SEEU Review vol. 6 Nr. 2 (pdf) - South East European University

Towards Excellence in Education:The Efforts of the Language CenterElena Spirovska, MScHajrulla HajrullaiLuiza Zeqiri, MASerdal XhemaliVeronika Kareva, MScArtan Limani, MALanguage CenterSouth-East European UniversityAbstractThis study and the teaching award project prepared by Language Centerstaff was designed as a group project in which most of the staff membersparticipated with direct involvement in the project or help with conductingthe research. The project was a combination of theoretical research, practicalwork which focused on professional development and a series of workshops,as well as a newsletter which was prepared by members of the LanguageCenter staff and University teachers who teach content subjects. This articlefocuses on the theoretical framework which supports the practicalimplementation of the project. It discusses both language and academicskills as essential elements of English language course design at theLanguage Center (LC) and the specific needs of the teachers and students interms of teaching and learning. The literature review is supported byresearch which provides analysis of the learning on students’ behalf withemphasis on academic skills which are necessary for tertiary education, suchas critical reading and thinking, stating arguments, debating and academicwriting. The purpose of the study was to comparatively analyze students'past and present experiences in ESL learning. For this purpose, thequestionnaire was designed to explore the different methods and approachesthat the students are exposed to in the process of ESL-learning in their highschool and LC. At the same time, this study seeks to emphasize the171