Scholarly Teaching Seminar - Internationalising the Curriculum

When?

Wednesday 17 March 2010, 12:30 to 13:50

Where?

Austen Pearce Lecture Theatre AP2

Open to:

Staff

Speaker:

Helen Spencer Oakey

Admission price:

Free

Admission information:

Please e-mail Sue Ponsford at s.ponsford@surrey.ac.uk

Refreshments:

Buffet lunch

Internationalising the Curriculum

presentation by

Helen Spencer-Oatey, University of Warwick, Project Director 'e-China UK' and 'Global People'

Helen will outline the scope and varying interpretations of the concept of internationalisation across UK HE, and then focus on the work currently being done in the Centre for Applied Linguistics at the University of Warwick (as part of a Kings-Warwick HEFCE funded project) on the ‘Global Curriculum’.

The intercultural competency framework for undergraduate students will be introduced and recommendations made for the kinds of activities that may help students acquire those competencies and qualities.

The Global Curriculum project identified a conceptual gap between top level aspirations /rhetoric about the internationalisation of UK HEIs and the grassroots activities that many institutions are involved in. This gap needs to be bridged by the identification of well-defined personal and professional competencies and qualities. Drawing on our Global People Competency Framework (http://www.globalpeople.org.uk/ ), the project aims (a) to modify our framework to make it more suitable for undergraduate students and then (b) to draw links between grassroots activities, competencies that they can help achieve, and institutional-level aspirations. 

Brief Bio Information
Professor Helen Spencer-Oatey is Director of the Centre for Applied Linguistics at the University of Warwick and has a particular interest in internationalisation and intercultural interaction. She has recently directed and managed several major international projects, including HEFCE’s £4M eChina-UK Programme (2002–2009) (see http://www.echinauk.org/ ) and the Global People project (2008–2009) (see http://www.globalpeople.org.uk/). She is currently overseeing the Kings-Warwick Global Curriculum project. Helen has worked extensively overseas, including teaching at Shanghai Jiaotong University for 7 years on a British Council project. Her book publications include Intercultural Interaction: A Multidisciplinary Approach to Intercultural Communication (Palgrave, 2009), Culturally Speaking: Culture, Communication and Politeness Theory (Continuum, 2000/2008), e-Learning Initiatives in China (Hong Kong University Press, 2007) and Handbook of Intercultural Communication (Mouton de Gruyter, 2007).