This paper outlines a nationally funded research project which examines the competences needed by language educators in Higher Education contexts. We provide background on the currently available frameworks and demonstrate how a context-specific profile of competences is crucial for languages in the HE sector.
Higher education language educators teaching foreign languages and Irish in Ireland comprise a disparate group including professional language teachers, academic staff, postgraduate tutors, part-time staff and externally funded educators. These educators come from vastly varied educational and professional backgrounds, and have various levels of engagement with professional development specific to language teaching. In addition, the context of language teaching in HE has specific aims, approaches and assessment structures which are often not captured by existing framework for language teacher competences (see https://www.ecml.at/ECML-Programme/Programme2016-2019/Guidetoteachercompetences/Inventory/tabid/3024/language/en-GB/Default.aspx).
This paper describes the findings of an inter-institutional project funded by the National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, Ireland which aims to provide a profile of competences for HE language educators in order to support them in their pursuit of professional development (PD).
A survey of the higher education language teaching landscape comprising a number of HEIs in Ireland was conducted providing the first empirically informed overview of the sector. Interviews were then conducted with language educators, language unit managers and graduates, in addition to focus groups conducted with students. Based on the findings of these qualitative methods, a questionnaire was subsequently administered to language education staff nationally. The competence priorities identified through this research were incorporated into a spiky profile tool which allows teachers to self-assess their CPD needs and directs them to potential activities to address these.
We propose that this profile tool could be adapted to other HE contexts where similar issues are identifiable with an overarching aim of moving towards the professionalization of the field of HE language education and offering educators the opportunity to reflect on their own competences.
