CHAGAL in ACTION - 3. Language- and study skills
Seven examples deal with the development and enhancement of linguistic and learning competences in study related contexts.
Certain aspects of academic proficiency like presentation techniques or academic
writing skills are often underestimated or not perceived as essential entry
competences especially, but not only, by students coming from different cultural
contexts.
Speech and Presentation Training
Roland Forster, Preparatory Course at the University of Saarland, Saarbrücken / DE
This pilot project concerned an intensive training programme in verbal communication, based on linguistic criteria. The participants were systematically trained to make an oral presentation of well-conceived, structured papers in an academic or professional environment on their own and in teams. This included exercises in unaided speech, speech using keywords and presentations using suitable media.
download the project paper Grammar Consciousness-Raising Tasks
Manfred Schifko, Wilfried Krenn, VGU Pre-Study Course of the Vienna Universities / AT
Can learners whose mother tongue does not differentiate between definite and indefinite article manage to do this correctly in German? This was tested with selected grammar exercises. The results showed that around 50% of the participants achieved an appreciable improvement in the use of articles by the use of communicative exercises in which a grammatical problem had to be solved in groups.
Improving Study Skills by Social Learning in Class
Sigrid Stiglitz, Julia Thurnher, Pre-Study Course of the Vienna Universities / AT
The starting point for reflection was that students are concerned with content, have their individual learning styles and at the same time are members of a group. The aim was to improve study skills in the areas of personal, social and cognitive competences. Problem-solving strategies represent an essential factor in this. The development of competences was investigated via questionnaires and analysed.
Evaluation of the VGU by Former Participants who are Currently Studying at a Graz University
Henriette Pire, Bernhard Unterweger, Helga Wenzl, Elga Wolf, Pre-Study Course of the Graz Universities, in Cooperation with the AAI Graz / AT
The former students of the VGU highlighted a series of weak points. These included listening comprehension, specialist terminology, multi-tasking during classes, writing seminar papers in German, working through multiple choice tests, but also difficulties of a social nature, such as developing contacts with Austrian students. It was clear that future curricula should focus on these aspects more closely.
Writing Scientific Texts in English for Publication: Rising to a Particular Challenge
Ingrid de Beer, Netherlands
Writing scientific texts in English and preparing for a publication can mean really hard work. At the James Boswell Institute, the participants of the writing course had guidance, equipment and a tool so that they could publish their scientific results more easily (in the foreign language English).
Developing Speaking Skills and promoting intercultural communication
Anna Arutshyan, Armenia
Anna Arutshyan works with Armenian students who are learning English as a foreign language at the University of Yerevan. In her teaching, she particularly focuses on their ability to speak and express themselves in the foreign language. In the learning process, from an intercultural perspective, the formulation of questions on the mother tongue, language of origin and target culture are made topical.
Intercultural Learning and Communicating through Project Work
Totea Georgeta, Rumania
Talking with each other and developing topical material together, getting better acquainted with minorities in your own country and neighbours and intensive language acquisition - those are the objectives of the intercultural project work, as Totea Georgeta introduces them for young learners.
