Embedding English language

In this section, we take an overview of the reasons why it’s important to embed English language teaching and learning in subjects as well as consider the Education Performance Standards Framework..

With over 29% of the student body made up of international students entering Monash through various pathways, a range of different English proficiency starting points is to be expected. All students must meet the minimum entry requirements for starting their academic journey; however, language proficiency is not a point in time marker. It is a process developed through timely and targeted input. This means the university is responsible for providing students with opportunities to continue to develop their English language.

Listen to the voices of current Monash students, both international and domestic, sharing their perspectives on English language development. They share with us the challenges and reasons why we need to develop students’ English language communication skills over a course of study.

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Communication skills View

Benefits for embedding English language View

Recommendations of embedding English language View

As Monash academics, our job is not to teach English language - other resources are available for students to develop this. However, it is our responsibility to provide opportunities in which students can grow and develop their communication skills.

There are three essential ingredients for successfully embedding English language communication skills in units. We need to show:

what is expected of them
provide them with feedback on early attempts
motivate them to succeed through visible, weighted assessment.

The diagram below sums up the essentials of successful embedding English language.

Embedding English language support model

There are many simple actions you can take every day to support students’ communication skills development through your teaching. Here are some recommended techniques drawn from the field of English language teaching.

- Add closed captioning to video resources.
- Provide transcripts for videos.
- Add visuals to text-heavy resources.
- Face the class when speaking. Don’t continue talking while writing on the whiteboard.
- Scan the room. You can often tell from students’ expressions if they are not following what you say.
- Speak clearly. That means pronouncing words in full and not speaking too quickly.
- Repeat important points and tell students why they are important.
- Provide a glossary of discipline-specific terminology. When introducing new terms, model the pronunciation.
- Talk to your faculty education designer or approach Student Academic Success and English Connect for more resources and suggestions.
- Make sure students know what will be discussed so that they can prepare - let them know the type of activities they will be undertaking and also any group configurations.
- Provide warm-up activities in small groups. This gives students a chance to practice putting the words together in a non-threatening environment.
- Some non-English speaking background students have trouble finding a way to join the discussion in a big group.
- Invite students by name if they look as if they might have something to say - but don’t press if they decline. Alternatively, you could number students from 1-4 and ask all the 1s to respond to a particular discussion topic, and so on for the other numbers.
- Design a clearly signposted Moodle site: ask your Faculty’s educational designers for help.
- Keep all the documents up to date.
- Give it a clean out every year or two.
- Write clear assessment tasks. Ask a colleague to check the structure and clarity before making it available to students.
- Link students out to the relevant supports, early and often. Study support.
- Provide annotated models of assessment tasks so that students can see what you are requiring from them - while most of these will be written, aim to provide audio visual models where required.
- Give specific feedback on communication skills and refer students to Student Academic Success for further personalised support.
- Assess communication skills by providing a rubric and giving them a weighting. Include links to Learn HQ or Student Academic Success in the rubric.
- Provide detailed information in your Moodle site.
- Reinforce the message in lectures and tutorials.
- Include explicit step-by-step instructions in assignment guidelines.
- Make the marking rubrics (with weightings) available - explain the features of the marking rubric and which part of the assessment it addresses.
- Provide annotated examples and exemplars - discuss these with students. Alternatively, give students examples and have them annotate the positive/negative features and grade them using the rubric.

Education Performance Standards Framework

You can use the tabs on the left-hand side menu to navigate between the sections or click on the links below:
1. The How-to section provides you with instructions and/or strategies to implement in your teaching.
2. The Supporting your students section provides you with key strategies for creating a good learning experience and a list of resources to share.
3. The Related resources section provides you with additional resources.
Arkoudis, S. & Kelly, P. (2016). Shifting the narrative: International Students and Communication Skills in Higher Education, IERN Research Digest, International Education Association of Australia, https://www.ieaa.org.au/documents/item/664
Australian Universities Quality Agency. (2009). Good Practice Principles for English language proficiency for international students in Australian universities, https://www.web.uwa.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/451327/GPG_AUQA_English_language_proficiency_for_International_Students.pdf
Harper, R., Prentice, S., & Wilson, K. (2011). English language perplexity: articulating the tensions in the DEEWR 'good practice principles'. The International Journal of the First Year in Higher Education, 2(21), 36-48.
Humphreys, P. (2016). English language proficiency in higher education: Student conceptualisations and outcomes.
Newllyn, D. (2013). Providing exemplars in the learning environment. Universal Journal of Educational Research 1(1), 26-32. DOI: 10.13189/ujer.2013.010104.
Report to the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations. Canberra, Australia: Commonwealth of Australia.

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Inclusive Education Practices at Monash University

This module is designed for educators who wish to create learning environments that are inclusive of, and for, all students.

Academic Language & Literacy Development

This video introduces the Faculty of Education’s Academic Language and Literacy Development resources.

Embedding English Language Proficiency

This video describes two initiatives developed in the Faculty of MNHS to embed English language proficiency in the curriculum.

Education Performance Standards Framework The Education Performance Standards identify the expectations of education practice at Monash – See the Education Performance Standards for more details.
Impact on student learning				Impact on educational knowledge		Impact on educational environment
Effective teaching and learning	Responsive program design	Student- centred orientation	Professional learning engagement	Pedagogical content knowledge	Education research performance	Education innovation	Education leadership
✓	✓	✓
You could address marking and grading across these Practice Elements by providing evidence of how you: Provide subject-specific vocabulary lists to your students – these could be PDFs that students could download from the subject Moodle module. Include vocabulary tests in quizzes – this could be multiple choice or matching tasks. Reinforce subject-specific vocabulary by mentioning it in your lectures and tutorials consistently, and highlighting to students its importance to the subject. Provide subject-specific glossaries to your students – these could be part of your slide presentations, downloadable PDF, emailed to students. Engage students in vocabulary learning activities – such as creating their own vocabulary lists, test each other on key vocabulary, report to the class on key vocabulary from an article. Include a vocabulary requirement for assessments – for example, “Your assignment should incorporate specialist vocabulary accurately and as appropriate”. Give assessment feedback on students’ usage (or lack) of vocabulary.

Learning and Teaching: Teach HQ

Learning and Teaching: Teach HQ

Embedding English language

Communication skills View

Academic language/Academic English

Academic literacy

Communication skills

Professional language