There are a number of non-English speaking students in universities in the UAE. On the one hand academics are trying to understand the needs and difficulties that these students face when using English to communicate, and on the other they are developing ways to solve this challenge.
Stuart Campbell, professor of Translation and Linguistics and pro-vice chancellor at the University of Western Sydney, recently shared his views on whether subject experts should become language experts to help students communicate better in the classroom.
Campbell said that English knowledge should be embedded in the curriculum. He said there should be an assessment of the communication level of students. He added: "Faculty should develop criteria and describe them so that students are informed about the level of performance required for each assessment task."
While some believe that subject specialists should not interfere in correcting students' English in the classroom, others see this as part of their job.
Professor Campbell is an advocate of the latter point of view, which states that experts in specialist disciplines have accountability for academic language development.
The challenge of how the task is made feasible and acceptable to staff who are not trained to be English teachers or linguists was discussed during the lecture.
By Maysam Ali
Page last updated 01 January 2020