Rationale behind the project:
There is widespread experience across higher education institutions that post A Level language learners’ needs have changed dramatically over the past few years. This presents learners and teachers with new challenges which the project aims to address.
The first part of the project will compare students’ experience of language learning at A Level and their experience in their first year of post A Level language study at Nottingham University, whether in the Language Centre or in the Academic Departments of the School of Modern Languages and Cultures. Once the main differences have been identified, a report will make recommendations that will help bridge the gap between the two stages of language learning.
The project will contribute to the research being carried out in the field at the moment and will investigate the issue in the context of language provision for language specialists and non language specialists in the School of Modern Languages and Cultures at Nottingham University.
The second part of the project aims to build on the findings of the first to produce multimedia language materials that will support students’ learning in their first year of post A Level studies at Nottingham University so that learning can be more effective. This is to be carried out by a team of language teachers (French, German and Spanish) both from the Language Centre and from the Academic Departments. It is also envisaged that some of the materials produced will differentiate between the needs of language specialists and non language specialists.
All learning materials will be accessible on line via Oranna Speicher’s One Stop Language Shop. They will be found in the Year 1 French, German and Spanish sections and in the Inter Faculty Stage 4 French, German and Spanish sections.