Aims and Objectives

To examine and evaluate the use of diaries in the support and development of students on their period of residence abroad by a selection of UK HE institutions.

Outline

The sub-project incorporates a survey of current practice in diary use in support of students abroad in a number of UK HE institutions. It will identify the various purposes of diaries kept during the period of residence abroad, seek to explore their perceived effectiveness in relation to their status , format and the outcomes associated with them and suggest a common core of best practice.

For some of the diary variants, this will take the form of a detailed evaluation of their effectiveness, including student feedback on their use and usefulness.

The idea of an "interactive electronic diary" will be pursued with the help of a mailing list, set up in Sheffield and an evaluation of the participation of students in this list. Guidelines on the management of a Year-abroad mailing list and ideas for alternatives will be discussed.

Outputs/Deliverables

• Comparative study of diary use in support of the period of residence abroad (including purpose, status, outcomes, etc.)

• Guidelines on best practice in the use of diaries to support the period of residence abroad

• Learner support diaries in French, German, Italian and Spanish (i.e. examples)

The diaries listed below have been developed by Tim Lewis and Ursula Stickler at the Modern Languages Teaching Centre, University of Sheffield, as part of the sub-project "Diaries as Learner Support during the year abroad" and are downloadable for use as Word files. 

There are also proposed assessment criteria (22K) for use with these diaries.

Residence Abroad Diary for general use

General purpose front pages
English (42K)
French (22K)
German (18K)
Alternative German (46K)

Diary body in English (170K)

Alternative journal pages to slot into diary body

French (68K)
German (67K)
Spanish (63K)
Italian (67K)

 

Residence Abroad Diary for use in First Semester

French

Front page (42K)
Diary body - English, some French pages (199K)

German

Front page (47K)
Diary body -English, some German pages (198K)

Spanish

Front page (40K)
Diary body - English, some Spanish pages (191K)

Italian

Front page (40K)
Diary body - English, some Italian pages (142K)

Residence Abroad Diary for use in Second Semester

General purpose (English)

Diary body - English, including front page (230K)

French

Front page(42K)
Diary body - English, some French pages (213K)

German

Front page 47K)
Diary body - English, some German pages (139K)
Alternative diary body - German, some English pages (116k) (This was used for incoming Erasmus students.)

Spanish

Font page (40K)
Diary body - English, some Spanish pages (208K)

Italian

Front page (40K)
Diary body - English, some Italian pages (208K)

 

Residence Abroad Diary for Work Placements

English

Diary including front page (371K)

French

Diary without front page (211K)

Front page (41K)

 

German

Diary without front page - German, some English pages (212K)

Diary without front page - all German (218K)

Front page (46K)

 

Spanish

Diary without front page (180K)

Front page (40K)

 

Italian

Diary without front page (179K)

Front page (40K)

 

Residence Abroad Diary for Foreign Language Assistants

English

Diary including front page (209K)