Charlie Reis, Jennifer Howard

1. PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AT
A TRANSNATIONAL EMI IN CHINA
NOVEMBER 15, 2019
Charlie Reis
&
Jennifer Howard

2. Today’s Objectives
By the end of this session, delegates will be able to:
• Better understand the challenges of TNE in HEIs, especially
negotiating cultural and language convergences;
• Better understand the challenges of EMI and the learning experience
of ‘overseas’ learners;
• Better understand how to motivate students and staff across cultures
to participate in student-centred active learning.
Materials available at: https://connect.xjtlu.edu.cn/user/charlie-
reis/seda-residential-november-2019.

3. About me
•American with no plans to build a golf course in
Scotland.
•My professional and educational background is…
•I came to China because…

4. Who we are
Charlie
Director of PGCert
Activities and research:
PGCert & HEA pathways; CoPs;
TNE; Science fiction;
Observation; Discipline-specific
pedagogies
charlie.reis@xjtlu.edu.cn
Jenny
Head, Education Development
Activities and research:
Universal Design for Learning;
Language requirements at EMIs;
Distributed leadership;
Sensemaking; Double-loop
learning
jennifer.howard@xjtlu.edu.cn

5. Our context
UK-style professional development at a Chinese University
HEA-accredited PGCert
Students admitted to an EMI without a language requirement

6. Work Undertaken & Scale
Sino-British joint venture in China
Dual degrees
PGCert
CDP
Convergence of cultures of learning
XJTLU culture
Dedicated TNE module and tools

7. Evidence
of Impact
150 academics on the
PGCert over the past AY
University colloquia
and events
CPD; CoPs; Bespoke PD
Learning Analytics
PGRSDP

8. Cultural issues in CPD for EMIs
Is the dichotomy between home
and overseas students in the TNE
literature a fitting or falsely
inflated (Jin and Cortazzi, 2011)?
Are there cultural learning styles
or is there just learning?
How is development changing?
(Killick, 2016)
ICT issues (Smith, 2009);
UK/’Home’ PD (Stafford & Taylor,
2016);
Transnational approaches.

9. Wieman, C. (2014)
Cultural issues in CPD for EMIs
How do developers ask staff to
motivate students and teachers
from traditionally teacher-
centred backgrounds to embrace
student-centred active learning
models? (Bovill et al, 2015)
Staffing issues and UK QA?
(Eland and King, 2015)
Where do teaching styles come
from? (O’Mahoney, 2014)
How do we increase the
noisiness of classrooms at our
institutions?
To what extent does the science
and literature of learning and
teaching matter to academics?
(Cleaver, 2001)

10. Cultural issues in CPD for EMIs
What are the pedagogical
expectations, in participants’
experience, of students and
teachers in TNE? (Bovill et al,
2015)
Do issues of inclusion, diversity
and equality of access have more
depth in TNE (Jin and Cortazzi,
2011)?
How should developers respond
to this?

11. CUKPSF
• Ako Aronui (CTL, 2019) “Of course; I have to do this!”
• October 30, 2019 Cultures of Learning workshop for TNE module on our
PGCert;
• A version of the UKPSF aligned to quotes from Confucius’ Analects:
V4 Acknowledge the wider context in which higher education
operates recognising the implications for professional practice; 高等教育
领域认可其对专业实践的影响
子路 Zi Lu 1子路問政。子曰：先之，勞之。請益。曰：無倦。Zi Lu
asked about government. The Master said, "Go before the people with
your example, and be laborious in their affairs." He requested further
instruction, and was answered, "Be not weary (in these things)."

12. CUKPSF survey; 28 respondents
82% said the CUKPSF was valuable for a Cultures of Learning workshop;
10% said no;
Almost 70% said the CUKPSF was appropriate for our TNE context;
10% said no;
75% said the CUKPSF would enrich their understanding of the UKSPF;
18% said no;
Almost ½ said that they would use the CUKPSF on TNE module
assessment preparation;
Less than ⅕ said they would not.

13. EMI language challenges – Student perspective
Willingness to communicate
(MacIntyre, Dörnyei, Clément, & Noels, 1998; Wen & Clément, 2003)
• “Other-directed self”
• Face protection
• Insider effect
• “Submissive way of learning”
• Confucianism and teacher-centred orientation
• Value placed on lectures over peer work

14. EMI language challenges – Student perspective
Institutional and disciplinary acculturation
(Andrade, 2006; Cheng & Fox, 2008; Evans & Morrison, 2011a; Evans & Morrison, 2011b)
• Technical vocabulary
• Lectures
• Writing style
• Understand and conform to culture and conventions
• Question and think critically
• Actively participate and self-nominate
• Knowledge building through independent research and learning

15. EMI language challenges – Faculty perspective
Systematic review of EMI in HE
(Macaro, Curle, Pun, An, & Dearden, 2018)
• Compartmentalisation of responsibility
• Linguistic competence
• Students → upon entry
• Faculty → general English vs teaching academic content
• Consideration of accommodation needs
• Delivery
• Assessment
• Lack of specific EMI professional development

16. Strategy for support: Universal Design for Learning
(Rose & Strangman, 2007; Centre for Applied Special Technology (CAST), 2018)
Image source: https://commons.georgetown.edu/teaching/design/universal-design/

17. Strategy for support:
Decoding the Disciplines
(Middendorf & Pace, 2004)
1. Identify a bottleneck to learning
2. Uncover the mental tasks needed
to overcome the bottleneck
3. Model these tasks
4. Give students practice and
feedback
5. Motivate and lessen resistance
6. Assess student mastery
7. Share what has been learned
through the Decoding process
Image source: http://decodingthedisciplines.org/

18. Strategy for support: CLIL training
• Methodology
• Student-centred
• Scaffolded
• Communicative competence
• Paraphrasing
• Subject-specific vocabulary and technical terms
Image source: http://mymood.altervista.org/learning/insegnare-una-disciplina/70-clil/140-clil-methodology

19. EMI language challenges
• What are CPD needs related to L2 (L3, L4) for both students and
teachers?
• What should developers do about student language
preparedness in TNE contexts?
• What support is necessary for students and teachers regarding
language, especially when running student-centered
classrooms?

20. Considerations for PD in EMIs
• Engendering intercultural competence in staff and the importance of
the overseas voice and context;
• Institutional awareness of issues of implicit bias;
• The importance of the student-centred active learning experience to
TNE;
• Staff preparedness to meet student language issues;
• Staff awareness of language and pedagogical support;
• The necessity of institutional support for both students and staff, as
well as informal learning communities.

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