Communication Skills for Academic Managers and Researchers

Aims

Almost all universities in the English-speaking world are highly international in nature and, while researchers, teaching staff and students alike speak myriad mother tongues, English is the academic and social lingua franca and universities have their own culture, professional language and jargon. When it comes to operating effectively and confidently in English, then, many highly qualified and competent overseas professionals worry that they sometimes fail to communicate credibly with research colleagues and students. Our course has been designed with the support of academics, learning and teaching professionals and language educators and aims at getting participants to function effectively, confidently and credibly in an academic context. The purpose is to build skills and confidence in those areas of academic management and leadership where they are most needed. Tailored training can be provided for research teams.

Knowledge into Language

Using a range of approaches and techniques to exploit and operationalise participants’ skills and knowledge, this course uses formal input, role play, case studies and simulations to enhance language, cross-cultural, communicative and interpersonal skills. Participants will practise listening to authentic native and non-native English speech in research, teaching and management contexts and the use of medical language to communicate with the public. The training options can be varied in order to accommodate some or all of the learning outcomes below:

Topics

Appropriate language and skills for leadership, effective communication, coaching and developing others, managing performance effectively, leading change and developing strategic thinking
The language of the market and the language of the academy – balancing the two convincingly
Hedging and diplomatic language, expressing doubt, uncertainty; being sensitive to face, culture, status, gender and social norms. Taking a student-centred approach when communicating or supporting students and staff with sensitive issues and working with colleagues from a variety of backgrounds

Language development

Appropriate language for supervision and assessment of students and helping students make decisions about future directions. Asking for and respecting students’ views and responding to concerns and preferences. Interpersonal skills for situations that may arise during supervision and performance reviews
Adjusting and glossing, rhetorical and discursive styles in teaching, lecturing and dealing with different cohorts of students and staff.
Understanding and decoding irony, sarcasm, inference, ambiguity and the textual, contextual and cultural signals that indicate these phenomena
Understanding colloquial and idiomatic language or ‘normal, everyday English’.

Case study

A range of role plays, simulations and presentations based on authentic supervision, appraisal, research group meetings, exam boards, faculty and departmental meetings. Feedback on language and communication skills is provided through focused review of recorded role plays.

Benefits

Greater spirit of collegiality and credibility through more effective use of language and communication skills
Increased confidence in dealing with colleagues and students.
More effective integration and socialisation into the academic and social culture of the UK and/or international HE sector.
Benchmarking your skills against and presenting to others in a non-threatening environment

Who Is It For?

University administrators, academic researchers and teachers and senior academic support staff at bands 9 and 10 who do not speak English as their first language but who have a high degree of formal proficiency.

Length

Parts I and II; 30 or 60 Contact hours intensive or extensive, residential or on-site