Vol 1 No 1 2011

Introducing CEWL’sBusiness FoundationCourse

Insight into WorldLanguages Modules

Academic ModuleCorner

The InternationalFoundationProgramme

Centre for�English andWorld Languages

WelcomeWelcome to the first issue of VoiceBox, the official newsletter of the Centre forEnglish and World Languages (CEWL). This edition contains contributionsfrom students and staff associated with the various programme modules,courses and services offered by CEWL. We hope you enjoy the newsletterand extend our thanks to all the contributors who have created this publication.

Cover picture: IFP Photo competition winner by K Alaali

VoiceBoxThe international magazine from the Centre for English and World Languages

2 VoiceBox

Spotlight on the InternationalFoundation Programme (IFP)

IFP student Theologis Strikos reviews the movie ‘Black Swan’

The International FoundationProgramme is a coursespecifically designed toprepare international studentsfor academic study on a widerange of our undergraduatedegree programmes.

Students from this year’s IFP have contributed avariety of articles, points of view andphotographs to VoiceBox for your enjoyment. You

will find a selection of them below andthroughout the newsletter.

IFP students were invited to submit photos forthis year’s photo competition.

The winning photo, ‘CEWL’, is by Khadija Alaali(front cover)Khadija’s photo ‘Four’ also tied for 1st place.

Runners-up shown on this page are as follows:P Mistikoglu, ‘Instinctive Maternity’K Alaali, ‘Canterbury Skies’

Recently I went to Canterbury’s Odeon cinema and watched DarrenAronofsky’s new film, “Black Swan”. The film is a great piece of work,captured by the pure and internal magic that only the cinematic mediumcan provide.

First of all, by choosing a simple psychological subject, which is not basedon traditional extreme plot tricks, Aronofsky reminds his audience that thepsychological difficulties of human nature can be the most complex andgripping scenarios of all. Furthermore, the film’s atmosphere plays a majorrole in its plot development while it works as the perfect bridge betweenthe audience and the main heroine’s world. As Aronofsky puts it, “balletcan be dark, tragic and gothic” and he proves this very well. With a veryintelligent contradiction between the classic ballet soundtrack and thegloomy, gothic scenes, “Black Swan” seems like an intense, midnightnightmare which everyone is terrified of it, but at the same time, no one

really wants to wake up from it. From another point of view, the film can beseen as a criticism of the competitive nature of performance art.

Also, the central performances of the movie are remarkable; NataliePortman plays the sexually repressed ballet dancer whose life is subjectedto the misery of smothering domesticity. Vincent Cassel’s Zen-like,Mediterranean moodiness works as the ideal counterpoint between the twofemale protagonists.

In conclusion, Black Swan is a remarkable artistic work that retains theoriginality of cinematic magic in a period when the film industry is not reallyconcerned if such a sense of originality lives or dies.

By Theologis Strikos IFP, Group 4Theologis is an IFP student working towards a degree in film studies.

1 ‘Four’ by K Alaali Joint 1st prize 3 ‘Canterbury Skies’ by K Alaali 3rd prize

2 ‘Instinctive Maternity’ by P Mistikoglu 2nd prize

University of Kent 3

The University of Kentoffers specially designedprogrammes to prepareinternational students, whodo not have English as afirst language, for academicstudy. These courses focuson developing the students’English language and studyskills so that they can meetthe level of proficiencyrequired for their chosencourse of study.

CEWL’s pre-sessional courses last for 19weeks, 12 weeks or six weeks – dependingon the needs of the individual student. Thecourses are a key way for Internationalstudents to prepare for Undergraduate andPostgraduate study. We asked pre-sessionalstudents from the 2010 session, who arecurrently completing their Masters’ degrees,what they thought of the course. Some oftheir views can be read on this page.

Anthony Page – 6 week pre-sessional“Stimulating and dedicated teachersefficiently help you to improve your English..”

Osamah Al Jabri – 19 week pre-sessional“I studied at UKC on the pre-sessional 2010course for 19 weeks and it was an amazingexperience… To sum up my 19 weeks in afew words… I would say that it was about:learning useful English in context, beingimmersed in the British culture…and makingunforgettable friends from all over the world.And all this in such a beautiful city likeCanterbury. I just don’t want to leave!”

Lulu Guo – 19 week pre-sessional“We chose CEWL because it helped us toget used to life in the UK…We made manynew friends because of CEWL and alsoimproved our English in the process. That isa wonderful thing for us! I highly recommendcourses at CEWL to anyone who wants toimprove their language skills and learn aboutlife in the UK….”

Pharkphoom Dhirapatranon – 19 weekpre-sessional“The pre-sessional course helps studentsprepare for a masters degree. It was a greatexperience for me. We learned many things…However, the best thing we learnt was howto live with new friends who come fromdifferent cultures…”

Pre-sessional coursesin English for academicpurposesAlthough the Pre-sessional course is demandingacademically, it is important for our students torelax and enjoy their free time. Social activitiesalso encourage cross-cultural relations amongthe students, which they all thoroughly enjoy. Thisbecomes especially evident on the internationalfood evenings when the students contributedishes typical of their national cuisine. RuhsenSevketoglu, Pre-sessional Social Activities Co-ordinator, shares her experience of managingevents for the 2010 pre-sessional students:

‘I believe it is really important for students to havean active social life when studying on the pre-sessional course as it is really hard work.However, socialising is also an opportunity forstudents to practice classroom work whilst havingfun. Both the pre-sessional and summer activities

coupled together aid and equip students to getused to university life and their new surroundings.It also gives them a chance to socialise with fellowstudents and meet new people from all over theworld. Activities vary from introducing Britishculture as well as students sharing their own. Myexperience of the summer activities has beenpositive and stimulating. It has also allowed me tomeet interesting people and become familiar withnew cultures. I really enjoyed organising theevents last year as students are so friendly andrepresent such a wide variety of fascinatingcultures. Last year’s positive response fromstudents has made me even more determined tomake this year’s social activities even better’.

By Ruhsen Sevketoglu

This year, Ruhsen is joined by Aristadis Vilkaitis to assist in theorganisation of the students’ fun activities. Welcome Aris!

Ruhsen Sevketoglu Aristadis Vilkaitis

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Capital Knowledge, Bahrain provides training opportunitiesin the fields of banking, finance, investment, accounting andmanagement. In 2010, the Centre for English and WorldLanguages established a collaborative venture with CapitalKnowledge who now also deliver a Business Foundationcourse, designed and quality assured by CEWL.

Anthony Manning, Director of CEWL says, “theUniversity has been delighted to work incollaboration with Capital Knowledge. Togetherour two insitutes are working to deliver a highquality course in Bahrain”.

Mayse Al Dallal is currently attending theBusiness Foundation course and talks about herexperience so far:

‘Studying at Capital Knowledge has been apleasant experience. With the distinguished staff,we were able to develop our business skills andbroaden our knowledge. Capital Knowledgeoffers a great atmosphere and provides us withexcellent facilities; a great studying environment,and a sizeable library that includes an extensivevariety of books for our future business study.Attending lectures and seminars for the BusinessFoundation course for the University Of Kent inCapital Knowledge has been by far the bestlearning experience for us’.

By Mayse Al Dallal

The sharp pain of lossThe worst of all the feelingsAll over the land

Black of destructionIs fading away from theLight of faith and hope

By Charilaos Gasteratos

Unfair destinyMade this unexpected painUnforgettable

By Andrea Ioannou, IFP Group 6

Kent travels the worldCEWL’s Business Foundation Coursedelivered by Capital Knowledge, Bahrain

IFP Studentreactions to theJapaneseearthquake andtsunamiSome of our IFP studentswanted to express theirempathy for the Japaneseearthquake and tsunamivictims, which occurred earlyin 2011. Their sentiments areexpressed here and on thefollowing page in the form ofJapanese traditional haiku anda news report.

University of Kent 5

The killer wave

On the 3rd of March, a huge earthquake ofmagnitude 8.9 hit the Northeastern coast ofJapan, followed by a massive tsunami.

IFP Group 7 summarise the facts and describe the events which occurredin March 2011.

Buildings, cars and ships were swept away by the massive force of thewater. The disaster has spread tragedy all over the world as approximately4,000 people have been killed and a further six thousand are still missing.Most people were at their work at the time of the earthquake and children attheir schools. Thousands of survivors are homeless and an added concernis the nuclear power plant at Fukushima, where two explosions haveoccurred. People are in fear of the power plant because one of its reactorscontains plutonium and this can cause serious illness if absorbed in theblood stream. The local population has been warned to avoid going out.

The devastation to the environment has caused many victims andunharmed citizens to change their lifestyle. One of the main causes ofsuffering and change is the loss of energy, resulting in a large number ofpeople who live in skyscrapers having to adapt to using staircases to reachtheir flats instead of elevators; there are about 100 steps every sevenfloors. Citizens in-land have been touched by the difficulties beingexperienced by those affected and have responded resiliently and

selflessly towards their fellow compatriots. They have done this by savingenergy and by dimming a national icon, the Tokyo Tower.

Another major issue that has shown up after the strong earthquake is thecommunication problems, which are extremely serious. The closure ofroads has closed off several necessities. Evacuation is now only possiblethrough air travel, thus trapping people within the ruins of their own homes.Furthermore, public transportation has been closed down temporarily topreserve energy. The mobile phone networks and Internet connectionshave crashed, as millions of people tried to use them in order to ask forhelp or to communicate with their families. After the tsunami, the Japanesehigh-tech industry was “destroyed” and is now struggling to return to itsprevious situation.

On the other hand, there are different communications infrastructures thathave survived; after the earthquake, the news was spread immediatelybecause of the huge power of the media. An example is Google, which isthe most popular search engine online, that notified each visitor about thesituation in Japan by having all the news and live reports of what is going on.

It is predicted that this disaster will have a long term impact on Japan’senvironment and economy which, in turn, will affect other countries in the world.

By IFP Group 7 Students: Saud Al Subaie, Tanya Theochari, MartinEguren, Azra Mohamed-Ibrahim, Mohammad Awartani and Cemre Candar

Hope for JapanPeople unitedWith hope against fear and prayTo heal the nation

A bright new day willRise up after Asia’s lossAnd emerge from pain

World united byGood news to hear from AsiaHoping Japan lives

By Ovgu Nizam IFP, Group 6

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CEWL has recentlylaunched a new portfolioof language serviceswhich are designed tocater for the needs ofmembers of the localcommunity and Universitydepartments. One of thefirst approaches theCentre received for itstranslation services wasfrom World War II veteranand author of ‘Tafelberg’,Mr Reg Curtis.

CEWL was delighted to help Mr Curtis, who isnow in his nineties, to understand a documentwhich he picked up while serving in the SecondWorld War. One afternoon in 1943 Mr Curtis waspassing thorough the border of Morocco andAlgeria. He had recently completed a training

exercise which also involved a parachute dropinto Sicily. On taking refreshment in a local cafe,Mr Curtis noticed an interesting poster on the wall,made up of colourful images and Arabic text.

Reg asked if he could take the poster and haskept it as a souvenir of his time for the last 68years. Having the poster translated by CEWL hasfinally revealed the full story depicted in theposter. Reg says, ‘I knew it was something to dowith the French Army but I didn’t know it was allabout the achievements of General Giraud.Getting the translation from CEWL has finallyopened up the story.’

Readers who are interested in reading moreabout Reg’s experiences in World War II can doso by visiting his own website at:www.regcurtistafelberg.co.uk. More details aboutCEWL’s language services are also available at:http://www.kent.ac.uk/cewl/LanguageServices/

CEWL helps World War IIveteran with a translation

A section from the poster picked up by Mr Curtis in 1943

War Veteran, Mr Reg Curtis

BlendedlearningCEWL’s English LanguageDevelopment Programmedevelops online Englishlearning facility forinternational students

The English Language DevelopmentProgramme (ELDP) provides Englishlanguage support for international studentsat all stages across the three Faculties. Twoyears ago, the ELDP embarked on a project,assisted by funding from the ChallengeFund, to develop an online facility forinternational students to enhance theirlearning capabilities. In this brief extract,Jane Short, Director of In-sessional EnglishLanguage Programmes, explains the project:

The Blended Learning project, which linksclassroom and online academic Englishlanguage materials, started in 2009. The aimof the project is to give international studentsthe choice of attending English LanguageDevelopment classes and using the onlinematerials to follow up later, or of studyingacademic English online in their own time.

As part of the project, new materials havebeen written and adapted so they can beused in the classroom as well as for self-study online. The materials includePowerPoint slides, recordings, quizzes andprintable unit handbooks.

A typical unit of study on Moodle aboutEssay Writing includes:• a preview quiz• information about analysing essay titles• a crossword• practice exercises and feedback• a unit handbook• web links to English language websites• an exit quiz

The Blended Learning project is still underconstruction, but you can keep up with thelatest developments by logging onto Moodleat:https://moodle.kent.ac.uk/moodle/course/view.php?id=13185

by Jane Short

University of Kent 7

A taste of short courses at CEWLCEWL offers a range of short courses to international students wishing to study at the Universityof Kent during the summer months. English with Volunteering and English for Visiting AcademicGroups are just two of the existing courses currently on offer. However, we regularly createspecial courses according to the needs of particular partner institutions or groups of students.

In the morning of the day, I got up at half pastseven. After I had had my breakfast, I went to themeeting point by bus. After we introducedourselves, Ted, Jake (who is one of thevolunteers) Gary and I went to a place far awayfrom Canterbury. Actually, the destination was ahouse an old couple was living there. My job wasto assemble a plastic store house, about twometres in height, in the garden. We had a toughstarting point as the weather was not good, itwas raining. We were working to assemble thehouse in the rain and I was wearing only a vest.During the work, we faced a lot of problems, likewhich parts should be joined together, how onejoint didn’t fit another joint. What did theinstructions say!

By Wayne Lo

English for visitingAcademicsA visit from Vladimir State UniversityThe Centre for English and World Languages hasbeen providing short, intensive courses in EnglishLanguage and Culture for groups of Universitystudents for more than ten years. The coursesprovided are designed to activate students’English, especially communicative skills such asspeaking and listening. In February 2011, a partyfrom Vladimir State University came for twoweeks. The following is a short description oftheir experience.

It was two amazing and unforgettable weeks!During the course we were completely“immersed” in an English language environment.

English with VolunteeringSince the summer of 2007 the Centre for Englishand World Languages at the University of Kent hasgiven a short summer programme in English withVolunteering. In 2010, thirty students from HongKong City University and one from Germany spentsix weeks studying English, staying with local hostfamilies and volunteering for local charities. Thestudents compile journals outlining their personalexperiences while in England. These journalentries and photos are testimony to the students’tremendous contribution to these charities, and totheir own personal growth. We are very proud tobe able to encourage this mutually enrichingexchange and look forward to sending anothergroup of enthusiastic young people from abroadto volunteer in our local charities in 2011.

Jane Short, Programme Director

Healthy Homes andHealthy Minds – anEnglish with Volunteering(EWV) Gardening Projectwith Ted DunneWayne Lo was one of the volunteers whoworked on the Gardening Project in thesummer of 2010. The following is an extractfrom his journal: 4 July, 2010I was assigned to work for Riverside YouthCentre as a volunteer yesterday. That is my firstday of volunteering in the UK. At the time I chosewhich type of volunteering work I wanted to do, Iasked which was the most challenging. I wastold the gardening work would be my bestchoice. I found this was true.

Theoretical knowledge obtained in the lessonswas immediately given practise – in buses,shops, cafes, on excursions, etc. The study atthe Centre of English and World Languagesassists improvement in ones level of spokenEnglish through revising Grammar andintroducing idioms and common expressions.A warm, free and easy atmosphere wasencouraged in the lessons, which helped tobreakdown the language barrier and made itpossible to participate in conversation withteachers. We are grateful to them for theirpatience, attentiveness and professionalism.

The Course was successfully balanced andconsisted of two types of lesson – classroombased and excursions. We had a lot of interestingmeetings with colleagues from the University ofKent, which were organized during the secondtype of lesson, who told us about features ofeducational and research activity at theirdepartments. The discussion of professionaltopics and agreement for possible cooperationwas developed during such meetings.

Several days were assigned for visiting Londonand Dover, where we visited monuments andhistorical places including buildings maintainedby English Heritage. Such excursions allowed abetter understanding of the culture and historyof Britain and real communication with localpeople and numerous tourists. Two weeksundoubtedly is a very short time for completestudy and mastering the English language, but itwas a first step in that direction. During this shortperiod we have met new friends and developedfirm connections between the University of Kentand Vladimir State University.

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Get on board Language ExpressLanguage Express is a new programme of World Languagelearning opportunities delivered through the Centre for Englishand World Languages. Nine foreign languages are currentlybeing offered and courses usually run between October – May.Many of the courses also provide classes appropriate todifferent levels of ability.

Languages offered are: French, German, Italian, Japanese, Mandarin, Russian, Spanish and Arabic.

The following are contributions from Hassan Osman, our teacher of Arabic, Danielle Shalet, whoattended our Japanese for Beginners course, and Moritz Pieper, a student on our Russian course:

Moritz Pieper talks aboutthe Russian LanguageExpress CourseI am a postgraduate student following a doubleaward’s programme in International Relationsbetween the University of Kent in Canterbury andthe Higher School of Economics in Moscow. As Iwill spend the next academic year in Moscow, Ichose to follow the Russian language classoffered by CEWL while still at Canterbury.

I had already learned some Russian beforecoming to the UK, but Language Express is aconvenient and affordable way to brush up one’salready existing knowledge and practisespeaking in an unconstrained atmosphere withrelaxed but still committed teachers.

Interview: Hassan Osman,teacher of Arabic,Language ExpressWhat have you enjoyed most about teachingArabic for us?I have enjoyed teaching Arabic in a multiculturalenvironment with students of different levels andages. Also, the support which I’ve received fromthe Language Express team has been of greatvalue to me.

What are the challenges associated withteaching both staff and students onLanguage Express?I haven’t had any real challenge. However, what Ihave noticed, is that staff do prefer to go deepinto grammatical rules, whereas students don’t.

What has been the most challenging aspectof your teaching Arabic?The most challenging aspect of teaching Arabichas been to make students perceive thedifference in pronunciation of similar-soundingletters of the alphabet.

Why do you think so many students andstaff are interested in learning Arabic?I believe that students are fascinated by thesound of this very melodic language and itsbeautiful calligraphy. Also, they are interested inlearning more about the Arabic culture.

Japanese LanguageExpress Course

こんにちは私の名前はダニです. (Hello my nameis Danielle) and I am presently in the process ofcompleting my PhD. I am also learningbeginners Japanese at the Centre for Englishand World Languages at the University of Kent(CEWL). It has always been my belief that inorder to truly understand a culture one mustunderstand the language of that culture. As aMartial Arts enthusiast and practitioner ofJapanese Martial Arts primarily Kendo, Laidoand Shotokan karate, and also a lover ofJapanese culture, I thought learning Japanesewould be the ideal opportunity for me to put thisbelief to the test.

Thus far my experiences on the course and withCEWL have been incredibly positive. CEWL hasdone an exceptional job in offering its languageteachers and students the resources they need tofully immerse themselves in their chosenlanguage. They are concerned about the well-being of their students and the quality of theirteaching, and this is reflected in their languageteachers. Not only is our language teacherexceptionally gifted, but she is also a nativespeaker, bringing a cultural element to learningJapanese that would not be there otherwise. Itgives us as students a personal insight into theworld of Japanese language, culture, andtraditions. An insight that is extremely importantwhen learning a language that reflects a richculture that is steeped in traditions and customs.

Danni Shalet

University of Kent 9

Module LA 505 This module is for those whohave some ability in and wish to continuelearning Japanese. The module aims to teachwell-balanced language skills in all areas ofJapanese.

Business Languages forthe TransmancheEnterprise Network (TEN)– Dutch and French forBusinessIn line with CEWL’s commitment to bringlanguage tuition to the local community, thedepartment now provides Dutch and French forBusiness classes to members of theTransmanche Enterprise Network (TEN). TEN ispart financed by the cross border cooperationprogramme Interreg IVA 2 seas and CanterburyCity Council. It is a three-year project with theaim of promoting and encouragingentrepreneurs and businesses to develop newcross-border commercial initiatives.

“Working with the University of Kent to deliverour French and Dutch Business Languagecourses has offered a productive and costeffective solution, with all administration and dayto day management taken away and coursesdelivered in a professional and modern teachingenvironment. The feedback from businesses hasbeen really positive building confidence incommercial scenarios.”

Natalia Shukram, TEN Officer

Testimonial from Roger Eaton, TEN Member‘Whilst browsing a copy of the local newspaper, Icame across an article concerning the TENProject Business Course and their offering EUfunded language learning for both Dutch andFrench. I got in touch with the contact providedand following a short exercise to ascertain mylevel of French, I was accepted into theadvanced group of the course.

I am currently the Office & Projects Manager forThe City Church Canterbury but I aspire to liveand work in France in the near future. I see this

From Kent to JapanTestimonial from Jennifer O’DonnellJennifer O’Donnell attended two of the Japanesemodules and is currently spending a year inJapan putting her language skills to good use:

When I first signed up for the University of Kent Ihad Japan in mind as one of my goals. Why?Because it looked fun and interesting and meant Icould stay at university longer. As time went on Ithink I became a lot more nervous about it; thecosts, the language. Taking Japanese as an extraclass was definitely worthwhile. It was hard workbut it was a subject I could do really well in, meetloads of interesting people, and get a good graspon the language before coming out to Japan.

After saving up for two years plus the loan Ifinally made it to Japan and I’ve been here forfive months now. I love it! After a few months Iwas horribly homesick but that gets quicklyforgotten when I’m out exploring shoppingdistricts, shrines and temples. So much isdifferent I don’t think I’ve ever been bored whenI’ve been out and about. Not only is Japanamazing but my University is too. Kansai Gaidaiin Osaka has such a great selection of fun andinteresting topics on top of weekly Japaneselanguage classes. The best part is definitely thepeople and I’ve just made so many friends fromall sorts of countries, not only Japan.

I think doing a year abroad has really helped mewith my degree, as well as personally. It’s taughtme and shown me so much that I would havenever known if I’d never done it. I just wish I could

spend two years out here instead of one!笑

Jennifer O’Donnell

Details of the modules Jennifer took are asfollows:Module LA 504 This module is for students whohave a command of Hiragana and Katakana andalso know around 50 basic Kanji. The moduleaims to teach well-balanced language skills in allareas of Japanese. You will also gain knowledgeof cultural and useful information on daily life,e.g. how to use bank cash point machines.

course as being a helpful stepping stone toachieve that aim by improving my businessFrench, whilst making the most of the networkingopportunities provided by being in a group oflike-minded people, enthusiastic to developtrans-manche business links.

The weekly class has been excellent for thedevelopment of oral skills and listeningcomprehensions. The homework is suitablychallenging and just the right amount, so as notto be a burden, rather a stimulating amuse-bouche for the following week.

I have been delighted to be part of this trainingand networking initiative and would whole-heartedly recommend it to anyone wishing todevelop their Business French language skills’.

By Roger Eaton, Office and Projects Manager,The City Church, Canterbury

Annie McNamara, Director, Interactrice Ltd,shares her views on the TEN CoursesI’ve been attending French and Dutch BusinessLanguage courses at CEWL and they areexcellent – well-taught, full of relevant subject-matter and really enjoyable. They are part of thesupport I’m getting, as a member of the TENproject, to develop trade initiatives with NorthernFrance and Belgium.

The classes are opening up new possibilities formy communication and design agency,Interactrice; so far all my business in the UK hascome from networking and referrals, and Iwanted to continue that personal way of makingcontacts when looking for clients across theChannel.

I’m now much more confident in usinglanguages, and I’m also getting invaluableinsights into those crucial differences in cultureand business practices that can help or hindercommercial relationships with new partners. So,next stop – the rest of Europe!

Annie McNamara, Director, Interactrice Ltd

Putting language skills into practice –World languages modules and coursesfor businessCEWL is also the provider of credit-bearing modules in worldlanguages. At present the credit-bearing modules that we offerare in Japanese and Mandarin Chinese.

10 VoiceBox

How do you think students and staff canbenefit from studying languages?The benefits students achieve from studying aforeign language are many and I believe them tobe excellent. It is not simply being able to learndifferent words and sentences, but absorbinginformation about whole different cultures,customs, attitudes and, in such a way, becominga more complete person in many ways. I havepersonal experience in this inasmuch as bylearning the English language and itscolloquialisms, I can understand British peoplebetter and so adapt and fit into the way of life ofthe country. Studying languages exercises thebrain in such ways that it allows it to performmore actively and efficiently, even in old age.

How do you keep your students motivated?It is very important when meeting new students,to understand and learn about their reasons forwanting to learn this particular language andhow important the learning results are for them. Iam an enthusiastic teacher and I encourage allmy students all the time. Their efforts both inclass and in their written homework arerecognised and congratulated and, whennecessary, corrected and explained properlywith encouragement and faith. Different studentsrequire varying aspects of the language:grammar, reading skills or oral conversation so itis important to make it possible to cover all thesefields as much as possible. Students areencouraged in their work, whatever format, torefer to their personal experience and dailyactivities in order to achieve the best vocabulary,understanding and results.

StaffInterviewLanguage Express teacher,Gabriella Brigo-Cowling.

When did you first come to the UK and howlong have you been associated with theUniversity of Kent?I arrived in the UK in 1964 to marry anEnglishman whom I met in Milan.

I studied at University of Kent from 1978 to 1982and after obtaining my degree, I was offered ajob teaching Italian for the Italian Departmentstarting in 1984. Before taking my degree I hadgained various certificates: English for ForeignStudents. A-Level English Literature. F.E.Teachers Certificate.

What is the biggest difference between theUK and your home town Milan?I certainly am very proud of Milan the city whereI was born and I tell my students about itshistory, art treasures, modern and ancientachievements. Especially this month whichcelebrates the 150th anniversary of theUnification of Italy. On the other hand, havinglived in the UK longer than in Milan, I must admitto having become very fond of the country. Myclose family and my life are here and I haveachieved important things concerning my privatelife and my working career, possibly more than Icould have done in Italy.

Nevertheless I return regularly to Milan and otherItalian cities in order to keep up with the changesof the language, mentality and customs. Allthese are important for my activity as a lecturerin Italian language and customs.

How did you first become interested inteaching Italian?I started teaching the Italian language at theDover Adult Education Centre in 1973 after theencouragement I received from the Director ofthe school and also the Director of the course Iattended at the Technical College in Canterburyfor: “Further Education Teachers Certificate”.

My interest grew into a passion and a greatdesire to share my knowledge with as manystudents as possible. From adults to children inprimary school, from teaching on the phone toprofessional people and company directors, tocolleagues and to undergraduates. This passionis still very strong and enthusiasm is one of myqualities.

Do you have any hobbies?Painting, sketching, drawing, and wall hanging.Writing poetry.

Thank you Gabriella!

University of Kent 11

Academic Module CornerAs well as developing keylanguage skills, students onthe IFP also study a series ofacademic modules. Thissection focuses on the work ofour international students inthis area. This issue highlightsthe IFP Design Module

The IFP designgalleryAs part of the academic pathway forArchitecture, students on the IFP take a Designmodule. One of their briefs is to design and builda chair and a container in cardboard. Here aresome of the spectacular results from our2010/2011 IFP students:

Spotlight on…

This newsletter has been produced by:

The Centre for English and World LanguagesKeynes CollegeUniversity of KentCanterburyKent CT2 7NPUnited Kingdom

Tel: 01227 824401

General enquiriesE: cewl@kent.ac.uk

Pre-sessional enquiriesE: presessional@kent.ac.uk

International Foundation Programme enquiriesE: ifpinfo@kent.ac.iuk

Language Express enquiriesE: languageexpress@kent.ac.uk

For details of all the courses mentioned in thisnewsletter, please visit our website at:www.kent.ac.uk/cewl/index.html

Thank you…

We would like to thank staff and students and allwho contributed to the newsletter and especially tothe Design and Print Centre for an excellent job.

Among our talented Language Express teachers is Italian tutor, Gabriella Brigo-Cowling. Gabriella isoriginally from Milan but has lived in the UK since the 1960s. She teaches Italian at the University ofKent and has been teaching the language extensively since the 1970s. However, Gabriella is also atalented artist; originally working in pen and wash and then oils, she now works with delicate silks andsatins which she machine embroiders into beautiful pictures. Here are some examples of her work,although you can also visit her web site at: www.gabriellabrigo.com

Read Gabriella’s interview on page 10

Design&PrintCentre11130106/11

Four photos illustrating the work of Gabriella Brigo-Cowling