Written in the stars: The future of my classroom

Presenter: Robert Holmes (Language Centre)

Key words: Future of higher education, English for Academic Purposes (EAP)

This session will reflect on the future of higher education seen from my classroom and based on my experience of teaching EAP in China. I imagine my future classroom as a space where students engage in dynamic communication and inquiry based learning. I imagine students working on projects and assessments directly informed by needs identified by them and their lecturers within their chosen discipline. My story in China will frame the reasons I feel this is a necessary development and my desire to change my practice. Starting with a light bulb moment prompted by a student’s question, I will describe how I recognized that my classroom currently operates as a patchwork of tasks which struggle to cover the diverse assessments and communicative events students face in

their short, intense academic careers. Rather than prepare students to fulfill a limited range of assessment tasks and outcomes classes should equip students with the communication and critical thinking skills needed to meet the demands of their degree. I will describe this through my story and the people I’ve met at XJTLU, who are helping me realize an image for a future classroom that prepares students for the broader set of challenges they currently face.