The Cara Syria programme – combining teaching of English for academic purposes and academic and research skills development

Brewer, S. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3687-6202 and Whiteside, K. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7335-1085 (2019) The Cara Syria programme – combining teaching of English for academic purposes and academic and research skills development. Language Learning in Higher Education. ISSN 2191-6128 doi: 10.1515/cercles-2019-0010

Abstract/Summary

The Cara Syria Programme has been developed to support Syrian academics who have had abandon their academic positions due to the conflict in Syria and who have seen their careers compromised as a result. The Programme offers a means to re-establish their academic identities and develop new skills through participation in the learning activities and workshops provided on the Programme itself and through potential research collaborations with academics in universities in the UK. A key element is the training in English for Academic Purposes (EAP), which is delivered in weekly online lessons and intensive language workshops in Turkey. Both the online teaching and the workshops are staffed by volunteers working in language teaching and specifically in English for Academic Purposes. One of the core principles of this teaching is to pitch content in a way that is intellectually motivating and relevant in terms of the participants’ academic identities, but scaffolded to take into account language proficiency levels, which can be as low as CEFR A1. Over the last eighteen months the technology, administrative structures, and language materials suitable for learners at all levels between A1 and C1 have been developed, and the process mapped to ensure sustainability.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://reading-clone.eprints-hosting.org/id/eprint/102717
Identification Number/DOI	10.1515/cercles-2019-0010
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	Arts, Humanities and Social Science > International Study and Language Institute (ISLI)
Publisher	De Gruyter
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