UCL LANGUAGE CENTRE
Course   Units   Board   of   Examiners   Meeting
Minutes
Thursday   07   June   2012
10:40 ‐ 13:00
26   Bedford   Way,   room   113
Chaired   by   Dr   Christine   Hoffmann
Present
Yoko   Aldous
Mary ‐ Anne   Ansell
Anja   Boeing
Sophie   Bourguignon
(arrived   12.05)
Siqin   Brown
Carmen   Cabrera ‐ Balaguer
Petra   Garcia ‐ Rodriguez
Claudia   Geithner
Luay   Hasan
Dr   So   Hiranuma
Dr   Christine   Hoffmann
Karen   Kruse
Catherine   Plant
Barbara   Resta
Jenny   Rodgers
Karine   Roumetz
(arrived   12.30)
Adam   Salisbury
Fabio   Sastre ‐ Alonso
Rachel   Clarke
Roberto   D’Onofrio
Dominic   Dengler
Madeleine   Du   Vivier
Juan   Fernandez
Hector   Ferreira   Duran
Maria ‐ Teresa   Forteza ‐ Rey
Fabrice   Lamotte
Li ‐ yun   Liao   (arrived   10:55)
Cathy   Morand
Sibylle   Moulin
Farida   Mounti
Marc ‐ Georges   Nowicki
Junko   Ogawa
Pierre   Scordia
Chizuko   Seki ‐ Zdralka
James   Sinclair ‐ Knopp
Genesia   Spagnuolo
Cristina   Testi
Anne ‐ Sophie   Vandamme
Selina   Zheng
1 WELCOME   AND   INTRODUCTION
1.a
Matters   arising   from   previous   Board   of   Examiners   meeting   (15   June   2011)   –   all   action   points   addressed;
1.b
Minutes   of   previous   Board   were   approved   and   no   further   matters   arising.
1.2
Apologies:   Marie ‐ Laure   Aris,   Flavia   D’Angelantonio,   Jo ‐ Ann   Delaney,   Dr   Claudia   Faust,   Diego   Flores ‐ Jaime,   Ying   Fu,
Mireille   Michel.
RECEIVED
1.3
All   present   received   agenda,   Course   Units   and   SSC   results   and   mark   schemes;
NOTED
1.4
Confirmation   that   all   results   and   Board   matters   are   dealt   with   confidentially,   using   only   candidate   numbers   (introduced   in   2009 ‐ 2010);
1.5
Confirmation   that   moderation   by   the   Visiting   Examiners   has   taken   place   for   all   languages   –   except   for   Arabic;   a   new   external   examiner   from   SOAS   was   in   place   however   we   were   informed   only   this   week   that   they   have   left   their   position.
A   replacement   from   SOAS   was   immediately   found   and   kindly   moderated   yesterday.
1.6
Board   of   Examiners   pre ‐ meeting   took   place   on   01   June   2012   with   Dr   Claudia   Faust   to   review   and   categorise   cases   of   extenuating   circumstances;
1.7
Referred   Assessments
1
will   take   place   over   the   summer   and   results   passed   to   Registry   before   the   next   academic   year;
1.8
Some   students   have   completed   all   assessment   except   for   the   oral   exam;   as   the   Course   Units   administration   now   book   oral   exam   slots   for   everyone   who   has   not,   they   all   should   have.
Some   are   resits   so   it   is   not   clear   if   they   are   actually   resitting   this   year:
1
For   students   on   the   harmonised   scheme   and   in   any   year   other   than   the   final   year   who   receive   a   result   of   F   –   between   35 ‐ 39%   there   is   the   opportunity   of
referred   assessment .
UCL   Language   Centre   Course   Units   Board   of   Examiners   Meeting   2012 ‐ 06 ‐ 07  ‐  Minutes

AGREED
Three   are   resits   who   sat   the   Reading   and   Writing   exam   but   not   the   Oral   exam:   it   was   proposed   to   offer   them   one   more   opportunity   to   take   the   exam   during   this   month.
2 CONDUCT   OF   EXAMS
2.1
Chair   confirmed   that   there   were   no   reported   exam   irregularities.
3.
COMMENTS   OF   VISITING   EXAMINERS
3.1
English   for   Academic   Purposes   (LCEN6001   and   LCEN6801)   –   Mary ‐ Anne   Ansell :
 The   development   of   the   assessment   format   is   very   good,   especially   the   academic   word   list   which   is   a   useful   source   and   the   adjustments   to   other   assessments   in   right   direction;
 With   the   Researched   essay   students   must   submit   3   samples   of   their   sources,   which   provide   very   good   training.
3.2
French   –   Sibylle   Moulin:
 Impressive   work   produced   by   students   at   all   levels,   demonstrating   their   success   in   building   up   their   4   language   skills   and   transferable   skills,   e.g.
the   research   Project   –   with   which   course   objectives   are   clearly   met;
 Good,   structured   marking   from   the   team   with   justification   for   all   marks   given   and   thorough   feedback;
 Oral   exams   carried   out   in   professional   and   convivial   manner   and   marks   distributed   fairly;
 Final   exam   papers   were   very   well   designed   and   French   team   has   taken   care   to   choose   final   topics   that   students   can
relate   to;
NOTED
For   the   Level   3   (C)   exam   paper   there   are   7   tasks   and   not   enough   time   given   to   complete   them,   compared   to   other   levels.
French   team   to   review.
3.3
Spanish   –   Karen   Kruse:
 Good,   diverse   assessment   with   exercises   testing   all   skills   and   thorough   marking;
 Thanks   especially   to   the   tutors   who   for   extra   notes   re   marking   in   the   exam   scripts,   which   really   helped   with   moderation;
NOTED
A   lot   of   1:1   marks   given   to   beginners   level   A   Projects:   it   is   important   that   false   expectations   are   not   given.
To   be   addressed   by   Spanish   team.
3.4
Japanese   –   Junko   Ogawa:
 Oral   exams:   there   seemed   to   a   mixture   of   how   much/how   many   questions   student   were   asked,   within   levels;
As   the   marking   scheme   is   divided   into   several   categories,   it   would   be   helpful   if   each   category   received   a   mark,   instead   of   one   overall   mark.
 Listening   assessment:   some   reservations   about   students   being   asked   to   summarise   what   they   hear  ‐  listening   and   writing   are   such   different   skills;   this   is   a   disadvantage   to   European   students;
NOTED
 Reading   and   Writing   exam:   these   were   well   thought   out   and   intellectually   relevant,   but   were   too   demanding   for   the   limited   time   available   to   complete   the   tasks.
The   more   complex,   the   more   time   is   needed   to   understand   –   the   number   of   questions   should   be   reviewed,   for   higher   levels;
3.5
Mandarin   –   Ying   Fu   (comments   summarised   by   Chair):
 Good   to   see   the   improvement   made   in   the   first   section   of   the   Level   A   examination   paper,   as   discussed   last   year,   about   reformatting   in   order   to   make   better   questions   for   the   task;
NOTED
 It   would   be   an   improvement   if   the   Oral   exam   briefs   (topics)   are   sent   to   the   external   examiner   at   the   same   time   as   the   drafts   of   the   Reading   and   Writing   exams,   as   this   is   common   practice   in   other   universities.
Noted.
3.6
Italian  ‐  Flavia   D’Angelantonio   (comments   summarised   by   Chair):
 Good   standard   of   assessment   and   course   content;   exam   papers   were   well   balanced   and   appropriate   for   each   level,   all   papers   challenging,   well   organised   and   well   structured;
 The   method   and   standard   of   marking   was   very   well   carried   out   and   marks   were   fair   and   consistent.
3.7
German   –   Dr   Claudia   Faust   (comments   summarised   by   Chair):
 Good   quality   exams   with   a   variety   of   informative   and   challenging   tasks;
NOTED
 There   seemed   to   be   a   few   cases   with   the   Project   where   students   obviously   had   some   help   with   their   work   and   did   not   include   proper   citations;   students   need   to   have   more   guidance   on   Project   writing:
Suggestions:
Using   Moodle   for   guidance;   it   might   be   worth   issuing   a   Language   Centre   paper   on   citation   which   could   be   used   across   all   languages;
UCL   Language   Centre   Course   Units   Board   of   Examiners   Meeting   2012 ‐ 06 ‐ 07  ‐  Minutes

 Students   of   lower   levels   in   particular   seem   to   use   linguistic   constructions   above   their   level;
Suggestions:
Prescribe   a   project   format,   e.g.
letter   or   diary,   in   which   they   then   include   the   information   they   have   gathered   in   their   resource   texts;
Students   should   practise   similar   tasks   in   class;
 If   you   were   to   consider   an   alternative   assessment   for   lower   levels,   one   idea   would   be   a   portfolio   or   a   reflective   learning   journal.
 Good   evidence   of   1 st
and   2 nd
marking   with   useful   additional   comments   given   from   the   examiners;
 Some   marks   were   raised   due   to   overall   impression   of   the   students   concerned.
 The   tutors   prepared   their   students   well   and   were   clearly   devoted   and   interested   in   their   work.
 Courses   very   well   administered.
3.8
Teaching   English   as   a   Foreign   Language   –   Jo ‐ Ann   Delaney   (Comments   summarised   by   Chair):
 Students’   performance   indicated   that   the   range   of   assessment   type   offered   excellent   opportunities   for   different   skills   to   be   demonstrated,   from   more   theoretical   components   to   practical   teaching;
 As   the   assessment   allows   students   to   excel   in   different   areas,   students   with   different   strengths   are   able   to   achieve   higher   marks,   which   provides   good   equality   of   access   to   success;
 During   the   teaching   practice   and   post   lesson   feedback   students   demonstrated   a   high   level   of   both   teaching   and   general   employability   skills;
 The   oral   exam   is   well   designed.
I   have   spoken   with   the   course   coordinator   and   plan   to   sit   in   on   some   of   next   years’   exams;
 There   is   excellent   assignment   feedback:   good   to   see   that   in   the   very   good   assignments   it   is   still   indicated   that   there   is   something   to   work   on;
 The   final   exam   was   well   designed   with   a   detailed   and   fair   mark   scheme.
I   have   suggested   to   the   course   coordinator   that   making   minor   changes   to   two   answer   rubrics   should   be   considered,   in   order   to   ensure   they   are   more   in   line   with   the   marks   awarded;
AGREED
4.
COMMENTS   OF   LANGUAGE   COORDINATORS
4.1
Japanese   –   Dr   So   Hiranuma:
 A   successful   year,   with   high   numbers   for   Level   B,   although   lower   numbers   for   Level   A,   which   usually   accounts   for
50%   of   our   students;
4.2
German   –   Anja   Boeing:
 It   has   been   another   good   year   with   good   numbers   and   some   medical   students;
 For   another   year   we   have   had   a   new   combination   of   tutors   in   the   team   and   again,   have   worked   well   together.
4.3
French   –   Mireille   Michel   (comments   summarised   by   Chair):
 Thanks   given   to   the   team,   to   the   Visiting   Examiner   and   Course   Units   administration   for   contributing   to   another   successful   year;
 Noted   and   agreement   with   comments   from   Visiting   Examiner   that   students   engaged   well   with   the   exams,   as   the   topics   were   close   to   students’   interests;
 Once   again   all   syllabi   offered   ran   in   French   this   year   and   we   also   had   students   from   the   Language   Centre   UPCH   course   participating   on   our   course   units.
4.4
Italian   –   Roberto   D’Onofrio :
 Most   levels   ran,   including   some   with   small   classes   which   was   great,   especially   when   the   Italian   Department   don’t   offer   a   particular   course;
 It   has   been   a   challenging   year   with   two   new   tutors,   but   all   worked   well   together.
4.5
Spanish   –   Carmen   Cabrera ‐ Balaguer:
 Thanks   to   all   for   a   successful   year   and   to   Hector   Ferreira   Duran   who   replaced   one   of   our   tutors   on   maternity   leave   from   week   3;
 The   exam   scripts   were   very   challenging,   requiring   a   lot   of   time   to   prepare.
4.6
Teaching   English   as   a   Foreign   Language   –   Madeleine   du   Vivier:
 It   has   been   interesting   to   deal   with   low   student   numbers   this   year   (only   8   participants),   however   we   must   recruit   18   for   next   year;   we   have   looked   at   different   ways   of   publicising   the   course,   with   the   administration   team;
 It   has   been   interesting   for   Jo ‐ Ann   Delaney   who   was   our   CELTA   assessor   last   year   and   TEFL   Visiting   Examiner   this   year.
4.7
Arabic   –   Luay   Hasan:
 It   has   been   a   successful   year   with   more   students   than   ever,   who   seem   happy   with   their   progress;
 Thanks   to   the   team   and   in   particular   to   Dr   Amal   Al ‐ Ayoubi   from   SOAS   who   helped   with   moderation   at   extremely   short   notice.
NB   from   Chair:   Dr   Al ‐ Ayoubi   says   she   saw   good   evidence   of   1 st
and   2 nd
marking.
UCL   Language   Centre   Course   Units   Board   of   Examiners   Meeting   2012 ‐ 06 ‐ 07  ‐  Minutes

5.5
4.8
Mandarin   –   Dr   Christine   Hoffmann   (Chair) :
 Thanks   to   the   team,   especially   to   Li ‐ yun   Liao   who   has   organised   the   team   very   well;
 There   were   fewer   students   this   year,   but   we   are   hoping   to   attract   more   in   2012 ‐ 2013   with   the   new   Chinese   Health   and   Humanity   MA   for   which   participants   will   be   required   to   study   two   1.0
units   of   Mandarin   with   us.
4.9
English   for   Academic   Purposes   –   James   Sinclair ‐ Knopp:
 There   has   been   a   good   interest   in   both   courses;   for   LCEN6001   students   really   do   require   all   4   skills,   for   example
Erasmus   students’   EAP   needs   are   different   and   some   Departments   don’t   require   a   much   academic   writing.
5
5.1
5.2
CONFIRMATION   OF   COURSE   UNITS   RESULTS
Procedures   for   categorising   Extenuating   Circumstances   were   explained   by   Chair   and   confirmed   that   category   A   is   given   to   the   highest/most   severe   cases,   category   X   to   the   least   severe.
It   was   noted   that   the   normal   procedure   is   to   not   change   marks   unless   they   are   borderline.
Any   cases   will   be   discussed   and   confirmed   now   as   we   reach   the   relevant   course   code.
SYLLABUS   A
Arabic,   French,   German,   Italian,   Japanese,   Mandarin   and   Spanish   0.5
Course   Units
LCAR6001,   LCFR6001,   LCGE6001,   LCIT6001,   LCJA6001,   LCMA6001,   LCSP6001   –   All   results   approved.
5.2.a
LCSP6001   –   the   following   resit   student   will   be   offered   the   Oral   exam   later   this   month,   as   agreed   in
5.3
5.4
point   1.8
earlier:   Candidate   TYMY0 ;
SYLLABUS   B
Arabic,   French,   German,   Italian,   Japanese,   Mandarin   and   Spanish   0.5
and   1.0
Course   Units
LCAR6002,   LCFR6002,   LCGE6002,   LCIT6002,   LCJA6002,   LCMA6002,   LCSP6002,   LCAR6012,   LCFR6012,   LCGE6012,
LCIT6012,   LCJA6012,   LCMA6012,   LCSP6012   –   All   results   approved.
SYLLABUS   C
Arabic,   French,   German,   Italian,   Japanese,   Mandarin   and   Spanish   0.5
Course   Units
French,   German,   Italian,   Japanese,   Mandarin   and   Spanish   1.0
Course   Units
LCAR6003,   LCFR6003,   LCGE6003,   LCIT6003,   LCJA6003,   LCMA6003,   LCSP6003,   LCFR6023,   LCGE6023,   LCIT6023,
LCJA6023,   LCMA6023,   LCSP6023   –   All   results   approved.
5.4.a
LCIT6003:   Candidate   TTVQ4   –   Extenuating   Circumstances   category   A:   Italian   team   feel   mark   should   remain   at   66%   as   does   reflect   true   ability   (no   grade   A   students   in   this   class).
All   agreed;
5.4.b
LCIT6003:   Candidate   TRQM5   –   Extenuating   Circumstances   category   X:   All   agreed   that   mark   should   remain   at   58%;
5.4.c
LCFR6023 :   the   following   resit   student   will   be   offered   the   Oral   exam   later   this   month,   as   agreed   in   point
1.8
earlier:   Candidate   TQRK7 ;
5.4.d
LCGE6023:   Candidate   WGQZ0   –   Extenuating   Circumstances   category   X:   all   agreed   that   mark   should
5.6
5.7
remain   at   63%.
SYLLABUS   D
French,   German,   Italian,   Japanese   and   Spanish   0.5
Course   Units
French,   German,   Italian,   Japanese   and   Spanish   1.0
Course   Units
LCFR6004,   LCGE6004,   LCIT6004,   LCJA6004,   LCSP6004,   LCFR6034,   LCGE6034,   LCIT6034,   LCJA6034,   LCSP6034   –
All   results   approved.
5.5.a
LCSP6004:   Candidate   VBNR7   –   Extenuating   Circumstances   category   C:   all   agreed   result   should   remain   at   57%.
BUSINESS   AND   CURRENT   AFFAIRS
French,   German,   Italian,   Japanese,   Mandarin   and   Spanish   0.5
Course   Units
French,   German,   Italian,   Japanese,   Mandarin   and   Spanish   1.0
Course   Units
LCFR6005,   LCGE6005,   LCIT6005,   LCJA6005,   LCMA6005,   LCSP6005,   LCFR6045,   LCGE6045,   LCIT6045,   LCJA6045,
LCMA6045,   LCSP6045   –   All   results   approved.
5.6A
LCGE6005:   Candidate   WPPZ2  ‐  Extenuating   Circumstances   category   X:   all   agreed   result   should   remain   at   72%;
5.6B
LCGE6005:   Candidate   VJDX3  ‐  Extenuating   Circumstances   category   X:   all   agreed   result   should   remain   at   59%;
5.6C
LCMA6005:   Candidate   WFYZ3  ‐  Extenuating   Circumstances   category   C:   all   agreed   result   should   remain   at   61%;
5 .
6D   LCSP6005:   Candidate   WPPZ2   –   Extenuating   Circumstances   category   X:   all   agreed   result   should   remain   at   65%.
CURRENT   AFFAIRS   AND   CULTURE   (Social,   Historical   and   Political)
French,   German,   Italian   and   Spanish   0.5
Course   Units
French,   German,   Italian,   Japanese   and   Spanish   1.0
Course   Units
LCFR6006,   LCGE6006,   LCIT6006,   LCSP6006,   LCFR6056,   LCGE6056,   LCIT6056,   LCJA6056,   LCSP6056   –
UCL   Language   Centre   Course   Units   Board   of   Examiners   Meeting   2012 ‐ 06 ‐ 07  ‐  Minutes

6.4
6.5
7
7.1
8
8.1
8.2
6
6.1
6.2
6.3
5.8
5.9
5.10
5.11
5.12
5.13
5.14
5.15
All   results   approved.
5.7A
LCIT6056:   Candidate   VNLW2   –   Extenuating   Circumstances   category   X:   all   agreed   result   should   remain   at   59%.
PROFESSIONAL   PURPOSES   II
French,   German,   Japanese   and   Spanish   0.5
Course   Units
French,   German,   Japanese   and   Spanish   1.0
Course   Units
LCFR6007,   LCGE6007,   LCJA6007,   LCSP6007,   LCFR6067,   LCGE6067,   LCJA6067,   LCSP6067   –   All   results   approved.
5.8A
LCSP6067:   Candidate   TTVQ4   –   Extenuating   Circumstances   category   A:   all   agreed   result   should   remain   at   51%;
5.8B
LCSP6067:   Candidate   TXJB7   –   Extenuating   Circumstances   category   X:   all   agreed   result   should   remain   at   58%.
ACADEMIC   PURPOSES   –   INTRODUCTION
French   and   Spanish   0.5
Course   Units
All   results   approved.
ACADEMIC   PURPOSES   II
French,   German,   Italian   and   Spanish   0.5
Course   Units
French   and   Spanish   1.0
Course   Units
LCFR6807,   LCGE6807,   LCIT6807,   LCSP6807,   LCFR6867,   LCSP6867   –   All   results   approved.
TRANSLATION   SKILLS
French,   German,   Italian   and   Spanish   0.5
Course   Units
LCFR6907,   LCGE6907,   LCIT6907,   LCSP6907   –   All   results   approved .
FRENCH   FOR   ART   HISTORIANS   0.5
COURSE   UNIT
LCFA6801   –   Results   approved
ENGLISH   LANGUAGE   SKILLS   FOR   ACADEMIC   PURPOSES   0.5
COURSE   UNIT
LCEN6001   –   Results   approved;
5.13A
Candidate   TXJB7   –   Extenuating   Circumstances   category   X:   all   agreed   result   should   remain   at   45%.
ACADEMIC   WRITING   IN   ENGLISH   FOR   NON ‐ NATIVE   SPEAKERS   0.5
COURSE   UNIT
LCEN6801   –   Results   approved
TEACHING   ENGLISH   AS   A   FOREIGN   LANGUAGE   1.0
COURSE   UNIT
LCTE7900   –   Results   approved
5.15A:   Candidate   TYSD5   –   Extenuating   Circumstances   category   B:   all   agreed   result   should   remain   at   56%.
CONFIRMATION   OF   SSC   RESULTS
SYLLABUS   A
Arabic,   French,   German,   Italian,   Japanese,   Mandarin   and   Spanish   SSC’s   –   All   results   approved.
SYLLABUS   B
German   and   Spanish   SSC’s   –   All   results   approved .
SYLLABUS   C
French   and   Japanese   SSC’s   –   All   results   approved.
SYLLABUS   D
French   and   Spanish   SSC’s   –   All   results   approved.
MEDICINE   AND   CURRENT   AFFAIRS
French   SSC’s   –   All   results   approved.
DATES   FOR   2012 ‐ 2013
Board   of   Examiners   meeting:   Wednesday   05   June   2013   –   to   be   confirmed.
ANY   OTHER   BUSINESS
If   eligible,   we   will   ask   our   Visiting   Examiners   to   continue   for   another   year   of   service;
New   developments   for   Course   Units   in   2012 ‐ 2013,   resulting   in   higher   student   numbers   will   include:
 MA   European   History:   students   on   this   course   will   now   be   required   to   take   language   units   for   credit;
 MA   in   Transnational   Studies:   students   on   this   new   History   MA   will   be   required   to   take   a   language   unit   for   credit;
 Our   courses   will   now   be   also   be   available   to   all   graduate   students   at   UCL   –   if   they   are   permitted   to   take   a   course   for   credit;   they   will   have   their   own   separate   graduate   module   codes;
 BA   in   Arts   and   Sciences:   students   will   have   to   take   a   language   unit   on   each   year   of   the   course;   there   are   approximately   80   students   for   next   year;
 The   UCL   Dutch   Department   requested   some   input   from   us   in   identifying   the   interest   in   Dutch.
We   will   be   applying   for   some   Dutch   Course   Units,   at   levels   A ‐ D,   to   be   run   in   conjunction   with   the   Dutch   Department.
We   will   assist   in   recruiting/enrolling   students   for   these;
UCL   Language   Centre   Course   Units   Board   of   Examiners   Meeting   2012 ‐ 06 ‐ 07  ‐  Minutes

 As   SSEES
2
does   not   offer   Russian   Course   Units,   we   will   apply   for   these,   to   be   run   in   conjunction   with   SSEES;
 UCL   GCSE   requirement:   all   undergraduates   starting   at   UCL   must   now   have   a   GCSE   in   a   foreign   language,   if   not   they   are   required   to   take   a   course   unit   at   the   Language   Centre.
If   their   Department   and   programme   diet   does   not   permit   them   to   take   a   language   unit   for   credit,   we   will   need   to   run   separate,   non ‐ credit   bearing   classes   for
8.3
these   students.
Anonymity:   Karen   Kruse   raised   the   issue   as   feels   it   would   be   useful   to   have   student   names   when   reviewing   results   at   this   meeting,   in   particular   regarding   cases   of   extenuating   circumstances,   or   even   a   separate   list   of   names   and   candidate   numbers;
Chair   confirmed   that   UCL   regulations   do   not   allow   this,   candidate   numbers   must   be   used.
Meeting   closed   at   13:00.
Course   Units   Administrator
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02   July   2012
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The   UCL   School   of   Slavonic   and   East   European   Studies
UCL   Language   Centre   Course   Units   Board   of   Examiners   Meeting   2012 ‐ 06 ‐ 07  ‐  Minutes