Author Archives: Caitlin Meredith

by Caitlin Meredith | August 21, 2015 · 3:29 pm

Intern Update- Lots of Logos!

Hello once again from Caitlin and Nancy!

The updates we have this week are much more tangible than before as they involve progress that we can actually show in our blog! We’ve been doing even more design work this week, and we think we’ve made some real headway with the website, thanks again to the brilliant Routes into Languages intern, Yolanda. Just by looking at this page, you’ll notice that we’ve redesigned our website’s banner to co-ordinate with our brand new ICS logo! We also have a new Festival section of the website, so be sure to check that out too!

We’re also really excited to show you the new, official WOW branding that, after a few weeks of prototypes and provisional designs, is finally ready! We hope you love the blend of different patterns and vibrant colours as much as we do.

This week we’ve also been in contact with lots of local groups and associations who have been really receptive to the idea of being involved with WOW. We’re so happy that the people of Southampton like our ideas for the day and are wanting to contribute something of their own to what should be a brilliant day of intercultural exchange. If you know of or are part of a local association and think you could participate in WOW Festival then please do get in touch with us at intercultural@soton.ac.uk

Developing Cultural Awareness: An Intercultural Awareness Skills Workshop for Professional Services Staff

Thursday, 26th May 2016, 9.30 am–12.30 pm. Location: 27/3057, Highfield Campus. Tea & coffee provided.

There is no charge for this workshop.

Target audience: Professional Services staff. Maximum of 20 participants. Please register your interest by emailing intercultural@soton.ac.uk with ‘DCA’ in the subject line. Please include your role and department. We’ll contact you when we have a confirmed date to check if you would like to attend.

Outline: This is an interactive workshop in which we’ll explore what makes some intercultural encounters more successful than others. We’ll reflect on how expectations affect communication, including stereotyping and conventions such as punctuality and politeness. Finally, we’ll learn some simple ways to adjust how we speak and write so that our communication is more effective. Throughout the workshop you’ll be able to share your ideas, experience and examples of good practice with your colleagues.

This workshop has previously been run with staff from Student and Academic Administration with excellent feedback:

“Very good event to raise awareness and share ideas with staff from other areas of the uni”

“I think every member of staff should go to this session!”

Led by Jill Doubleday, Modern Languages and Alison Dickens, LLAS (Centre for Languages, Linguistics and Area Studies) as part of the Intercultural Connections Southampton project

Jill Doubleday has 15 years’ experience of teaching English to international students and is studying for a PhD in the field of internationalisation of higher education.

Alison Dickens currently directs the LLAS academic development programme and develops and delivers training in a number of areas including e-learning, language teaching and internationalisation.

Teach for Success 2: Managing Interaction and Assessment in International Student Groups

Thursday 14th April, 9.30 am–12.30 pm. 34/1020, Highfield Campus. Tea & coffee provided.

There is no charge for this workshop.

Target audience: For academic staff and education developers of all disciplines. Maximum of 20 participants. Please register your interest by emailing intercultural@soton.ac.uk by Monday 4th April with ‘TFS2’ in the subject line. Please include your role, academic unit and faculty. We’ll contact you when we have a confirmed date to check if you would like to attend.

Outline: This half day workshop is for academic staff who work regularly with international students. It focuses on two specific areas: written assessment and interaction/group work. You will therefore benefit from this if you are interested in these specific areas and have experiences to draw on. (For a more general workshop, we recommend you attend Teach For Success 1: Supporting International Students in the Classroom.)

What you can expect to gain:

Awareness of the types of writing that international students have been assessed on for IELTS and on Pre-sessional courses
Understanding of the proficiency level of their writing
Knowledge of ways in which assessment criteria, assignment briefs and exemplar assignments can be used to help students understand what is expected
The chance to improve the transparency of one of your own assignment briefs*
Appreciation of how linguistic and educational backgrounds can affect levels of interaction, and engagement with group work
Practical strategies for enhancing student interaction in lectures, seminars and group projects
Resources for you and your students

*If you would like to work on improving the clarity of one of your own assignment briefs, please bring a paper copy to the workshop.