Innovation in Language Learning

In 2013, the University of Copenhagen launched the Language Strategy: a 5-year research-supported project aimed at developing and sustaining the implementation of innovative solutions to ensure the best framework for the improvement of students’ language skills across the university in different subject areas and learning environments than language studies.

One of the Language Strategy pilot sub-projects, ‘Reading Strategies in German and French for Literature students’ was organized upon request from the Department of Arts and Cultural Studies due to a noticeable decline in students’ ability to read texts related to their field in the original language. Consequently, a CLIL course aimed at both introducing general reading strategies and strengthening the students’ reading skills was organized and run parallel to the students’ content course.

Simultaneously, requests for similar tailored reading strategy courses at the university increased as more and more students from a variety of fields realized they would like to gain the ability to read disciplinary texts in their field in the original language, without having to enroll in an all-in language course, and, consequently to increase the quality of the learning outcome in their field. A variety of adapted versions of this CLIL reading course have then been implemented across UCPH in different academic fields, such as: philosophy, pedagogy, archeology, theology, and science.

In this presentation, I will introduce the various types of reading strategy courses which have been developed to support the students who normally consider the language aspect in their field not as part of their studies. I will elaborate on the tailored approach of the course organization and content, the cooperation with the content teachers and the feedback from both teachers and students.