EBL and Employability Catherine Franc University of Manchester EBL in Languages 26 September 2008

The world is flat: employment and globalisation n 42% of the UK’s year old study in higher education n 1 million full time students

Language graduates’ careers n 3.5% of language students go into teaching n 21% of employers consider language skills an important capability n Language graduates ‘have the highest employability rates of all humanities graduates’, coming ‘second only to graduates in more narrowly defined vocational subjects such as dentistry.’

Developing ‘soft’ skills n The Leitch Report (2006) n ‘Graduates will play a vital role in creating wealth and underpinning the UK’s international competitiveness.’ Richard Brown (CIHE) n 70% of employers consider soft skills vital for potential graduate recrutees

Skills favoured by employers n Skills% of employers favouring these skills Communication skills86% Team-working skills85% Integrity83% Intellectual ability81% Confidence80% Character/personality75% Planning and organisational skills74% Literacy (good writing skills)71% Numeracy (good with numbers)68% Analysis & decision-making skills67% Archer and Davidson, 2008

Employers satisfaction Importance rank Satisfaction rank Gap n Commercial awareness n Analysis and n decision-making skills n Communication skills n Literacy n Passion n Relevant work experience n Planning and organisational skills n Confidence n Personnal development skills

Skills developped by language students n n CommunicationEfficient communication n Ability to work with others n Support and motivate others n Operate effectively in teams n Self-managementEfficient with time management n Flexibility and adaptibility n Self-reliant n InterpersonalLeadership n Cultural awareness (to value diversity)

Skills developed by language students n Intellectual/cognitiveProduce material and think under pressure n Reflect and judge critically n Organise and structure ideas in a coherent manner n Mastery of the studied language n Subject-related knowledge (politics, history, literature, linguistics…) n Practical and appliedUse of reference material, library research n Language related skills (self-aware independent language learners) n ICT skills n Employers categories from: King and Honeybone, 2000 n Language graduates skills categories from: Employability profiles, 2007 and QAA benchmark, 2007

French language at the University of Manchester n 200+ students n 10+ languages tutors n 3 hours per week (oral, written and grammar) n The oral seminar: 25% of the overall language course

The phonetics project n EBL and TBL n The task itself: scenario; organisation of the groups; information on blackboard; research; tutors’ facilitation; class presentation; dossier; self-reflection n Assessment: 10% of oral mark

Language skills developed during this project: n Year n Phonetics skills improved94%94.3% n Phonetics exam (over 60%)86.4%77% n Oral French improved84%88.6%

Transferable skills developed by EBL  Cognitive skills (problem solving, work with information and handle them, draw conclusions);  Generic competences (team work, communication skills, listening and questionning, written and oral communication, organistion, interpersonal sensitivity),  Personal capabilities (improve ones self awareness, ability to start and finish a job, flexibility, creativity, initiative, leadership and tolerance of stress, responsbility),  Technical abilities (working with relevant technology, including ICT).

Transferable skills developed during this project n Research94% 92.4% n Presentation96%92.4% n Group work96%93.6%

A few of the 2008 quotations  ‘Being able to give presentations confidently is a vital skill that I know I will need for my future career.’  ‘We learned to cooperate and work together towards the same goal.’  ‘It has helped me to understand how everyone in the group needs to communicate for a successful project’.  ‘The best aspect of doing a project like this is that one is improving their transferable skills’.

More 2008 quotations  ‘It was interesting to put yourself in the place of the teacher and it did make me actively learn the phonetic rules. It is quite complicated to plan a lesson in a group, however, because it relies on everyone having the same understanding of the problem-quite frustrating sometimes.’  ‘This project prepares you for later life, as it requires interpersonal skills, and the ability to talk in front of a group or audience.’