English Language Development for University Staff
What is it?
The English Language Teaching Centre (ELTC) offers a series of short online workshops for international staff at the University to help them develop their English language and communication skills. Please see below for more details.
Who is it for?
These online workshops would particularly benefit staff in academic roles (e.g. visiting scholars, post docs, researchers, teaching assistants, lecturers) who do not have English as a first language and who want to improve their communication skills and knowledge of English in a Higher Education context.
Numbers are limited to 12 attendees for each workshop, so it is important to register and attend as planned (the sessions will not be recorded).
All workshops will be held online using Blackboard Collaborate. The link to the sessions will be sent to you once you have registered.
Registration is now open. To register please click on the links below for each workshop.
If you have any further queries please email: eltc.support@sheffield.ac.uk
Workshop Programme
Workshop 1: The Language of Lectures
Wednesday 12th May, 2:30pm to 3:30pm
The workshop will cover some of the following topics depending on the needs of the participants.
- Speaking to give key points and important information
- Speaking to engage people's interest in a topic
- Signposting language
- Intonation and emphasis in UK English
- Pronunciation challenges and strategies for managing these
The session will be a combination of a webinar and break out groups. Participants will need to use a webcam and microphone.
Workshop 2: The Language of Tutorials
Friday 14th May, 2:30pm to 3:30pm
The workshop will cover some of the following topics depending on the needs of the participants.
- Speaking to communicate difficult information (eg low grades, resits, plagiarism issues)
- Speaking to respond to upsetting or challenging situations (eg when there is bereavement, illness, financial problems or if students are not coping with academic study)
- Useful language for tutorials (academic and pastoral)
- Question forms with conditionals
- Questions to promote reflection
- Eliciting responses from reticent students
The session will be a combination of a webinar and break out groups. Participants will need to use a webcam and microphone.
Workshop 3: The Language of Seminars
Wednesday 19th May, 2:30pm to 3:30pm
The workshop will cover some of the following topics depending on the needs of the participants.
- Language to facilitate / guide student discussions (including idioms / phrasal verbs)
- Nuances of intonation and connotation
- Differences between lecture and seminar language
- Language to encourage contributions from students and to keep discussions focussed
The session will be a combination of a webinar and break out groups. Participants will need to use a webcam and microphone.
Workshop 4: The Language of Technical Demonstrations
Friday 21st May, 2:30pm to 3:30pm
The workshop will cover some of the following topics depending on the needs of the participants.
- Sequencing language
- Modal verbs - degrees of certainty
- Conditionals for hypotheses
- Vocabulary, intonation and pronunciation
The session will be a combination of a webinar and break out groups. Participants will need to use a webcam and microphone.
Staff Dyslexia/SpLD tutorials and assessments
The specialist SpLD (specific learning difficulties) team can now offer tutorials to staff members who have been given the label of dyslexia or specific learning difficulties (or if they self-identify with such labels). The team are also able to provide specialist assessments for dyslexia and/or specific learning difficulties. Please click on the link to find out more about this service: