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

SEEU Review Volume 6, No. 2, 2010center was new and in some aspects a vague concept. It was created as aresponse to the strong language requirement stated in the SEE Universityfaculties’ curricula. As a result, it provides service to the almost entirestudents’ population studying at SEEU.The courses offered by the Language center can be initially divided intotwo groups: BSE (Basic Skills English) and ESP (English for SpecificPurposes). The first group is designed to introduce or improve the generallanguage skills. It is subdivided into 3 different levels according to thestudents’ proficiency (elementary, lower intermediate, and intermediate in 2consecutive semesters). The students are initially placed into the appropriatelevel by administering an official placement test (pre-TOEFL) or aplacement test created for this purpose. BSE courses focuses on developingstudents language skills, emphasizing the importance of reading and writingwith particular assignments designed in order to improve these skills andincorporate them into the grading criteria. Academic and AdvancedAcademic English groups are considered as a part of the Basic English Skillsprogram. These courses focus on developing language as well as academicskills which are applicable in content subjects learning and teaching such as:paragraph writing, essay writing, critical reading, debate techniques andpersuasive speaking, character analysis in literary works and criticalthinking, which are developed through various materials, assignments andassessed continuously.English for Specific Purposes courses are designed in order to helpstudents with their occupational needs in terms of English. The coursedesign was guided by two basic ideas: students need English in order tostudy, be able to take certain courses and use materials and that they alsoneed to be able to apply their acquired language skills in real life situations.Apart from terminology related to their field of study, the course designcombines language skills, job hunting skills, as well as academic skills,which are focused on projects and skills considered to be important in thefuture.This traditional academic setting implied that English is included in thefaculties’ curricula as one or two courses in two consecutive semesters,where identical courses are offered to students regardless of their individuallanguage proficiency, focusing mainly on reading comprehension textsaccompanied by vocabulary activities related to the text. The idea of testingthe students and placing them into different levels according to theirpreparedness and offering them courses which are adequate to them in termsof proficiency and the number of hours per week was new. The notion ofEnglish as a core course is still not accepted among certain members of the175