EBL and Employability Catherine Franc University of Manchester

EBL and Employability Catherine Franc University of Manchester EBL in Languages 26 September 2008

The world is flat: employment and globalisation 42% of the UK’s 18 -21 year old study in higher education n 1 million full time students n

Language graduates’ careers 3. 5% of language students go into teaching n 21% of employers consider language skills an important capability n Language graduates ‘have the highest employability rates of all humanities graduates’, coming ‘second only to graduates in more narrowly defined vocational subjects such as dentistry. ’ n

Developing ‘soft’ skills The Leitch Report (2006) n ‘Graduates will play a vital role in creating wealth and underpinning the UK’s international competitiveness. ’ Richard Brown (CIHE) n 70% of employers consider soft skills vital for potential graduate recrutees n

Skills favoured by employers n Skills Communication skills Team-working skills Integrity Intellectual ability Confidence Character/personality Planning and organisational skills Literacy (good writing skills) Numeracy (good with numbers) % of employers favouring these skills 86% 85% 83% 81% 80% 75% 74% 71% 68% Analysis & decision-making skills 67% Archer and Davidson, 2008

Employers satisfaction • n n n n n Importance rank Commercial awareness Analysis and decision-making skills Communication skills Literacy Passion Relevant work experience Planning and organisational skills Confidence Personnal development skills Satisfaction rank Gap 13 33 -20 10 1 8 12 17 7 5 21 26 16 23 25 30 17 13 28 -16 -15 -13 -10 -8 -7

Skills developped by language students n n Communication n n Self-management n n Interpersonal Efficient communication Ability to work with others Support and motivate others Operate effectively in teams Efficient with time management Flexibility and adaptibility Self-reliant Leadership Cultural awareness (to value diversity)

Skills developed by language students n Intellectual/cognitive n n n n n Practical and applied Produce material and think under pressure Reflect and judge critically Organise and structure ideas in a coherent manner Mastery of the studied language Subject-related knowledge (politics, history, literature, linguistics…) Use of reference material, library research Language related skills (self-aware independent language learners) ICT skills Employers categories from: King and Honeybone, 2000 Language graduates skills categories from: Employability profiles, 2007 and QAA benchmark, 2007

French language at the University of Manchester 200+ students n 10+ languages tutors n 3 hours per week (oral, written and grammar) n The oral seminar: 25% of the overall language course n

The phonetics project EBL and TBL n The task itself: scenario; organisation of the groups; information on blackboard; research; tutors’ facilitation; class presentation; dossier; self-reflection n Assessment: 10% of oral mark n

Language skills developed during this project: n n Year Phonetics skills improved Phonetics exam (over 60%) Oral French improved 2007 94% 86. 4% 84% 2008 94. 3% 77% 88. 6%

Transferable skills developed by EBL · · Cognitive skills (problem solving, work with information and handle them, draw conclusions); Generic competences (team work, communication skills, listening and questionning, written and oral communication, organistion, interpersonal sensitivity), Personal capabilities (improve ones self awareness, ability to start and finish a job, flexibility, creativity, initiative, leadership and tolerance of stress, responsbility), Technical abilities (working with relevant technology, including ICT).

Transferable skills developed during this project • n n n Research Presentation Group work 2007 2008 94% 96% 92. 4% 93. 6%

A few of the 2008 quotations · · ‘Being able to give presentations confidently is a vital skill that I know I will need for my future career. ’ ‘We learned to cooperate and work together towards the same goal. ’ ‘It has helped me to understand how everyone in the group needs to communicate for a successful project’. ‘The best aspect of doing a project like this is that one is improving their transferable skills’.

More 2008 quotations · · ‘It was interesting to put yourself in the place of the teacher and it did make me actively learn the phonetic rules. It is quite complicated to plan a lesson in a group, however, because it relies on everyone having the same understanding of the problem-quite frustrating sometimes. ’ ‘This project prepares you for later life, as it requires interpersonal skills, and the ability to talk in front of a group or audience. ’