Introductions - Tim Nisbet & Ross Graham

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james henry

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Dec 9, 2011, 10:09:23 AM12/9/11

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Hello everyone

My name is Tim Nisbet and I am one of the three academic writing
lecturers involved in this project at CU. I am just going to say a
few
words about the class which is going to be the basis of my research.

I currently teach on the first year Academic Essay Writing module.
This is for non-native speakers of English (studying any subject) but
students have to opt for it - writing modules are not usually
compulsory for international students. It runs twice in each term
(Terms 1 and 2): the second term simply repeats Term 1 (which ends at
Christmas). This means that there are only 10 weeks of teaching on
the
module. There is only one class per week, lasting 1 hour and 40
minutes. The room is quite well-equipped with a computer, screen and
projector

There is only 1 piece of assessment - a discussion essay which
students must submit towards the end of term. They get a choice of
five titles and have to write 1000 words (excluding references).

The profile of the students in the class is very diverse, with a mix
of students from Arabic countries, sub-Saharan Africa, and a few
Europeans. From the evidence of their writing I have had so far,
their
competence in English is also very variable, with a few clearly
basically competent in coherent writing (although not necessarily in
a
formal academic style), with students at the other end clearly
struggling with syntax and grammar, vocabulary and spelling. Given
the
limited amount of time, this class is therefore quite a challenge to
teach.

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Ross Graham View profile
More options Nov 20, 8:08 am

Thanks for letting us know something about your class. I was
wondering
whether the variable levels of proficiency in the class
might be an issue that you might look into as part of the action
research.
It is a feature of writing classes in the UK, where there are so many
international students from diverse backgrounds.You haven't said what
the
focus of your research is, but I know that you have an interest in
comparing methods of teaching writing.

It would be helpful if you could attach a copy of the syllabus for
the
module you teach. Perhaps we need to say as well that in Coventry
University, a module is equivalent to a 'course' in many other
places.