The management of English language support in postgraduate business education: the CEM model (contextualisation, embedding and mapping)

Abstract

The paper documents the background, research and preliminary findings relating to a key area emerging in higher education institutions in the UK: providing academic language and study skills to support international students in parallel with their study programmes. The paper presents research carried out by an English language specialist and a Programme Director in the postgraduate area of Newcastle Business School (NBS) at Northumbria University. It documents a critique of past practice and research leading to identification of key issues influencing the attendance and participation of overseas students on an in-sessional English Language Support Programme (ELSP). To address these issues, a model was developed, the CEM Model, which identified contextualisation, embedding and mapping as the foundation for improving ELSP provision in a postgraduate business context. The findings show that application of the CEM Model is already demonstrating added value in the key areas of student attendance, understanding and integration within academic programme learning objectives and outcomes, and will be of use to subject specialists who collaborate with tutors of English for Academic Purpose (EAP).