My foray into university teaching was untraditional. With a background in media production rather than academia, I found myself in classrooms and studios of LCC in 2020, not due to formal training but to my industry experience. One of my initial surprises was the cultural makeup of the students – particularly the high number of Chinese students. In my MATV class of 2021, the entire cohort was international. Which led me to challenge my positionally and conscious and sub-conscious basis.
This scenario is not isolated. In the 2021/22 academic year, the UK hosted 679,970 international students1. Universities, recognizing the financial boon, have increasingly welcomed international students. It’s an economic strategy that makes sense.
Yet, as a practitioner with limited formal pedagogical training, I encountered challenges. The cultural and linguistic diversity of these large cohorts was daunting. It dawned on me that, despite the dependence on international tuition, there was a gap – a lack of tailored training for lecturers like myself to effectively adjust our teaching methods for such diverse classrooms.
Motivated by this realisation, I embarked on a project last term, creating an artefact2 conducting interviews with former students, lecturers, and staff. The insights were telling: university staff often lacked specific training to cater to international students, leaving both parties to navigate the academic environment with minimal guidance.
Recognising that these students are, in essence, our customers, I was compelled to delve deeper. I wanted to uncover the challenges they face when studying in the UK. My goal? To refine my teaching craft, to not only educate but to truly engage, inspire, and foster inclusivity within my classroom.
Through this project, I aspire to enhance the educational experience for international students, ensuring that as we benefit from their presence, they equally benefit from our instruction and support.
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- International Student Statistics in UK 2023 – (accessed Jan 2024)
- Cultural Bridges: Enhancing Inclusivity and Cultural Competency for Chinese Students – by Simon Banks