Language Workshop supports students’ language development
Sarah Schwarz and Johanna McElwee from the Language Workshop offer tutorials in academic writing and reading. Photo: Tobias Sterner, Bildbyrån
What can teachers do if they notice that students need help with writing or reading? And can students receive guidance on writing academic texts? The Department of Scandinavian Languages offers assistance via the Language Workshop.
The Language Workshop organises lectures, workshops, writing sessions and other activities linked to writing academic texts. Johanna McElwee, Director of Studies for the Language Workshop, explains:
“Teachers can invite us to lectures or writing sessions and make requests in line with the needs of their students and doctoral students. It should be writing linked to the students’ programme, that is, some form of academic writing such as take-home assignments, but we can also offer tutorials in oral presentation or reading academic texts.”
The Language Workshop is not a new activity. It has existed since 2003, initially with an exclusive focus on Swedish, but since 2005 also on English.
“Initially, we only provided writing tutorials to students who could book an appointment with us,” explains Sarah Schwarz, teaching committee chair of the Language Workshop. “And we still offer that.”
Helping students to help themselves
The Language Workshop is run by the Department of Scandinavian Languages. Its aim has always been to support students’ language development in Swedish and English.
“We never read whole texts and do not give feedback on whole texts,” notes McElwee. “We read excerpts. The idea is to give the student feedback to enable them to continue working on their own.”
“But we are still good at skimming long texts,” adds Schwarz. “The most enjoyable part of our job is reading drafts, observing the writing process and giving advice.”
The Language Workshop aims to provide self-help and assists all undergraduate and doctoral students, including students who do not have Swedish as their first language or who have reading and writing difficulties.
“In addition to tutorials and lectures, we also offer seminar series in academic writing as well as oral English for international students,” explains McElwee. “Our seminar series are popular with students.”
Reading and writing difficulties
Some of the teachers at the Language Workshop are specialised in working with students with reading and writing difficulties.
“These can be students with dyslexia, but also ADHD or autism who need extra help,” says Schwarz. “Their diagnoses sometimes affect their reading and writing.”
“We work with students who have a certificate from the coordinators of a permanent disability involving reading and writing difficulties,” says McElwee. “We try to be extra flexible in such cases and it is fine for students to contact the language supervisor directly.”
Otherwise, anyone who wants assistance from the Language Workshop should fill in a form and send in their requests.
“Teachers who want to book a lecture should fill in the form available on the Staff Gateway,” says Schwarz. “We then have a joint discussion to pinpoint a good solution. There is a corresponding form on the Student Gateway for students who wish to book tutorials.”
In addition to students and doctoral students, teaching staff can also make use of the Language Workshop.
“We offer workshops on how to support your students’ academic language development,” says McElwee. “You can sign up for our workshops or invite us to a staff day to talk about students’ reading and writing.”
AI in an exciting period
The appearance of AI among students has changed, and will continue to change, many aspects of studying.
“When it comes to AI, we at the Language Workshop have become even more relevant,” notes Schwarz. “We are currently developing a workshop where teachers can carry out practical exercises and test the use of AI for writing academic texts. We want to be there to help teachers determine whether or not to use AI in their teaching, and if so, how. In this sense we act as a bridge between teachers and students.”
Students are already using AI in different ways.
“In our AI workshop, teachers will test AI for different tasks to gain a deeper understanding of the possibilities and limitations of the tool,” explains McElwee. “We cannot tell teachers and students what to do, but we can encourage clarity and transparency. Our role is simpler, we don't have to take a position.”
Schwarz considers the current period to be an exciting one. She believes that the whole writing process needs to be highlighted, not just the final product.
“We are in a period which forces us all to put into words why we write,” concludes McElwee.
Ulrika Hurtig
Facts
- The Language Workshop has been open since 2003.
- The Language Workshop is run by the Department of Scandinavian Languages and located at the English Park Campus in Uppsala as well as on Campus Gotland.
- The Language Workshop organises lectures, workshops, writing sessions and other activities linked to reading and writing academic texts and giving oral presentations.
- Tutorials take place on Zoom or on site, while lectures usually take place on site.
- Teaching staff can sign up for the workshops for teachers individually or book a workshop for a learning day.
- The services of the Language Workshop are free of charge.
- The easiest way to contact the Language Workshop is to fill in the forms available on the Student and Staff Gateways.
- In 2023, the Language Workshop organised 1,125 tutorial sessions and 118 lectures for undergraduate and doctoral students.