people are. I could feelthem being a bit afraid of not being able tocommunicate with me and sometimes that fear keptthem away, but as long as I tried to use Japanesethey always appreciated it. They were happy to talkto me, spend time with me, study English together,and above all, take pictures with me. I will neverforget the experience, which reassured me that thepath I have undertaken when I started learningJapanese was the right choice and the only realdifference between Japan and the UK is that theylike powder green tea and we like it with milk.’

Angelika SalaAsian and German Studies student

Short Student Exchange programme

Angelika gives a talk about the University of Kent

The cultural workshop delivered by Mai and Yuka

Angelika tries traditional longbow archery (Kyudo)

Reid Hall, Kent’s Paris Centre

Language Express French supported students onthe MA Paris programme with their understandingof French culture, and with their French languageproficiency. The students studied at Canterbury inthe autumn term, moving to Kent’s Paris centre forthe spring term, where they continued learningFrench and completed the 20 week coursealongside their main programme.

Fumiyo Nemoto-SmithWorld Languages Manager

Language Express at Paris British and AcademicCulture CourseThe British and Academic Culture course providesan additional two-week acculturation and inductioncomponent for students taking the Junior YearAbroad (JYA) English Plus course. Students whojoin the course have the opportunity to settle inand become accustomed to their new study andlearning environment before other students fromaround the world join them at the start of the Pre-sessional component of the course.

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Student Support and Experience

Student supportThe University of Kent is a particularly supportive environmentto study with a number of different departments across theUniversity offering both academic and pastoral support.

The Centre for English and World Languages and Kent International Pathways has a dedicatedStudent Support Officer who acts as a first port of call for students in the Centre who experiencedifficulties while studying and need advice about how to access other support at the University. Inaddition to this students on our International Foundation Programme are also assigned an AcademicAdviser who they meet once a term to discuss their progress and look at ways to improve.

While we do everything we can to support students on our courses we understand that studentsbenefit the most from, and enjoy, helping each other, so in additional to student representatives weenjoy working with students to help us to improve both student experience on our courses andtheir academic success.

Amy MosesStudent Support and Experience Officer

Academic Peer MentorsStudents on the International FoundationProgramme (IFP) may request an Academic PeerMentor (APM) in various modules on the course.APM’s are students who have successfullycompleted the IFP and are currently studying adegree at the University of Kent and who have agood understanding of the IFP, module contentand what it is like to study in the UK for the firsttime. Trained by the Student Learning AdvisoryService, they offer invaluable support tostudents. Having run the scheme since 2013, wehope to make it even more successful during the2015/16 academic year.

Nur Marina Abdullacompleted the IFP in2013 and is currentlystudying BA (Hons)Politics andInternational Relations.Having been our firstAPM in 2013, she takesthe role of lead mentorfor the scheme andmentors students inAcademic Skills andPolitics. Nur says: ‘Itwas a great experiencebeing involved in theAPM scheme! The feeling you get from having asimple chat with your peers and knowing that youpossibly made a difference is priceless! Veryrewarding for all parties as we work towardssupporting each other where needed’.

While the rest of the University has a breakduring the summer, students in CEWL and KentInternational Pathways are working hard on ourPre-sessional and January IFP courses. OurStudent Ambassadors, Suryani and Alicja (bothstudents at the University of Kent), are on handto help students unwind with activities, eventsand trips, as part of our Summer SocialProgramme. In addition to weekly socialmeetings involving salsa, a treasure hunt,Canterbury ghost tour and trip to the cathedral,students have also enjoyed trips to Margate,Deal and the Olympic Park near London.

Student Ambassadors

Nur Marina Abdulla (right)with a student from our2013/14 September IFP

CEWL Social Society does SALSA! Alicja and Kent Union SalsaSociety show Pre-sessional students how to salsa

Suryani in Margate with students from our 17-week Pre-sessional Course

Student representativesWe take feedback from students very seriously –termly Staff Student Liaison Committee meetingsare attended by representatives on modulesacross all courses in CEWL and KentInternational Pathways. Head representativestake the lead, present feedback to staff at Boardof Studies meetings and are invited to attendLearning and Teaching Committee meetings.

CEWL head representatives 2014/15

University of Kent 7

Students’ work

Sinatra Ahmed-Zantout

My photography and graphicdesign projects are the oneswhich I’m most proud of.In order to produce theseimages, I had to takePhotoshop tutorials and alsoget help on how to use aprofessional digital camera.

The brief was intended to challenge students toexplore a variety of issues related to the use ofcardboard as a building material in design,construction and production.

The task was to design and build a full-sizedchair out of cardboard that was strong enoughfor everyday use. The back and seat had to be atleast 300mm wide. The seat had to be 200mmoff the floor. Students could not use glue ormechanical fasteners and the chair had to bestrong. The critic had to be able to sit in the chairduring the final critique.

Students on the Art & Design Foundation modulerose to the challenge, responding withenthusiasm and imagination and using theircreativity to turn an ordinary two-dimensionalmaterial into a viable three-dimensional reality.

The project rewarded excellence in design at asmall scale which integrates function, aesthetics,structure, ergonomics, details and fun!

Watch the videoFoundation Chair Crit video long version 2015https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ra2o5cc50ep0cef/AAAMKJvzGy_qLln_kkky_37Da?dl=0

Foundation Chair Crit video short version 2015https://www.dropbox.com/sh/6ze54bf5l5ghpss/AAAiVFBym6LJBTUjJwPtD3BOa?dl=0

Julie MecoliModule Convenor and Tutor, IFP Art and Design

Design a chair? Design and build a chair out of cardboard?That’s precisely what students on the Art & Design Foundationmodule were asked to do. Julie Mecoli explains...

Students on the Art and Design Foundation module with theircardboard chairs.

My photos andgraphic designpieces are all self-inspired and were allcreated during mytime at the University.The campus helpedme execute the ideasthat I had in mind dueto its environment. Myprojects reflect whatI think, feel, and haveadmiration for.

Image: www.flickr.com

/photos/bradleypjohnson/

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InternationalFoundationProgrammeSebastien Cadinot, CEWL’sActing Assistant Director,details the growing interest inthe International FoundationProgramme (IFP) with coursesstarting in September andJanuary.

The Kent IFP has again grown in 2014/15, withadditional students on its September deliveryand, most impressively, over double the numberof students on its January delivery. It now alsooffers an even broader set of pathways, with theaddition of Chemistry, Forensics, andPharmacology and Physiology all starting inSeptember 2014 and the January delivery nowproviding the required modules for progressionto Law, Politics and Psychology at Kent. Inaddition, the IFP team has been delighted to seethe diversity of nations among its studentscontinue to increase. Notably we welcomestudents from Belgium, Norway, Peru, Tanzania,Vietnam, Ukraine, Yemen and Zimbabwe for thefirst time in many a year (and in some cases,ever). We are proud of this diversity, with 50nationalities represented on the Septembercohort and 21 on the January one, and see it asa key feature of the Kent IFP. This has alsoreceived very positive comments from ourExternal Examiners who see this, and thediversity of modules and pathways on offer, astrue strengths of the programme.

The current IFP structure was implemented in2007, with a major revision to its academic skillsdelivery and the addition of a January start in2011, followed by the addition of supplementarymodules in order to open up even morepathways in 2012. As we look to strengthen ourprovision even further in 2015 and beyond, wealso turn our attention to the Periodic ProgrammeReview which will be a chance to receivefeedback, both internally and externally, on allaspects of the IFP. We are confident that thehard work carried out by all members of CEWLstaff, from the moment potential students showan interest in our programme, to the point wherestudents arrive at Kent and all the way through tothem progressing to their chosen Undergraduatedegree, will be recognised by the Review panel.

Sebastien CadinotActing Assistant Director of CEWL

Courses at CEWL

The University of Kent has long recognised thatstudents often require support for their Englishand/or academic skills alongside their mainprogramme of study. For many, the workshopsand courses offered by the Student LearningAdvisory Service are enough. However, CEWL’scourses are created with international (non-native English speaking) students in mind.

Under the English Language DevelopmentProgramme we used to offer mostly ‘support’courses. That is, modules of English that astudent could join for free in their spare time, butwhich had no exam, assessment or effect on thestudent’s degree programme.

We still offer these 10 one hour per week (andnew 5 x two-hour) modules in Grammar,Speaking, Essay writing and Listening skills. Theyare now known as In-sessional English Skills (IES)and you can find them in the Student DataSystem under ‘Workshops>English Language’.

Students interested in these workshops usuallysign up for a maximum of two per term andattend a minimum of 80% of the sessions.(You get a certificate if you do!)

It doesn’t matter if you can’t do all the skills youwant in the first term as they are repeated interm two. So, in the year it is possible to do allfour sessions.

You will find more information on the IESworkshops here:www.kent.ac.uk/cewl/courses/in-sessional/ie.html

We also offer credit-bearing Academic Englishand Study Skills modules. You will find full detailsof these in the Module Catalogue.

Jonathan FitchettEnglish for Academic Purposes Tutor

In-sessional courses: new for 2015/16English ‘on the go’: a guide to CEWL’s In-sessional English courses

University of Kent 9

The extended Pre-sessional English Courses,which commence each year in October andJanuary, have now been running for three years.Each year the classes have attracted anincreasing range of pre-sessionalundergraduates and graduates from a number ofcountries across the world. The courses offer thestudents essential preparation for theirsubsequent studies by focusing on building theirEnglish language skills to a level of competencewhich will allow them to progress. They invariablyacquire the ability to actively engage with thelanguage with a newly found sense ofconfidence. The length of the course offersample time to adjust to life and facilities at theuniversity and in the UK, so that students willalready feel familiar with the day-to-day routineand expectations, well before the next stage oftheir studies commences.

The key focus of the course is on improvingessential English language skills to the levelrequired, and as the course progresses this isgradually combined with the introduction ofacademic skills. In the latter months of thecourse, acquisition and improvement ofacademic skills becomes the main aim.Students are initially allocated to small groupswhich aim to improve their general grammarcompetence, in addition to significantlybroadening the scope of their vocabulary.

Improved levels of reading and writing skills arealso achieved through regular homework tasksand challenging formative assignments, which takeinto account students’ individual interests andfuture study routes. The size of the group offersplenty of opportunities to engage in interestingclass discussions and to plan and deliver informalpresentations, which leads to substantial progressin speaking and listening skills. It also means thatindividual areas of concern in the use of languagecan be targeted and addressed. This year’s groupbenefited enormously from working intensively in agroup composed of students with a wide range ofnative languages, which encouraged extensivepractice of their English listening and speakingskills in communicating with each other throughoutthe day.

Specific text books are used during class todirect the learning, but the course material isflexible and is shaped essentially by the needsof the students themselves. This allows for theopportunity to engage in enjoyable andproductive tasks undertaken in both small andwhole class groups. The afternoon classes areincreasingly geared towards the building ofprecise skills for academic purposes, and arefirmly underpinned by the general languageskills being acquired in the morning sessions.This produces a strong framework on which tobuild all essential English skills.

The courses encourage commitment andmotivation, offering not only learning andprogress, but also engaging and enjoyable waysin which to acquire new skills. Students becomeadept at supporting each other in their learning,and peer interaction is a core element of theclasswork. Strong friendships are forged, and itis always a delight to see how these friendshipscontinue, long after students have completed thecourses and progressed on to their individualpaths of study.

Michele SpurdlePre-sessional English for Academic Purposes Tutor

Pre-sessional courses

Pre-sessional students 2015

Last year we were joined by students and stafffrom visiting institutions from Japan, Taiwan andSouth Korea for courses in English language andBritish culture or business. While most of thegroups arrived during in the summer vacation,students from Washington High School in Taiwanalso had courses in February and April.

In July and August 2015 we will be welcomingstudents and staff from two new visitinginstitutions from Japan – Tokai University andKanto Senior High School – as well aswelcoming back many of those who have beenvisiting us regularly over the years.

The students take part in English classes as wellas cultural and sightseeing excursions whichcomplement what they learn in the classroom.

Short courses

A Taste of Japan 2014

The Japanese students provide a cultural eventcalled ‘A Taste of Japan’ which gives studentsand staff at Kent a chance to take part in atraditional Japanese tea ceremony, have a go atorigami, calligraphy and other Japanese arts andcrafts, as well as watching song and danceperformances.

On the back page, you can read about one ofthe staff from Kogakkan University, who firstvisited the University of Kent in 1998 when hewas a student on a summer course.

Ruth NewmanProjects and Communications Officer

Summer is a busy time for CEWL! Alongside our otherprogrammes which run through the vacation, we provide a rangeof short summer English courses for groups of university andschool students from different countries.

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Courses at CEWL

Fraser ThompsonPre-sessional English for AcademicPurposes tutor (17 week course)At some intenseperiods, for examplewhen marking studentessays and writingreports to a deadline,the previous day maynot have finished untilthe early hours. It may,therefore, be that aftera few hours’ sleep,I have to prepare foranother interesting dayat the University of Kent.However, this is not the norm. Following a goodnight’s sleep, I do not follow the advice that I mighthave offered to my students, ie to get somephysical exercise regularly by going for a run in themorning. After morning staples of tea, muesli andBBC Radio 4’s Today programme, I take the equallyunhealthy option of driving to the University duringwhich time I often consider how my students areprogressing and what I can do to support them.

During the seminars, my main consideration, asidefrom ensuring that the required curriculum iscompleted, is how to make the topic or materialrelevant, engaging and enjoyable. There are limits,for example, to how many times I can ask studentsto work in pairs. This is a standard task andoccasionally I suspect that my students can predictwhen this will happen. It is important, therefore, as atutor to surprise students by requesting that theychange where they sit. Students, too, often adopt asedentary approach during seminars and may getinto a routine. Believing that change often facilitateslearning, I encourage students to move and changetheir interlocutors for various tasks. There are breaksduring the day and these are usually spent with oneor more other tutors drinking coffee and discussingthe course, world events or our private lives with littleor no practical outcome on occasion, but as a formof relaxation or diversion.

Pre-sessional students:17 week courseStudents in Fraser’s class tell us about theirexperiences on the 17 week course.

Chundong LiangIt has been more than 2 months for me as amember of the Pre-sessional Course. I’mbeginning to get used to the busy andmeaningful days at Kent and happy to meet somany lovely teachers and classmates here, whichwill become the unforgettable memory in my life.Normally, I have a long study day from 9.00am to3.30pm, including a half hour for break and ahour for lunch. Although I sometimes feel tiredafter such a long day, I still keep waking up earlyevery day and then cooking and listening to BBCNews at the same time. In addition, feeling thatI lack vocabulary during studying, I always try touse some time to memorize more words. It is themost important thing for us to go over what theteacher teaches us in the class, because withmore than five study hours there will be a lot ofknowledge which needs to be reviewed.Finally, if I can finish all my work before I go tobed at 12.00, I will write a diary in English.

Yuriko TakeharaI usually get up at 7.40am, and take classes from9am to 3.30pm. After going back home, I have arelaxing time surfing the Internet or goingjogging. I go to bed at around 1am. Challengesin my day are to keep using English, to beexposed to English outside of classes and athome, and to see/experience new things which Icannot do in my country as much as possible.I have been trying to organize myself byscheduling the day, and using a reminder toremind what I have to do. During a holiday in thiscourse, I went to other European countries, andthere I communicated with many people inEnglish. Then I realized that my listening skills hadbeen somewhat improved and I could talk withthem about various topics, which is the mostsignificant point for me. To prospective students,I recommend talking with many people in Englishas much as you can while staying here becauseyou can learn natural English, not from a textbook.

Ayana TakeshitaTwo and half months have already passed since Icame England, so recently my life style has becomestable. This is my usual way to spend time on aweek day: I wake up and make a simple breakfastin the morning, and I take some classes until theafternoon. After these classes, if there is somehomework, I do that. I walk around the Universitywith my friends chatting in English and after that, Imake dinner and eat that with my friends. This is thebasic style for me. The most challenging thing is tothink and make meals because before coming hereI did not do that in Japan. That is why it is difficult forme to decide what I eat. In addition to that, it isimportant to consider my health so it makesdeciding on meals more difficult. I missed Japan sobadly one month ago and it was hard time for me.

Fraser Thompson

The evenings involve informal review of the day’sseminars and planning the next day or days.Listening to the news or reading articles mayprovide additional ideas or points of interest todiscuss with students. Nevertheless, the coursematerials take priority and it is necessary toensure that those ideas or points are integratedappropriately.

Georgia MillerAdmissions and Administrative SupportAssistantThe AdministrationTeam is the first point ofcontact for pre-sessional applicants.We are contacted bystudents who have anoffer to study at theUniversity of Kent andneed to improve theirEnglish to meet theirdegree entryrequirements. I advisewhich of our courseswould be most suitable for their needs, and guidestudents through the application process.

The Administration Team arranges accommodationfor all students, helps them to enrol online, andbooks teaching rooms. We also ensure thatstudents are provided with all the information thatthey need about travelling to the UK and theirinduction day. Induction day is a very busy time!We order course books and prepare student packsin advance that include information about theMedical Centre, the library, Canterbury life, and oursocial activities. The team is also responsible forproducing bank letters for pre-sessional students,as well as ensuring that all student contact detailsare recorded and kept up to date.

The Administration Team supports studentsthroughout their pre-sessional course, and we arehappy to answer any queries that students mayhave about their application or the programme.

A day in the life of a pre-sessional course (from three different perspectives)Every year CEWL welcomes more than 200 students to variouspre-sessional courses which are run across the year to preparestudents for their undergraduate and postgraduate programmesstarting in the autumn. Students come from more than 30nationalities and we have asked them for their experiences ofstudying, meeting new people and living in a different culture.In addition we have also asked one Pre-sessional English forAcademic Purposes (EAP) tutor, Fraser Thompson, for a glimpseinto a typical day for him. The final perspective is from the courseadministrator, Georgia Miller, who gives an insight into the workof the Administration Team dealing with staff and students alike.

Georgia Miller

University of Kent 11

My suggestion is to depend on your friends.Almost all of them can understand those feelings.Thanks to them, I could overcome this issue.Difficulties sometimes happen, but it is easierbecause of my friends that I have made here.

Jirachotwat KlaikleungThe first day when I studied in the Pre-sessionalCourse, I was very nervous. I was afraid I wouldnot understand what people said. However, noweverything has changed because during thiscourse, I now know completely what it is to reallystudy. By this I mean, studying English is not justlearning in classroom, but you can learneverywhere and all the time. I have gained aninsight into living life and making new friends aswell. The day where we had to give a presentationin class was my first time to present in Englishamong many people and I really think that it wasthe greatest challenge for me: Nevertheless, I didpass that presentation and some of my friendsgave me a compliment. The most significant thingthat I always remember is the question: ‘where isthe evidence?’ from my teacher (FraserThompson). This question seems to be short but itreminds me of believing in something.

Voramon CheamchittI am Voramon, I am a Thai student in the pre-sessional course at The University of Kent. Myday has a routine because I learn and practicemy English from learning in class, from theacademic staff and from foreign friends everydaywhich leads to an improvement my English skills,and I am never bored of my life on campus.Furthermore, pre-sessional makes me happyevery day although I usually feel afraid andunconfident when I write my essays becauseI have not had enough time to search for mysources and have grammar problems.

At first I could not manage my time on campusbecause I did not know all of the systems in theUniversity, but now I can manage to live in theUniversity by practising my English skills, attendingclass always, participating in class and learningEnglish at all times.

Fan ZhangOn my arrival day in UK, I assumed that I could getused to living and studying here. I have alreadybecome used to studying in UK independently andI am now familiar with my Pre-sessional Course.However, I would like to state that the mostchallenging thing for me was, when I finished thefirst class in the morning, to go to second classwhich lasts two hours, I felt a little bit tired. Toovercome this problem, I bring a cup of coffee withme every day and have more discussions with myclassmates, which encourages me to communicatewith them. What’s more, my tutor alwaysemphasises that only English can be used in theclass; the more practice you get the moreimprovement you will make.

Suthanya WeeraphorprasitBefore I arrived here, I was afraid I could notfollow the lessons; however, I can do it more thanI thought. On weekdays, I have classes from 9.00am to 3.30pm and I usually go to the city centreto buy goods and food on Saturday. I sometimesdo my homework on Sunday.

Coming here as an international student is excitingfor me and I found I can do many things by myself,such as cooking and having the responsibility todo something new. Studying in the Englishlanguage and having new friends from othercountries are my new experience as well. I havea chance to attend seminars and tutorial classesand English presentations are also new for me.

Chanapha SrikhongyooIn my daily life, as a Pre-sessional Course student,I go to speaking and listening class with Siyu, myChinese housemate. My English speaking andlistening teacher, Manal, is very kind and friendly.Although she is very strict, I think it is a good thingfor students who want to improve their Englishskills like me. In the evening, reading and projectclass taught by Fraser are very interesting and funand I have never fallen asleep in his class. Most ofthe time after the class, my friends and I will go tothe Sports Centre to do some exercise such asrunning and playing badminton.

The challenging things in my day are the lessonsin the class. There are many things I have neverknown or studied before so I have to try tounderstand and remember them as much as I canto improve my English. If I have the opportunity togive advice to other students I would say kindlyfocus on your studies because the time passes byso fast and there are many things that you have toknow or learn to prepare yourself for your major.

Yang LiAlthough I have been in the UK for more than twomonths, I am still in a state of excitement. I wouldlike to travel to more places that can help me geta better picture of the world. First of all, in orderto pass the exam we need to stay in school tolearn. It is a big challenge for us to face not onlythe final exam but also our stress. My daily life isfull of commonplaces and surprises. As usual, Ialways go to school on time and study hard; afterschool when I have finished my homework I enjoygoing to the Sports Centre to do some exerciseand drinking with my friend in the bar as well.Recently, what surprised me the most is that therewas a ferris wheel which appeared on thecampus overnight. For other students andprospective students, my advice is to enjoy yournew life and the freshness: there will be manywonderful things around you.

Nanao TazakiMy typical day starts at 9 a.m. with the Listeningor Speaking class which is useful and related toour daily life. After that, I take the Writing orReading class. These classes are more effectivefor academic work. In the afternoon, I have theproject class where we do practical work such aswriting essays or presentations. After classes, Ido homework and eat dinner or relax with friends.

To prospective students, I would tell you that onlyinternational students might be left in Universityfrom the end of June to September, so it isdifficult to speak with native speakers. However,speaking with non-native speakers is alsoimportant and helps your English improve. Beingwith the same nationality might be easier, butyour time in England is limited, so you should tryto speak with other nationalities as much aspossible. In addition, if you have never triedcooking, it is good time to learn how to cook.

Fraser’s pre-sessional students

12 VoiceBox

New staff at CEWL

Gill BruntFinance Officer

My role involves everything finance related. Thismeans that I deal with everything from invoicesand payroll to budgets and ensuring that incomeand expenditure are recognised in the correctfinancial year. I previously worked for theUniversity’s Financial Planning Office, whereI looked after the budgets for most of theprofessional services departments and gained alot of experience in reserves, budget commentaryand how the University’s planning process works.Prior to this I worked in the University’s ResearchServices Department for eight years, costing andpricing research projects. I have nearly 30 yearsof financial experience and am qualified as anAccounting Technician. I am studying for theAssociation of Chartered Certified Accountantsqualification, but still have quite a way to go.

I have been working for CEWL for nearly a yearand very much enjoy the work, which is variedand sometimes challenging.

My interests outside of work are reading(especially crime novels), history and walking myJack Russell, Hattie.

John BennettAssociate Lecturer in Economics

I took up my post as an associate lecturer inEconomics on the International PathwaysProgramme (IFP) in September 2014. I haveresponsibility for convening the Economicsmodule which means writing the in-courseassessments and examinations, managing theMoodle pages for the programme and updatingand teaching the programme as well as carryingout day to day administration.

I studied for a joint degree in EconomicDevelopment at the University of Leicester andthen studied at the University School ofEducation for a PGCE in Further Education.Having taught for several years I successfullystudied full time for an MA in the Economics ofFinance at the University of Sheffield. This iswhere I learned to empathise with students whofind a subject difficult!

On my return to teaching I variously taughtEconomics, Finance, Maths & Statistics andManagement. I became a member of theAssociation of Project Managers and gained aPRINCE2 qualification.

I have had senior management roles in bothuniversities and further education and haveworked for the Office for Standards in Education(Ofsted), the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA)and for the Office of Qualifications andExaminations Regulation (Ofqual). I also workedfor an awarding body as a consultant for Accesscourses and as an external examiner. Before theappointment at CEWL I taught Economics at theSino British College (SBC) in Shanghai with mywife Chloe, who is an English for AcademicPurposes tutor and Acting Pathway Managerhere in CEWL.

I was a keen runner prior to a successful hipreplacement which meant I became a keencyclist instead. I completed a lifelong ambitionto ride from Land’s End to John O’Groats. I didnot take the direct route so clocked 1,400 milesin the one-month journey. I have run 3 Londonmarathons as well as several in the Midlands.I honed man-management skills as a footballreferee and still follow football avidly. I am a localschool governor, enjoy reading economicsarticles and the Guardian newspaper as well asgoing to opera and the theatre.

Louise HickmottReception and Administrative SupportAssistant

I joined the Centre for English and WorldLanguages as Reception and AdministrativeSupport Assistant, in October 2014. I am the firstpoint of contact for students and visitors.I previously worked for the University of Kent’sresident charity, Seeds for Africa, for 5 years inan administrative role. I have always lovedworking in a customer-facing environment, andhope that students and visitors alike feelwelcome and valued when they visit CEWL, andthat it is a positive experience.

My husband also works at the University of Kent.I have a grown up family, and I am alwaysinterested in the wonderful opportunities thatUniversity study has to offer people of all agesand nationalities. One of my children studiedClinical Psychology here at Kent, and is now aSpecial Educational Needs teacher. My sonstudied Politics, then took a Graduate Diploma,and now works as a solicitor.

My hobbies include theatre, music, reading,and charity quizzes. I also love animals andhave a rescue cat. My future dreams includetravelling further afield and I hope to own adog at some point.

Chloe Hanchen-GarnerAdministrative Support Assistant

I joined the Centre for English & WorldLanguages in December 2014 as anAdministrative Support Assistant. In my roleI support CEWL with a wide variety ofadministrative tasks and am also responsiblefor monitoring attendance, inputting marks andsupporting our annual Cambridge Certificate inEnglish Language Teaching to Adults (CELTA)course. I am also involved in covering thereception area and helping to deal with anyquestions and concerns the students may have.

I have previously worked in administrative rolesfor a number of different charities, which I havealways thoroughly enjoyed. I have also workedwith people with dementia in a day care settingand managed a reminiscence café. My otherpassion is monkeys and this led to me working ina monkey sanctuary in Cornwall!

My other interests outside of work include swingdancing, vegan baking, visiting art galleries,swimming in the sea and cycling. I also enjoytravelling and gained a CELTA qualification whileliving in Poland.

Liz EvittsAdministrative Support Assistant

I joined CEWL in December 2014 having movedto Canterbury after getting married in September.My role encompasses editing our websites,general administrative support to the Centre andproviding a high quality service to all our students.I also assist in the administration of both KentExtra, which offers a wide range of free course toKent students, and our Short Courses programmethat offers an opportunity for international studentsto study English over the summer. Before joiningCEWL, I worked in retail management for Oasis,where I developed a number of valuable skills thatI have been able to transfer to this new role.

I graduated from the University of Southamptonwith a BA (hons) in Spanish and Portuguese,spending my year abroad in Porto Alegre, Brazilwhere I taught English at two different schools inthe city. I have also been back on four furtheroccasions where I have had the amazing privilegeof being able to visit a number of places such asPão de Açúcar in Rio de Janeiro and the beautifulbeaches of Florianópolis and experience thedelights of the Brazilian ‘Churrasco’ (barbeque)and ‘Feijoada’ (black beans).

Outside of work, I enjoy having friends roundfor dinner, watching films, playing the guitar andgoing for long walks along the beach or in thecountryside.

CEWL welcomed five new members of staff in 2014/15

University of Kent 13

From left to right: Louise Hickmott, Liz Evitts, Chloe Hanchen-Garner, Gill Brunt and John Bennett

14 VoiceBox

Staff developmentContinuous Professional Development (CPD)CEWL staff are actively involved in the development of their teaching and research skills. During2014/15 this has happened in a number of different ways.

As a student supportofficer I am interestedin what it means to bean independentlearner at university inthe UK, the importanceof attendance andstudent support,student transition andthe experiences ofinternational studentswho are under 18.Having started a MAHigher Education atthe University of Kent in 2014, I hope to improvethe support offered by CEWL to help studentsadapt more easily and quickly to studying in theUK on both the International FoundationProgramme and Graduate Diploma. I amparticularly interested in student motivation andwould like to understand why some students findit difficult to attend and what I can do about thisin my role as Support and Experience Officer.Higher education in the UK emphasizes theimportance of independent learning and byoffering support and chasing attendance we arein danger sometimes of undermining this. I hopetherefore to better understand studentexperience and transition into higher educationin the UK, to ensure students are fully supported– but also empowered – with an emphasis ondeveloping independent learning skills.

Amy MosesStudent Support and Experience Officer

CPD programme:Talking ShopTalking Shop has been continuing through theyear, on Wednesday afternoons. As well as ‘in-house’ discussions/presentation on topics suchas marketing/branding, time management ande-learning, we have had visits from RellyBowman and Catherine Butler from Engineeringand DigitaI Arts (Roles and recognition of adminstaff), Chris Morrison (Copyright), and SteveGanfield (Learning Technology and Moodle). Wealso received a visit from Guang, a lecturer fromHue University in Vietnam, who gave us both aninsight into her home institution and a talk on herresearch into assessing writing and automatedessay evaluation.

During the summer, Talking Shop becomes onewith the CPD programme provided for (and by)the Pre-sessional teachers. So far we have hadsessions by Fraser Thompson on his experimentswith the ‘Socrative’ online feedback facility andby David Ronder on ‘Critical Thinking’.

As Jonathan will be away for the academic year2015/16, Fraser Thompson will be stepping intohis shoes as Talking Shop coordinator, and RuSu will continue as e-learning champion.

Jonathan FitchettEnglish for Academic Purposes Tutor/CPDprogramme leader

I am currently one yearinto my part-time PhDin drama where I aminvestigating thelinguistic nature ofmodern, ‘language-based’ theatre. I amexploring the attemptssome modernplaywrights make tofree theatre from‘traditional’ approaches.In this way my researchcentres on new writingthat focuses on the theatrical rather than thedramatic, the external shaping of character ratherthan internal, and that puts language abovecoherent plot (with conflict, central protagonistsand character-specific dialogue).

Most recently I delivered a paper at the Poeticsand Linguistics Association (PALA) conferencehere at the University of Kent, where I re-examined what makes devised theatrical dialogue‘realistic’ (or not) and to what extent this isaffected by actor-training and a theatre setting,and how a playwright might use this material tocreate a play text.

I hope to represent Kent again by delivering afurther paper on this issue at next year’s PALAconference in Sardinia.

Jonathan FitchettEnglish for Academic Purposes Tutor/CPDprogramme leader

Research interestsA number of CEWL staff members are engaged in their own studies. Here, two of them tellus about their research and areas of interest.

Jonathan with a photo of thewriter, Samuel Beckett.

Amy Moses

University of Kent 15

In June Rebecca Coleman and Jonathan Fitchettrepresented CEWL at the University of St Andrews,where the annual Professional Interests Meeting ofthe British Association of Lecturers of English forAcademic Purposes (BALEAP) was being held. As part of the conference, Jonathan andRebecca gave a presentation on the potential forusing song and drama in the teaching ofgrammar. Their talk was very well attended andreceived, especially by a group of visitingEnglish teachers from China

St Andrew’s University conference:BALEAP Professional Interests Meeting

CEWL’s Fundraising eventsOn 23 May, CEWL tutor, Jonathan ran 100km aspart of the London to Brighton Challenge.Personally raising over £486 for Kent Surrey &Sussex Air Ambulance, he, alongside over athousand other runners and walkers, set off fromRichmond in London early in the morning,heading due south on a mostly cross-countrycourse across Surrey and Sussex. Surprisedabout the number of hills and stiles (hundreds ofthem!!), Jonathan finished at Brighton racecourseat 9.00pm, in a time of 14 hours 33 minutes 49seconds – slower than hoped, but the champagneat the end was worth it!

Rebecca Coleman

Jonathan at the London to Brighton challenge

LanguageExpress

Language Express is aprogramme of worldlanguages, delivered throughthe Centre for English andWorld Languages. It offersclasses in a wide range oflanguages at different levels.

• Starting in October, we run 20 weekcourses in Arabic, French, German,Italian, Japanese, Mandarin, Portuguese,Russian and Spanish at our Canterburycampus.

• We also offer beginners’ French at ourMedway campus from October

• We run 10 week courses at Canterbury inFrench, Japanese, Mandarin and Spanish,starting in January

• Aiming to be accessible, most classestake place in the evenings.

• The courses are taught by native speakersor teachers with native-speaker ability

• We aim to develop students’ languageskills in a communicative and interestingmanner

Interested? Please visit:www.kent.ac.uk/language-express

E: languageexpress@kent.ac.uk

Isao Tamada has been visiting Kent since 1998,when he was a student on a four-week summercourse. The photos below show him in hisstudent days at Keynes and during his mostrecent visit in November 2014, as arepresentative of Kogakkan University in Ise,Japan.

During his first visit, Isao was a student atKokugakuin Univeristy in Tokyo. He was taughtby Michael Hughes and stayed in Keynes.During his 1998 visit, Isao met Ryo Ozaki, whofounded the Kent Kendo Club and with whom heremains good friends. He remembers severalvisits to the greyhound racing at the former dogtrack in Canterbury, but what impressed himmost was the fireworks display on the first nightof his first visit to Kent, which he likes to thinkwas put on especially for him!

His next visits to Kent were in 2003 and 2004 asa leader of a summer language programme withKokugakuin University. During these visits he metNancy Gaffield, who was then Head of theEnglish Language Unit. As a result of hiscontinued contact with Nancy, Isao has beenreturning to Kent every year since 2011 withstudents from Kogakkan University, who come tostudy an English Short Course with CEWL duringthe summer.

Isao feels at home when he visits Kent and hasacquired a taste for some of our local ales, aswell as visiting the Shepherd Neame brewery inFaversham. Everyone at CEWL looks forward towelcoming our friend and colleague Isao back toKent each year and we hope that the relationshipbetween Kent and Kogakkan will last for manyyears to come.

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: cewl@kent.ac.uk

Pre-sessional enquiriesE: pathways@kent.ac.uk

International Foundation Programme enquiriesE: pathways@kent.ac.uk

Language Express enquiriesE: languageexpress@kent.ac.uk

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

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,Trisha Spencer and Ruth Newman. If you wouldlike further information about any of the articlesand events in VoiceBox please contact them onC.Y.Courtenay-Bennett@kent.ac.uk

Design & Print Centre 120097 07/15

Isao Tamada at CEWL in 2014 and (top left of picture) atKeynes College in 1998

Introducing Isao TamadaThe University of Kent has been providing short summercourses in English language and culture for groups ofuniversity and school students from different countries for morethan 20 years. Students and staff from a number of universitieshave been coming to Kent for many years.