Aaron Woodcock
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+44 (0) 118 378 6759
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Lecturer
- Teaching English for Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM)
- Coordination, quality assurance and development of discipline-specific language and communication skills provision delivered by our transnational education partners
- Mentoring new Module Convenors
Background
I have nearly 20 years' experience working within international education, with a particular interest in designing and delivering discipline-specific language and literacy courses for undergraduate transnational students. My previous responsibilities at the Institute have included designing an English language and communication skills module for in-sessional Chemistry undergraduates and managing the summer pre-sessional English course for prospective undergraduates. Prior to joining Reading in 2014, I developed and delivered Chemistry, Biology and English language courses for international students at the University of Exeter, UK, and the British Council Young Learners Centre in Madrid, Spain.
Academic qualifications
Diploma in English Language Teaching to Adults (DELTA), University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations
Post Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) in Secondary Chemistry, University of Exeter
BSc (Hons) Environmental Science with European Studies, University of Sussex
- English language and communication skills in STEM
- Intercultural communication and collaboration in education
- Teacher training and development
Professional bodies/affiliations
- Senior Fellow of Higher Education Academy (SFHEA)
- Member of BALEAP (the Global Forum for English for Academic Purposes Professionals)
- Reviewer for the CEFR Journal - Research and Practice https://cefrjapan.net/journal, Japan Association for Language Teaching (JALT)
- Conference Papers and Presentations:
- English Language and communication skills in STEM
Selected publications
- 'Ask the Expert: How mediation tasks have been used to assess ESAP language competence' (presentation), English for Specific Purposes (ESAP) Conference 2019: Something old, something new: mediation in the context of ESAP, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, May 2019
- 'Talking Science: Case studies of speaking (and listening) skills development in food science, chemistry and meteorology' (presentation jointly delivered by James Wylie, Louise Bourguignon and myself), EAP in the South East event: EAP for STEM, University of Reading, Feb 2018
- 'Two in one: Meeting the challenge of specificity and developing scientific communications skills' (presentation), English for Specific Academic Purposes (ESAP) Conference 2017, Ruhr-Universität Bochum Language Centre (ZFA), Germany, May 2017
- 'Walking the line: Selecting and teaching Chemistry-specific vocabulary' (presentation), Inform Conference - Working with Words: Supporting understanding of discipline-specific vocabulary in IFP's Durham University, Jul 2016
- Intercultural communications and collaboration in education
- 'Practically Speaking: A study into the oral learning environment experienced by students undertaking practical classes as part of a transnational education (TNE) programme' (presentation jointly delivered by Phillippa Cranwell and myself), Classroom Interaction at the Internationalised University symposium, University of Surrey, Dec 2018
- 'Interdepartmental & interpersonal bridge-building: three disciplinary models for embedded writing assessment' (presentation jointly delivered by Karin Whiteside and myself), BALEAP 2017 Conference Addressing the state of the union: Working together = learning together, Bristol University, Apr 2017
- Teacher training and development
- 'Demystifying IELTS: What the different English language entry levels really mean for you and your students' (workshop jointly delivered by Anne Vicary and myself), Centre for Quality Support and Development (CQSD) Teaching and Learning Programme for staff, University of Reading, Mar 2017
- 'Bringing theory into practice: Developing an advanced in-sessional essay-writing course' (presentation jointly delivered by Karin Whiteside and myself), Language Teaching & Research Forum, ISLI, Mar 2016
- 'Designing a subject-specific EAP course for chemists: A critical overview of how the English Language for Chemists module was designed, and is delivered' (presentation jointly delivered by Language and Content in EAP, University of St Andrews, Feb 2016
- 'Meeting the needs of science students: observations and ideas' (presentation), ISLI Learning & Teaching Forum, University of Reading, 2015