We present and evaluate a recently-trialled approach to integrating L2 disciplinary literacies through collaboration between Academic Language and Learning and faculty staff in an Australian university. The mixed-methods evaluation provides insights, from multiple perspectives, into the complexities of L2 disciplinary literacies beliefs and practices in this context.
Universities in Australia currently face significant pressure to ensure they support students’ language development needs throughout their studies. In response, one large, metropolitan university has recently trialled an approach involving collaboration between the Academic Language and Learning (ALL) group and faculty staff to integrate discipline-specific content and literacies to support students with low levels of academic language proficiency. Drawing on research into disciplinary literacies in Australia (e.g. Maldoni, 2018) as well as content and language integration more broadly (Nikula, Dafouz, Moore & Smit, 2016), we have developed and evaluated a new pedagogical program, working towards a shared view of disciplinary literacy integration within university faculties. The program was trialled in 2019, and involved screening all commencing students (approximately 7,000) for academic language proficiency. Students in need of extra language support received 15-20 hours of compulsory language tutorials over a 12-week teaching session. Tutorials were aligned with core discipline subjects and focused on key readings and assessment tasks using disciplinary language and literacy activities, such as genre analysis, unpacking of assessments and developing disciplinary vocabulary. This presentation discusses strategies used in implementing our approach and reports on emerging findings from our mixed methods evaluation of the program. We draw on survey, focus group, interview and reflection data from multiple perspectives: students, tutors, faculty staff, and the ALL group. Insights from data reveal participant beliefs and practices in terms of L2 disciplinary use and learning in this Australian higher education context, and provide implications for on-going refinement of our program. References Maldoni, A. M. (2018). “Degrees of deception” to degrees of proficiency: Embedding academic literacies into the disciplines. Journal of Academic Language & Learning, 12 (2), A102-A129. Nikula, T., Dafouz, E., Moore, P. & Smit, U. (Eds.) (2016). Conceptualising integration in CLIL and multilingual education. Bristol, UK: Multilingual Matters.
