1. CASP Cultural Awareness for Specific Purposes
A reaction to International Objectives
LSPHE
University of Oxford September 8th, 2017
Thomas Smith – The Language Centre at Queen’s University Belfast

2. Today Background and context Growth Focus of the CA What about the SP?
Potential for growth in other institutions
Accreditation
Generating consensus and next steps

3. Background Cultural Awareness – Key Transferable skill
‘Culture as the software of the mind’
– Geert Hofstede
QUB context
From Staff training to diverse incarnations
Growth area
Institutional drivers
International objectives and education strategy

4. Growth to date Staff Training Healthcare Engineering Management
Medicine
Nursing and Midwifery
Pharmacy – Training the trainers
Engineering
ELP - Workshop
All Engineering students
Management
Psychology
Academic Lecture looking at the relationship between Culture and psychology
Post doc preparation for teaching in a multicultural classroom

5. The focus of the ‘CA’ Theory Self- Reflection Consideration
Experience sharing
Developing cultural empathy
Communicative competence
Verbal
Non verbal
Example activity
Advice

6. Instruction

7. What role does the ‘SP’ play in this context?
Part 2 of the training – practical application
Flexibility of the model as a strength
Collaboration with academics to highlight key areas and context
Why do THEY feel the training is important for their students?
Preparation + Research carried out by the facilitator
Taking a workshop approach to SP elements which delegates can inform on

8. Growth across institutions
Similarly international/outward looking objectives
Where do the course facilitators come from
Potential for collaboration
Online course facilitation
Commercial potential

9. Accrediting CA
What would accreditation look like? How would it shape a course?
Would Assessment/accreditation be advantageous?
Does standardisation spell the end of innovation?
Does learning need to be assessed to be meaningful?
UNILANG model?

10. Going forward Step 1 – beginning the discussion
Potential further development
Focus group/online discussion forum
Collaboration on implementation, design and useful resources
Collaboration on assessment
How can we actualise the potential of this type of support in order to develop our offer whilst responding to institutional need

11. Questions, comments, further discussion…
Thomas Smith The Language Centre at Queen’s University Belfast E: T: