Centre for Academic English – a significant resource for students and staff

"The CAE was established by Professor Kingsley Bolton with the support of the Department of English," explains Dr Maria Kuteeva, acting director of CAE. "Since then it's quickly established itself as an important part of the academic community at SU. The CAE Board includes the Head of Department of English, Claudia Egerer, and professors from the four faculties."

Together with Dr Raffaella Negretti who joined the Centre in January, Dr Kuteeva provides staff and graduate students with much needed training in academic writing skills.

Khadije Obeid, currently studying for a Master's degree in English, took English for Academic Research at the CAE last semester. This course is compulsory for all Master's students in the Faculty of Humanities.

"I was very pleased with the course," Khadije says. "It was very helpful. It didn't just help my academic writing skills, it also helped me understand how to approach academic writing."

Ashley Smith, currently studying for an MA in Film Studies, is also positive about the course: "It's an absolute necessity. It gave me real insight and valuable help. It's important to take a course like this when preparing to write a dissertation."

The CAE recommends Master's students take the course in their third semester.

Khadije Obeid agrees: "It's important to have a topic that you're working on. It makes the course less hypothetical and more relevant to your research."

The Centre doesn't just cater for Master's students. It also offers tailor-made courses for research staff.

Mikael Andéhn, a researcher in Stockholm University's School of Business, took one of the CAE's tailor-made courses last year.

"I was very happy with the course," says Mikael. "It gave me the tools for writing for publication and got me thinking more clearly about how to write for an academic audience. I definitely recommend the CAE."

Dr Raffaella Negretti, who taught writing in the US before joining the Centre, says: "Although students study Academic Writing as part of a course there's some room for individual attention. The interdisciplinary nature of the each group means that we put the focus on the theory and practice of Academic Writing. Participants adapt this to their own field."


The need for academic English skills across the University
The Centre for Academic English recently surveyed the use of English and attitudes towards it as an academic language at Stockholm University.

"We expect to publish the results later this year," says Maria Kuteeva. "I can say, however, that there is considerable variation in the use of English across faculties with generally much greater use of English in the Science and Social Sciences and much less in Law and the Humanities."

The survey indicates quite clearly that staff across faculties believe the University should provide language support to assist them in publishing in English, which is why the centre is launching free workshops for staff in the fall of 2010. All courses offered by the Centre are based on research in the area of English for Academic Purposes.

The Centre for Academic English engages in research and held a successful symposium on Languages for Specific Purposes in January. Selected papers will be published in a special edition of the European Association of Languages for Specific Purposes's peer-reviewed journal next year.

The CAE also provides language support to the departments within Stockholm University offering translation, editing and proofreading. "This support can only be offered on a departmental level, not for individuals," Kuteeva adds.

More information
Email: cae@english.su.se
www.english.su.se

Text: Jon Buscall