UCL LANGUAGE CENTRE
Course Units 2008‐2009 Course Units General Meeting - Minutes
Wednesday 17 September 2008 14:20‐16:00 Bedford Way, room L.G04 Staff present: Yoko Aldous Marie‐Laure Aris Sylvie Batlle Sara Bragadina Anja Boeing Roberto D’ Onofrio Juan Fernandez Diego Flores‐Jaime Maria‐Teresa Forteza‐Rey Philippe Galinier Claudia Geithner Apologies: Petra Garcia‐Rodriguez Fernando Gracia‐Garcia Luay Hasan Dr. So Hiranuma Dr. Christine Hoffmann Fabrice Lamotte Shaomin Lee Li‐Yun Liao Mireille Michel Marc‐Georges Nowicki Catherine Plant Carmen Requena Jenny Rodgers Karine Roumetz Adam Salisbury Pierre Scordia Chizuko Seki‐Zdrzalka James Sinclair‐Knopp Cristina Testi Anne‐Sophie Vandamme Antonella Veccia Selina Zheng
1.
WELCOME AND INTRODUCTION 1.1 Welcome to all and to James Sinclair‐Knopp, our new Coordinator for the two EAP Course Units; 1.2 There is a new UCL Board of Management panel which now includes Chris Metzger, our EAP Administrator and Adam Salisbury, the Course Units Administrator who both have a good overview and insight into the Language Centre. Our strategic plan has to go to the Board before it goes to the Academic Committee. 1.3 1.4 Mandarin team: there has been some re‐structuring within the team, Li‐yun Liao will now be responsible for Academic Resources and like Edward de Chazal who has the same role within EAP, will be based in the Language Laboratory. As Li‐yun has been carrying out some CETL Project work, the choice was offered for her to also do this instead of coordinating the team; as Shaomin Lee was returning to the Language Centre it also seemed appropriate for him to take over as Coordinator. There will be a budget for purchasing more material for methodology and Li‐yun will offer us workshops. Please liaise with her regarding material – some of the shelves in the Self‐Access Centre seem quite empty so please have a look at this in your teams. Contracts: if anybody has questions about contracts please speak to Christine or to Remo who are able to answer such queries. Course Units General Meeting 2008‐09‐17 – Minutes 2. REGISTRATION FOR COURSE UNITS 2.1 Registration will take place from Monday 22 September – Thursday 02 October when tutors should be available to assess students between 10:00‐17:00. When assessing students, tutors must note the following points: 
Students with a GCSE cannot take Level A, they must start at Level B – if they claim no knowledge anymore then provide them with details of what they should practise and catch‐up with before term begins; 
Be rigorous and firm when assessing – do not offer a choice of two levels or tell the student they may find their level challenging; 
All students need to register their course on Portico (AS explained the Portico registration process to all), as well as see a tutor and have their Registration Form signed – if when you see them they have already chosen a course on Portico, please ask them to amend it, if they choose the incorrect level; 
No native‐speakers can take our courses – if a student has, for example Chinese parents, they must sign and provide proof that they do not come from, or have lived in that country or use the language daily; 
Students from SOAS are not allowed to take Arabic, Japanese or Mandarin at the Language Centre; they can only take the European languages. 2.2 Details of timetabling sessions were distributed: there will be 99 sessions overall and students must be encouraged to attend their session. 3. REGISTRATION FOR SSCs 3.1 Registration times for medics students were given to all – at least one tutor for each language should be available, although the times offered are all during our normal Course Units registration period. 4. REGISTRATION FOR ACADEMIC READING 4.1 We will hold a timetabling session for Academic Reading this year in order to simplify the process; applicants should come to see a French or German tutor (preferably Marc‐Georges or Catherine Plant) anytime between 10:00‐14:00 on Thursday 02 October in the usual Course Units assessment rooms, to have their level confirmed. At 14:00 on the same day the timetabling sessions will take place. Jenny will contact the Graduate School so that this information can go on their website. 4.2 This year Academic Reading will start in the same week as Course Units, week beginning 06 October, so there are 10 weeks before Christmas and 10 weeks after. 5. ANY OTHER BUSINESS 5.1 The UCL Student Union is holding some Language Taster Sessions next week (Mandarin on Wednesday 24 and Arabic on Thursday 25 September) so we will need a tutor from each language for this – please see Jane Skirving regarding exact details; 5.2 UCL will be holding an International Students Orientation Programme on Friday 19 September so we will need some tutors to be available between 10:00‐16:00 in Reception to answer any queries; 5.3 All staff are expected to attend the Language Centre general staff meeting on Wednesday 01 October from 17:15 which Michael Worton will be attending and speaking at, room to be confirmed. Meeting closed at 16.00. Course Unit Administrative Assistant +44 (0) 20 7679 5481 22 September 2008 Course Units General Meeting 2008‐09‐17 – Minutes