Wholly-owned by the University for almost three decades, the Macquarie University English Language Centre (or ‘ELC’) is delighted to have recently integrated with MUIC to share Student Services, Operations, Student Advisors and Student Engagement staff, and now sits within the portfolio of the Pro-Vice Chancellor (International).
ELC students come from a range of countries who are keen to call Australia and Macquarie University home while they complete their postgraduate, undergraduate, Diploma or Foundation studies in various fields.
ELC Staff, March 2018
10 ELC facts:
The ELC…
- is 29 years old and has had several name changes over the years (NCELTR; CME; ELC)
- articulates hundreds of students into postgraduate and undergraduate degrees as well as MUIC each session
- has won multiple national and institutional awards including for innovation, contribution to professional practice and academic leadership
- offers 5 specialised “Direct Entry Programs” for postgraduates, undergraduates and MUIC-bound students
- has a pass rate of over 90% for postgraduate and undergraduate students undertaking a Direct Entry program
- mentors practicum students on the MA Applied Linguistics and undertakes Action Research in collaboration with the Department of Linguistics
- has many years of experience of delivering post-entry language support, professional short courses and Study Tours
- wrote the content for the highly successful IELTS Online product, which has had 140,000 users worldwide to date
- punches above its weight in terms of sector representation on peak body boards and Special Interest Groups, as conference convenors, and invited plenary or special interest speakers
- got a new Director in 2017 and an inaugural Associate Director in 2018
Sandra Pitronaci, Associate Director ELC Programs
Dr Pamela Humphreys, Director ELC
Curriculum renewal at the ELC
Looks like curriculum renewal is all the rage right now and the ELC is busy with this task too. The ELC has always been committed to delivering high-quality programs and is currently undergoing a two-year curriculum renewal project to refresh all of its English language programs:
- In the last 12 months, the ELC has designed and implemented new curricula for students undertaking a Direct Entry program to MUIC so as to meet the needs of this younger cohort who require more scaffolded, engaging support. In these programs, students learn to read and write academic texts, analyse and describe data, understand lectures, take notes, give presentations and work collaboratively through group projects before they transition to MUIC.
- All four Academic English levels have recently been refreshed too. These courses prepare students for academic interactions and study by introducing them to the spoken and written texts and skills needed for success at university through communicative teaching methodology. Most students take Academic English before one of our Direct Entry programs.
- Our five General English levels are currently being refreshed to align with new teaching approaches and incorporate more language-learning apps and tools into the syllabus. These courses are highly interactive in style and empower students on a social and pragmatic level. General English is a stepping stone into our Academic English courses, where students complete more rigorous linguistic and communicative tasks and are exposed to the kinds of discourse and genre expected at a tertiary institution.
- This year we converted our assessment criteria sheets into rubrics (don’t even mention the word ‘rubric’ to the Senior Teachers after that mammoth task).
- In 2019, we will be embarking on an overhaul of our suite of Direct Entry Programs. These are our flagship courses, and the ELC is considered a leader in the field. We hope to engage with Faculty in the scoping phase of this project in late 2018 to ensure that the content continues to include relevant text types, topics and skills for their future degree, and so that we continue to send well-prepared international students your way!
Find out more about the ELC.
Want more information on
- what a student with IELTS 6.5 (subscore 6.0) (or other language proficiency level) can do?
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- your students’ linguistic abilities or challenges?
- how to support your students’ ongoing linguistic development?
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