Reflections on LSP for Engineers Engineering Department Reflections on LSP for Engineers Alexander Bleistein and David Tual CUED Language Unit

The Language Unit (LU) in figures 1993 16 5 + 1 600 150

LU specificities In-house to CUED STEM Free to students Open to all LSP provision

LU provision English support LFA: 5 FL, CEFR A1-C1/2, mixed classes 3rd Year Project 4th Year Module Students’ feedback: “I would also like to mention the Language Unit. Not only is the teaching itself excellent, but it's done in an engineering context, which in my opinion makes a big difference in terms of motivation to learn the language.”

LU Learners Survey 2017 February 2017 255 participants mainly engineering students and students from related subjects

Students‘ Motivation Partner / Family background? Broaden my mind? Fun? Enhance employment prospects? Cultural interest? Holiday purposes? Studying or working abroad? To get credit for my degree? Research purposes?

Students’ Motivation “Chinese is a very fun language to learn despite being one of the hardest languages to learn.” “German is a fun language. You've got to love its melody.”

Students’ Motivation “Aim to become fluent in at least one other language in order to have the option of working abroad in the future.“ “I was triggered by 'Brexit'. Thought for future employment potentially in Europe, I would need a language.”

Students’ Motivation: Different Languages

Students’ Expectations

Students’ Expectations

Companies’ Expectations BMW No defined group language But expecting from employees to speak German in many fields Lufthansa Fluency in German and English is generally part of a vast majority of their job offers Volkswagen Announced in 2016 that the future group language will be English However: continue to emphasise the importance of speaking the language of countries employees are working in (essential when dealing with clients and business partners)

Consequence: Balancing course contents LSP-courses should not be limited to subject-specific contents Richer (2008): “Providing a response [to students' language needs] limited to the professional sphere does not necessarily constitute a suitable solution.” (translated from French) Language learners must be proficient both within and outside the professional context Promoting cultural understanding

Example: The German Parliament Building Subject-related dimension: dealing with the dome from a civil engineer‘s point of view Cultural dimension: getting to know the eventful history of the building Everyday life dimension: booking a guided tour through the building; thinking about questions to be asked during a tour Grammatical / lexical dimension: depending on level and materials used

Other Challenges Identifying the smallest common denominator Subject knowledge (including latest developments) LSP for beginners

Solutions and future plans Working together: GELS network GELS project: CEFR based grid Reflections on intercultural communication as integral part of Global Engineer profile